Drainage and septic tanks

Clay drain joints look swollen with roots. Why is that still not a camera survey?

Because nobody filmed the run. Roots at a clay joint, if they were visible in an open chamber, are a visual note at that point. They are not a graded camera report. The next length of pipe was not seen, and the survey has not named any other pipe material from a chamber it could not see into.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Old clay pipes open at the collars, and roots enter at those joints. The surveyor may see roots, silt, or a displaced collar in a chamber that was lifted. They cannot see the next length. A standard home survey does not include CCTV. If a cover was not lifted, they cannot see the joint either, and they should not claim they did. Approved Document H does not describe this root mass, and it does not supply a grade. Do not borrow a grading scale from a drainage firm’s blank form and fill it in yourself.

A camera is the extra that shows whether the roots are a whisker at one joint or a mass along the run. Until that film exists, do not tell the seller the whole sewer must be replaced, and do not ignore roots that were photographed in the chamber. Ask a drainage firm to look at the joints the survey named. Their quote comes after they have seen them. The survey has not designed a lining, and it has not tested the soil. Clay joints are the finding. Do not swap in a different pipe name because the house is old.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which chamber showed roots, and were they at a clay joint you could see?
Was a camera used? Please say no if it was not.
Are you distinguishing clay from any other pipe you did not identify?

What are the typical next steps?

Do not rod the roots out and call the drain repaired.
If you commission a camera, give the firm this chamber and ask them not to invent a RICS rating.
Do not rename the clay pipe as some other material because the house is old.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Do roots at one joint prove every length is the same?

No. The next length was not seen. A camera, if you buy one, is how that length is seen.

Is a tree nearby proof the joints have failed?

No. A tree is a reason to look. It is not a view of the joint.