Book today, surveyed today · 7 days, 8am–8pm · £225 fixed price, no extras
01925 357132 Fixed price · Same day · 7 days
A survey van with its side door open on a 1970s open-plan estate in Birchwood, cable running to an open inspection chamber in the pavement
Drain Camera Surveys · Birchwood (WA3)

The pipe under a Birchwood garden is fifty years old. Nobody has ever looked inside it.

A camera through every accessible run, a graded report and the full footage — yours before we leave. £225 fixed. Someone can be with you in Birchwood today.

Call 01925 357132
£225 fixed — no call-out fee Report & footage the same day
Every run, on camera
Every run, on cameraFrom the first accessible cover to the boundary, including the shared rear runs the Birchwood estates were built with.
The material named
The material namedPitch fibre, clay or plastic. It is the single fact that decides what a repair would cost, and it belongs in the report.
Yours the same day
Yours the same dayWritten report coded to MSCC5 and the full narrated video, sent before the evening — not a summary a week later.
How we work

We do not fix drains.That is deliberate.

No repair quote at the end of the visit, no liner in the van, no digger arriving on Monday. We are paid to find out what is wrong and to tell you — and nothing about what we find changes what we earn.

Looking is the cheap part

What a survey saves you

Four ways people end up dealing with drain trouble, ordered from cheapest to most costly. The first is the only one that starts with evidence.

Camera survey to identify the fault, then a repair aimed at the right spotFind it first. Then fix what's actually broken.
£225
Calling out a jetter every few months when it blocks againMoney spent clearing a symptom, not solving a cause.
£80 each time
Breaking ground without knowing where the fault isDig, discover the pipe is intact, make good and start over.
£2,000+
Inheriting the defect when you complete on a purchaseNo survey before exchange means no leverage after it.
£4,000–£12,000
Most drainage firms in WA3 will not publish a price at all. We publish ours, and we quote it before we attend.
£225 · One visit, one price Quoted before we attend

✓ What that buys

This is the full scope. There are no add-ons and no invoices to follow.

  • Complete CCTV survey of every accessible drain line
  • Written findings with annotated colour stills from the footage
  • Drainage layout plan showing runs, junctions and cover positions
  • Grading of pipe condition in line with MSCC5 criteria
  • Summary of recommended next steps where defects are found

— What you never get

Nothing extra on the day, nothing billed separately, nothing afterwards.

  • No attendance or call-out charge on top of the quote
  • No additional fee for repeat passes with the camera
  • No out-of-hours or weekend supplement
  • No separate charge for report preparation or delivery
  • No travel surcharge for addresses in Birchwood

All reports conform to WRc standards and are recognised by solicitors, conveyancers and the UK's principal mortgage lenders. Take it to any contractor you like.

A frosty morning on a residential street in Birchwood, survey van at the kerb and an inspection chamber open in the footpath
Birchwood's drains

Birchwood's drainage was laid decades before most of its current owners arrived.

Birchwood went up as a New Town district in the 1970s, on ground cleared from the Royal Ordnance Factory at Risley. The housing is almost all one generation, which means the drainage is too — and when a run here fails, the neighbours' runs are usually the same age and the same material.

Older clay pipes develop cracks, joints work loose, and roots force their way in. A single camera visit tells you the condition of the entire network.

Also covering the rest of Birchwood — same price, same day.

Inside a WA3 drain

What the camera actually finds

Pitch fibre runs that have gone oval under the drive and no longer carry a full flow. REC
Pitch fibre runs that have gone oval under the drive and no longer carry a full flow.
Pitch fibre, delaminating. The bitumen-and-woodpulp wall peels away in layers and collapses inwards — the defining find under 1970s housing. REC
Pitch fibre, delaminating. The bitumen-and-woodpulp wall peels away in layers and collapses inwards — the defining find under 1970s housing.
The same pipe further along, the wall lifting off in sheets. Rodding tears it further. Nothing rods pitch fibre back into shape. REC
The same pipe further along, the wall lifting off in sheets. Rodding tears it further. Nothing rods pitch fibre back into shape.

Already had a survey and been quoted thousands?

Phone us and we'll give you an honest, no-charge opinion on whether the repair you have been quoted for is really needed. If the company never gave you video footage, that should raise a red flag.

Call 01925 357132
Birchwood and the WA3 side of Warrington

Birchwood areas we cover

WA1

Woolston· Martinscroft

WA3

Birchwood· Gorse Covert· Oakwood· Locking Stumps· Risley· Croft· Culcheth· Glazebury· Rixton· Hollins Green

All of WA3, plus the WA1 edge at Woolston and Martinscroft. Anywhere in WA3 we can usually be with you the same day.

Before you ring

Questions we get asked

Everything here was built at once. Does that make surveys easier?
It makes them more predictable. When we lift a cover in Birchwood we already have a fair idea of the pipe material, the depth and the layout before the camera goes in. It also means a defect found on one property is worth mentioning to the people either side, because they have the same pipe in the same ground.
Is the drain mine or United Utilities'?
As a rule, drains that serve only your property are your responsibility — from the house to where they join the public sewer, which United Utilities maintains. Part of the survey is identifying that exact boundary so there is no ambiguity about who is liable for what.
How long does it take?
The survey itself is usually about an hour for a typical Birchwood semi or terrace. Allow 90 minutes for larger properties or multiple access points.
Do you dig anything up?
No. We insert the camera through an existing manhole cover, gully or, when required, the toilet. Nothing is excavated, removed or broken. There is zero mess left behind.
What exactly do I get?
An MSCC5-coded written report identifying every defect by location to the metre, severity grade and recommended action. Plus the full narrated HD video and defect photographs. It all reaches your phone the same day.
Will I get a copy of the video?
Yes — it is your footage. We send it to your phone or email on the day of the survey. Use it to get quotes from other contractors, hand it to your solicitor, or simply keep it for future reference.
I'm buying a house — is it worth it?
A RICS HomeBuyer survey does not inspect drains. After completion, any drain problem is entirely yours. For £225 before exchange, you avoid the risk of facing a repair bill between £4,000 and £12,000 once you have moved in.
What if nothing is found — is it still worth £225?
Yes. A clean survey means peace of mind if you are purchasing, or proof that a recurring blockage is down to maintenance and not a structural fault. The baseline video also gives you something to compare against if problems arise later.

Look inside the pipe before you break the ground.

£225 fixed. Same day. The footage is yours.

Call 01925 357132
Call 01925 357132