Sewer Camera Inspection
The only honest way to price a sewer repair
Everything underground is a guess until somebody looks. That cuts both ways. It is how a homeowner ends up paying for a full line replacement they did not need, and it is how a repair gets quoted too cheaply and turns into an argument halfway through.
A camera run removes the guessing. A self levelling head goes down the line on a stiff push rod, the footage is recorded, and a counter on screen tells you how far in you are. A sonde in the camera head lets us mark the spot on the surface, so the depth and the position are known before a shovel comes out.
What comes back is a specific sentence rather than a vague one. Not "your sewer line is bad". Instead: an offset joint at thirty two feet, roughly five feet down, at the corner of the driveway, with fine root intrusion and a small amount of standing water behind it.
You can act on the second one. You can also take it to somebody else for a second opinion, which is exactly why we hand it over.
What we find
What a camera run actually shows
Where the defect is, to the foot
Distance from the access point on screen, and a sonde trace to mark the position and depth on the surface. A repair that is dug in the right place is a small repair.
What kind of defect it is
Roots at a joint, an offset, a belly holding water, a crack, a collapse, or a pipe that has lost its shape entirely. These need different repairs and cost very different amounts.
What the pipe is made of
Vitrified clay, cast iron, ABS, PVC or Orangeburg fibre conduit. In Whatcom County the last one matters, because a lot of what was built between the late forties and the early seventies has it, and it fails by deforming rather than cracking.
On the day
What an inspection visit includes
Access, or an honest conversation about it.
A camera needs a way in. Where there is no exterior cleanout, we tell you the options and what each involves before we arrive rather than after.
A recorded run of the full line.
From the access point out to the transition or the main, with the distance counter visible on screen throughout.
A surface trace of anything significant.
Sonde location for depth and position, marked on the ground, so a repair can be dug precisely.
The recording, handed over.
With a plain explanation of what is on it. You keep the file whether you use us for the repair or not.
Step by step
How we work
We establish what you are trying to find out.
A repeat backup, a house purchase, a large tree over the line, or a quote you want checked. Each one changes what we pay attention to.
We find or make access.
Exterior cleanout first. If the line has to be cleared enough to get a camera through it, we tell you that is a separate step before we do it.
We run the camera the whole way.
Recording throughout, with the distance counter on screen, out to the transition.
We locate anything worth locating.
Sonde trace, marked on the surface, depth noted.
We go through the footage with you.
In plain words. If we say a joint is offset, we show you the joint.
We give you the file and the options.
Including the option of doing nothing, when doing nothing is reasonable. Some defects are worth watching rather than digging.
Why us
Why call us for this
The footage is yours
Not shown once on a screen and then gone. You keep it, and you are welcome to get a second opinion on it. A company that will not hand over the recording is telling you something.
We are not quoting a replacement while we film
We do drain and sewer work, and we would rather do a spot repair that lasts than sell a full line replacement that was not needed. When the honest answer is that your pipe is old but sound, that is the answer.
We know what we are looking at here
Clay and cast iron under the older Bellingham neighbourhoods. Orangeburg through the post war stock. Shallow pipe and a high water table out toward the bay. Local context changes the reading.
We can clear the line and film it in one visit
A camera cannot see through a blockage. If the line needs clearing first, we do both in one trip rather than two.
Reviews
What our customers say
We have not collected any reviews yet. When we do they will appear here in full, in the customer's own words.
Questions
Sewer camera inspection questions
How much does it cost to run a camera through a sewer line?
It depends on access and whether the line has to be cleared first to get the camera through. A run from an accessible exterior cleanout is the straightforward version. You get the number before we start, and if the line needs clearing first we tell you that is a separate step rather than adding it afterwards.
How long does a sewer camera inspection take?
Usually under an hour on a normal residential run with good access. Longer if the line has to be cleared first, if the run is unusually long, or if there is more than one line to look at.
What are the common problems found during a sewer drain camera inspection?
Roots through a joint, an offset where two sections have shifted, a belly holding standing water, cracks, corrosion in old cast iron, and pipe that has lost its shape entirely. In this county the finding that changes things most is Orangeburg fibre conduit, which is common in houses built between roughly 1945 and 1972.
Should I get a sewer scope before buying a house?
On anything built before roughly 1975 here, yes. That window covers clay, early cast iron and Orangeburg, and a failing sewer line is one of the few significant faults a standard home inspection will not find. It is a small cost against a large one, and it is occasionally the thing that changes a purchase decision.
Can a camera see through water in the pipe?
Partly. A shallow amount of water is fine. A line that is fully backed up or holding water in a belly has to be cleared or drained first, otherwise the run tells you very little. We will say when that is the case rather than film a wall of water and charge you for it.
Will you tell me if the line does not need repairing?
Yes, and it happens often. An old pipe is not automatically a failing pipe. Clay with sound joints and no root intrusion can stay in the ground for a long time, and we will say so on the recording.
Do I get a copy of the video?
Yes. The recording is yours, along with the depth and distance of anything we located. Take it to another company for a second quote if you want to. That is a reasonable thing to do with it.
Where we do this work
Anywhere else in Whatcom County, call and ask.
Tell us the symptoms