Video Camera Pipe & Sewer Inspection in the Bay Area
A camera turns guesswork into evidence. We push a self-levelling head through the line, record the whole run, and mark the route and depth on the ground above. You see the fault, the distance it sits at and what condition the rest of the pipe is in. Never pay for a repair you have not seen the evidence for.
If the camera shows structural failure rather than a blockage, see sewer line replacement and trenchless options.
- Full-length recorded inspection of sewer laterals and drains
- Root intrusion, cracks, offsets, bellies and collapse identified
- Orangeburg deformation and clay joint separation
- Sonde locating with route and depth marked on the surface
- Pre-purchase and pre-renovation inspections
- Footage handed to you to keep
- A written read of what it means and what it does not
Signs You Need Video Camera Pipe Inspection
Catching these early is almost always cheaper than waiting for the failure.
You have been quoted for a dig you cannot see
If someone has recommended excavation without showing you footage, get the line inspected independently first. A recording with distances on it either confirms the work or saves you the whole job. Either outcome is worth knowing before the ground is opened.
Blockages that keep coming back
Repeat backups in the same line mean something in there is catching. Roots, a dropped joint, a belly holding water or a build-up on a rough patch all look the same from a plunger. The camera tells you which one you actually have.
You are buying a property
The lateral is one of the most expensive things in a house and one of the least inspected. On an older Bay Area home it is worth knowing whether you are inheriting sound pipe, tight roots or Orangeburg before the sale closes rather than after.
Gurgling, smells or slow drains across the house
When more than one fixture misbehaves, the problem is usually shared pipe rather than a single trap. A camera run down the main line finds where the shared fault is instead of chasing each fixture in turn.
Something has been dropped down a drain
Rings, tools and toys usually stop somewhere reachable, in a trap or at the first change of direction. Looking first means we can retrieve it deliberately, rather than pushing it further along the line with a rod or opening up pipework on a hunch and hoping it is behind that particular joint.
You are about to landscape, extend or pave
Knowing exactly where the lateral runs and how deep it sits before you pour a slab or plant a tree is far cheaper than discovering it afterwards. We mark the route on the surface so your builder can work around it.
What the Camera Actually Shows
Roots and joint separation
On camera, root intrusion looks like fine white or brown hair coming through a joint or crack, sometimes a solid mass filling the bore. The picture also shows whether the joint around it is still tight or has dropped apart, which is the difference between cutting the roots and replacing the pipe.
Offsets, cracks and collapse
An offset shows as a step where one pipe end no longer lines up with the next, often with soil visible in the gap. Cracks run as dark lines along or around the bore. A collapse simply ends the picture, with rubble or earth where an open pipe should be.
Bellies and standing water
A belly is a sag where the pipe has lost its fall, usually where clay soil has moved or bedding has washed out. The giveaway is water sitting in the bottom of the pipe when nothing is running, and waste settling out in it. Lining does not fix a belly, so identifying it early changes the repair plan.
Orangeburg deformation
Orangeburg, the bituminised fibre pipe used in some 1950s and 60s homes, does not crack so much as squash. On camera the round bore has gone oval or heart-shaped, and the wall can look blistered or delaminated. Recognising it matters, because it rules out most trenchless lining.
How We Run an Inspection
Find the right access point
We work from a cleanout wherever one exists, or pull a toilet or use a roof vent when there is not. Choosing the right entry gets the camera into the line without forcing it around bends that damage the head or hide faults.
Record the full run, not just the fault
The camera goes as far as the line allows, with the footage counter running so every observation has a distance against it. We look past the obvious blockage too, because the condition of the rest of the pipe decides whether repair or replacement makes sense.
Locate and mark on the surface
The sonde in the camera head transmits to a locator above ground. We walk the line, paint or flag the route, and note depth at the points that matter. That is what lets a repair be dug in the right place first time.
Explain it in plain terms
We go through the footage with you and say what each thing is, how serious it is and what happens if it is left. That includes saying when something looks worse on screen than it is in practice.
You keep the footage
The recording is yours to keep and to share with anyone you like. Use it for a second opinion, for an insurance claim, for a property negotiation, or simply as a baseline to compare against the next inspection in a few years time.
Why Footage Changes the Conversation
Drain work has a trust problem, and it is earned. Nobody can see inside a buried pipe, so a homeowner is asked to approve a large invoice on description alone. A recorded inspection removes that. You watch the roots come through the joint at a stated distance, you see whether the pipe around them still holds its shape, and you make the decision on the same information the plumber has.
