Service
Sewer Camera Inspection
Putting a camera down the sewer lateral to find out what is actually wrong, because roots, offsets, bellies and collapses all cause the same backup.
- Licensed and insured
- Price agreed before work
- A plumber who works your area
Four defects, one symptom
The reason a camera pays for itself is that a backup tells you almost nothing on its own.
Roots come in through a joint that ground movement has opened. Cleaning removes the mass and leaves the opening, so they return.
An offset is two sections no longer aligned, leaving a lip that catches everything passing. Structural, and cleaning does not touch it.
A belly is a settled length holding standing water where solids drop out. It also rules out lining, because a liner follows the sag.
A collapse has lost its shape and needs digging out.
Same symptom, four repairs at four very different prices. Guessing means paying for the wrong one.
Locating, not just looking
The part people do not expect is that the camera can be found from above ground.
The head carries a sonde, a small transmitter, and a locator on the surface picks it up. That gives the position and the depth of the defect, marked on the ground.
That is what turns a repair from exploratory digging into a targeted excavation at one spot, and on a long lateral under a driveway it is the difference between a small job and a large one.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- A line that blocks repeatedly in the same place
- Backups with no obvious cause
- A property where the age or material of the lateral is unknown
- Recurring root intrusion
- Deciding between cleaning, lining and replacement
Signs you need sewer camera inspection
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- The same drain has been cleared more than twice
- Clearing restores flow for weeks rather than years
- There is no record of the lateral ever being inspected
- You are being quoted for a major repair without evidence
What to expect
How the visit works
Access through a cleanout
The camera goes in at the cleanout so the full run can be seen from the house to the main connection.
Record the whole line
The camera runs the full length rather than stopping at the first defect, because a line often has more than one problem.
Locate defects above ground
A sonde in the camera head lets the position and depth of a defect be marked on the surface, which is what makes a targeted repair possible.
Hand over the recording
You keep the video. It is the evidence behind whatever is recommended, and it is worth having if a different opinion is wanted.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- The full run recorded, not just the first fault
- Defect positions marked above ground for targeted repair
- You keep the recording
- A basis for choosing between cleaning, lining and replacement
Questions
Sewer Camera Inspection questions
What can a camera actually find?
The four things that cause recurring backups, and they need four different repairs. Roots growing in through an open joint. An offset, where two sections no longer line up and catch waste on the lip. A belly, a settled section holding standing water where solids drop out. And a collapse, where the pipe has lost its shape. It also identifies the pipe material and its general condition, which decides whether lining is even possible.
When is it worth paying for an inspection?
After a second blockage in the same line, because at that point the third cleaning costs more than finding out why. Also before agreeing to any major sewer work, since it is the evidence the recommendation should rest on. And it is genuinely useful on any older property where nobody knows what the lateral is made of or when it was last looked at.
Should I get a copy of the video?
Yes, and any plumber should provide it without being asked. It is the record of what was found, it lets you get a second opinion without paying for a second inspection, and it is a useful thing to hold onto for the future. A recommendation for expensive work that comes without a recording is one to question.
Related services
Sewer Scope Inspection
A sewer scope for property purchases, checking the condition of the lateral before you buy, since it is rarely covered by a standard home inspection.
See what this coversSewer Line Repair
Camera-verified repair and replacement of cracked, collapsed, root-damaged or bellied sewer laterals, including trenchless lining and pipe bursting.
See what this coversMain Drain Cleaning
Clearing the main line that every fixture drains into, using a cleanout access and camera verification where the blockage keeps returning.
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Diagnosis and repair of gas, electric and tankless water heaters, including no-hot-water calls, leaks, pilot problems and sediment flushing.
See what this covers
Get it fixed
Sewer Camera Inspection, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does sewer camera inspection every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work