Before you spend money on cameras, an alarm or a video doorbell, it helps to know exactly what you need and where it should go. That is the job of a survey. This guide explains what happens when an engineer visits your London home, what you get afterwards and how the fee works, so there are no surprises on the day.
Why a survey comes before the equipment
Homes in London vary enormously. A mansion flat with a communal entrance has very different risks from a terraced house with a rear garden, or a ground-floor maisonette with side access. Buying a box of cameras online and guessing where they go often leads to blind spots, poor night footage or cables that cannot be routed neatly.
A survey replaces guesswork with a plan. The engineer looks at how your property is actually used, where someone could realistically get in, and what the building allows in terms of cable routes, power and Wi-Fi. If you would like to understand how the equipment itself compares first, our CCTV installation cost guide is a good companion read.
What the engineer looks at on the day
Home Survey & Design is £99 inc. VAT. It is an engineer site visit, not a sales call, and it covers the following ground:
- Entry points. Front and back doors, ground-floor windows, side gates, garages and any flat roofs or low walls that give access.
- Camera and device positions. Where each camera, sensor or doorbell would sit, which way it would face and what it would actually see, including at night.
- Cable routes and power. Whether wiring can be concealed, where a recorder could live, and whether a wireless approach makes more sense for your walls.
- Network coverage. Cameras and smart devices rely on a stable connection, so the engineer checks signal where devices are planned. If coverage is weak, our data and networking service can fix that before anything is installed.
- Your routine. Deliveries, pets, children, late returns and who has keys. Good security suits the way you live.
It is worth having a few things ready: access to the loft or meter cupboard if relevant, details of any existing system, and permission from your landlord or managing agent if you rent or live in a leasehold flat.
What you receive afterwards
The visit is not just a conversation. The package includes a written recommendation and a fixed quote, together with a camera and device placement plan. That means you can read it at your own pace, show it to a partner, a landlord or an insurer, and compare it with anything else you are considering.
The recommendation may point towards one of our fitted CCTV packages. For example, a four-camera setup such as Home Protect is £1,499 inc. VAT, while Home Starter, with two cameras, is £899 inc. VAT. Which suits you depends entirely on what the survey finds, and each package is described by its own features: Home Protect has four 4K ColorVu cameras and a 2TB drive, while Home Starter has two 5MP turret cameras and a 1TB drive. If you already own equipment, the recommendation can instead cover fitting it properly; see our guide to fitting your own CCTV kit or video doorbell.
How the fee is credited
The survey fee is not an extra cost on top of a larger job. It is credited in full against any booking of £500 inc. VAT or more. So if you go ahead with an installation of that size, the survey fee comes off the total. If your plan comes in below that threshold, or you decide not to proceed, the fee covers the engineer's time and the written plan, which is yours to keep.
Surveys for businesses
Shops, offices and other commercial premises have extra considerations such as insurer requirements, staff access and trading hours. For these, Commercial Survey & Spec is £199 inc. VAT. It includes a full site walk and risk review, a camera and device schedule and a written specification document, and the fee is credited against the installation. It suits owners who need something a board, landlord or insurer can read.
Getting the most from your survey
- Walk the property at dusk first and note any dark corners.
- List every device you already own, with the model if you know it.
- Think about what worries you most: parcels, a side gate, the car, or someone approaching the door.
- Decide roughly what you would like to cover now and what could wait.
If you want the plan to reach beyond security, the engineer can also note where smart lighting, heating or voice control would fit; see our smart home automation service for how that works. We cover the whole of London, and you can see where we work on our areas page.
Ready to take the first step? Request a quote