It also stops money going to the wrong repair. Roots in sound clay pipe are a cutting and monitoring job. The same roots in a pipe with a dropped joint above them are a structural job, because clearing them just reopens the path. A belly holding water looks like a blockage every few months and will keep looking like one until the grade is corrected. Those three cases feel identical from inside the house and are priced very differently.
On older Bay Area housing stock, the inspection often tells you about the whole street rather than just your house. Mature trees along the kerb, clay laterals with mortared or gasketed joints, and expansive soil that moves through the seasons produce the same handful of faults again and again. Homes built through the 1950s and 60s may have Orangeburg, which fails quietly by deforming, so it is worth confirming what your pipe is made of before planning any trenchless repair.
Pre-purchase inspections are the highest-value use of a camera. A number of Bay Area cities also require a lateral to be inspected or certified when a property changes hands, so it is worth asking the local agency what applies at that address. Either way, finding out that the lateral is at the end of its life during negotiation, rather than in your first winter as the owner, is a very different financial position to be in.
What Affects the Price
We quote every job up front, so you approve the price before anything starts. These are the things that move it:
- Length of line to be inspected and how many separate runs
- Whether a usable cleanout exists or access has to be created
- Pulling and resetting a toilet or working from a roof vent
- Whether locating and depth marking is needed as well as footage
- Line condition, since a blocked pipe may need clearing before the camera can pass
- Property type, as commercial and multi-unit systems take longer to trace
- Turnaround, including out-of-hours attendance when it cannot wait
Most quotes are free and can be done from photos or video you send us. Some on-site estimates carry a fee based on distance, and we tell you that before we come out.
Getting the Most From an Inspection
Store the footage with your property documents. It is your evidence for a claim, a dispute or a sale, and it is the baseline that makes the next inspection meaningful.
Photograph the surface marks against fixed features such as a fence post or the corner of the house before the paint weathers off. That simple sketch saves paying for a repeat locate later on.
Winter storm loading and saturated clay soil both move buried pipe around. A short follow-up run after a hard winter catches new offsets and fresh root growth while they are still small and cheap.
A camera cannot see through standing sludge. If the drain is fully blocked, clearing it first is not an upsell, it is the only way to get a picture worth acting on.
Any fault genuinely worth repairing can be stated as a distance from the access point and pointed at on the recording. Insisting on that keeps every quote tied to something you can go back and verify.
Video Camera Pipe Inspection — Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers, without the sales pitch.
Do I really get to keep the footage?
Yes. The recording is handed over to you, and you are free to show it to another contractor, your insurer, an agent or a solicitor. We think that is the whole point of the service. A company that inspects your line and keeps the evidence to itself has given you an opinion, not an inspection.
Can the camera tell you how deep the pipe is?
Yes. The camera head carries a sonde transmitter, and a locator above ground picks it up. We walk the route, mark it on the surface and note depth at the points that matter, such as where a repair would be dug or where you plan to build. That is what turns footage into something a digger can act on.
Can you inspect a completely blocked drain?
Not usefully. The head needs somewhere to go and something to see. If the line is full, we clear enough to get through first, then inspect. That order also helps, because looking straight after clearing shows what was holding the blockage in place rather than just confirming it has gone.
Is a camera inspection worth it before buying a house?
On an older property, it is one of the better value checks available. The private lateral is the buyer's problem once the sale completes, and it is not covered by a standard visual survey. Finding roots, a belly or Orangeburg during negotiation gives you options. Finding them in your first wet winter does not.
Will the camera go through every bend and fitting?
Most, but not all. Tight bends, some old fittings, offsets and partial collapses can stop the head. Where that happens it is information rather than failure, because a point the camera cannot pass is usually the point that needs attention. We record where it stopped and how far in, then locate that spot on the surface.
How long does an inspection take?
A single lateral with a good cleanout is often under an hour including locating and going through the footage with you. Creating access, tracing several runs, or working on a commercial or multi-unit system takes longer. We give you a time estimate with the quote, and the quote is approved before we start.
Do you charge extra for nights, weekends or holidays?
No. We do not add overtime charges, ever. The rate you are quoted is the same whether we come out on a Tuesday morning or at 2am on a holiday weekend.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Power Plumbing USA holds California contractor license #1082507 and carries full liability insurance. All work is performed to California Plumbing Code, and we pull permits where the job requires them.
Where We Provide This Service
We cover 15 Bay Area cities from our Union City base. See the full service area →