You're about to exchange on a property in Exmouth and the homebuyer's report says nothing about drainage. It rarely does. A collapsed lateral, a cracked clay-jointed pipe, or a drain that crosses the boundary into a neighbour's land won't appear on a standard survey. A CCTV drain survey will find all of it.
We put a camera through the drain, locate any fault to the metre, and hand you footage plus a written report before you leave. Pre-purchase work is a regular part of what we do, and we can often turn a survey around quickly when exchange timelines are tight.
Who Actually Owns the Drain
This is the question most buyers don't ask until it's too late. Lateral drains, the section running from your property boundary to the public sewer, became the responsibility of the water company in 2011 under the revised sewer transfer regulations. But shared private sewers that weren't adopted, drains that serve only your property, and any pipework on the wrong side of that transfer cut-off can still be entirely your liability.
A CCTV survey identifies the pipe run, its condition, and where the connection to the adopted network sits. If a repair turns out to be the water company's problem, you'll know before you've paid for the work. If it's yours, you'll know the scope before you've committed to the purchase.
What the Survey Involves
A push-rod or crawler camera goes into the drain at an access point, usually a manhole or rodding eye. We record everything as we go using a Pearpoint system, and we grade any faults to MSCC (Manual of Sewer Condition Classification) standards. That grading matters: insurers, solicitors, and structural engineers recognise it, and it gives your written report real weight as a document.
Once we've run the full length, you get:
- Recorded footage of the entire drain run
- A written report noting each fault type, pipe material, and exact distance from the camera entry point
- MSCC-graded fault classification, clear enough to pass straight to a solicitor or insurer
If there's a blockage sitting in the line, we can jet it clear before the survey run so the camera gets a clean view of the pipe walls. That's a separate operation, priced individually and agreed on the phone before we start.
When a Survey Makes Sense Beyond Pre-Purchase
Pre-purchase work is common, but it's not the only trigger.
Recurring blockages. If a drain blocks two or three times a year, something structural is usually holding the problem in place. Jetting clears the symptom; a camera finds the cause.
Subsidence or damp concerns. A cracked drain leaking water into the ground beneath a property can cause movement. If your structural engineer raises a drainage question, a CCTV survey gives them the documented answer they need.
Insurance claims. Insurers want evidence. Footage and an MSCC-graded written report is exactly what the loss adjuster is looking for.
Before a build-over or extension. A survey confirms the existing drain is in a condition to take the additional load, and your building control officer will likely want to see it.
What We Commonly Find in Exmouth
The older streets around Marpool, Halsdon, and the Victorian terraces near Exmouth Seafront tend to have clay-jointed drainage that's been in the ground sixty or seventy years. Root ingress from street trees is common, and displaced joints at that age are routine rather than exceptional.
Properties in Hulham and Phear Park with mature garden planting often show root intrusion that's progressed well into the lateral before anyone spots a problem above ground. The residential streets in Withycombe Raleigh and Littleham see a mix of clay and early PVC systems, some with connection-era joints that have shifted over time.
Newer estates like Brixington and The Point generally have PVC systems in better condition, but connections to the adopted sewer aren't always made cleanly, and a survey picks up a misaligned junction before it becomes a leak.
We cover Exmouth and the surrounding villages: Lympstone, Exton, Topsham, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, East Budleigh, Otterton, and Budleigh Salterton across EX8 and EX9.
What Happens After the Survey
The written report tells you the fault type, the pipe material, and the exact distance from the camera entry point. If a repair is needed, you'll know whether it's a localised dig-and-fix, a no-dig reline, or a full pipe replacement. Drain repairs and relining carry a 20-year guarantee on the remedial work itself.
If the drain is sound, you get the report confirming that, which is equally useful when you're negotiating or simply want peace of mind before exchange.
CCTV surveys are booked during working hours. Call 01395 201044 to discuss timing, and the price is agreed on the phone before we lift a cover. No call-out fee.