Sewer Camera Inspection: What a Pipe Inspection Shows and Costs
Every sewer decision worth more than a plunger should start with a camera in the pipe. It's the least expensive thing on the whole menu and the only thing that tells you what you're paying for. Here's what happens during an inspection, what the footage looks like when something's wrong, and how to tell an inspection that informs you from one that's there to sell you a replacement.
The equipment
A waterproof color camera head, about the size of a walnut on a residential line, on the end of a stiff push rod 100 to 200 feet long. The head self-levels so the picture stays upright, and it carries a sonde: a small radio transmitter that a receiver on the surface can detect. The operator watches a monitor and records the run with a distance counter, so a problem at 37 feet is a problem at 37 feet.
How it goes in
Through the cleanout if the house has one. A lot of San Diego homes built before 1970 don't, so the alternatives are a pulled toilet (the most common), a roof vent, or an interior cleanout in a garage or under a sink. If the line is backed up, it's cleared with a cable or a jetter first; a camera in standing sewage shows you brown.
The camera is pushed from the house toward the main, which on most city lots is under the street out front and on some older lots is in the alley. Where the camera reaches the main, you can usually see the flow going past. That's the end of your lateral and, in the City of San Diego, usually the end of your responsibility (confirm with the agency that bills you for sewer).
What the footage shows
Roots. White or tan fibers hanging from the top of a joint, or a mat filling the pipe. On clay, they come in at the joints every three or four feet, so a bad clay line looks like a row of beards. Cutting them shows whether the joint underneath is intact or has been levered apart.
Cast iron scale. A rough, lumpy, rust-colored interior that has narrowed the bore. The floor of the pipe is the part to watch: if it looks like gravel or the camera is sitting on dirt rather than pipe, the bottom has rusted through. That's channel rot, and it's the end of the pipe's life.
Offset joints. A step in the pipe where one length has moved relative to the next. Common in San Diego's expansive clay, where the ground moves a little every wet-dry cycle. A small step is lineable; a big one catches the camera.
Bellies. The camera goes underwater for a stretch, then comes out. That's a sag holding water and whatever paper settled there. Bellies don't clear themselves and trenchless doesn't fix them.
Cracks and holes. A line across the pipe, or daylight where there shouldn't be any, often with soil visible through it.
Orangeburg. A pipe that looks like it's made of layered cardboard, gone oval, with blisters on the inside. Rare here, but it's in some post-war tracts, and it's a replace-only material.
Collapse. The camera stops. A wall of soil or broken pipe. The sonde locate tells you where to dig.
The locate
When the camera finds something, the operator walks the surface with a receiver until it pings over the sonde. That gives a spot on the lawn or driveway and a depth. This is the part that turns "your line is broken" into "your line is broken 31 feet from the house, 4 feet down, under the driveway edge," which is the information a quote is built on. If a contractor gives you a price without a locate, the price isn't for your pipe; it's for an average pipe.
What it costs, and what free costs
A standard residential inspection in San Diego is $250–$500, with the locate and the recording included. If the contractor is already there clearing a backup, the camera afterwards is usually toward the low end. Ask whether a camera run after the repair is included.
A free camera inspection exists to find something. The inspection is paid for by the replacement it discovers, and that changes what the person holding the camera is looking for. The footage from a free inspection is also often harder to get a copy of. Pay for the inspection and own the file.
Getting the most out of it
- Watch the screen. Ask what you're looking at. A good operator will narrate.
- Ask for the file and the distance of every problem.
- Ask what's pipe damage and what's just dirty. Roots and scale are removable; a missing pipe floor isn't.
- Ask whether a cleanout exists and, if not, what adding one costs.
- If the line is sound, be pleased. You've had a proper cleaning and a baseline recording for the next time a drain feels slow.
When to book one
Before any repair quote. Before buying any San Diego house built before about 1975, because the general inspector doesn't look at the lateral and the seller usually doesn't know. After a second clearing in two years. Before a remodel that touches the drains. And after foundation work or a new tree over the line. The camera inspection page has the booking details; if the footage shows a problem, signs of a broken sewer line and the cost page cover what comes next.
How to prepare for the visit
- Find the cleanout if there is one, and clear a path to it.
- Don't run the washer or dishwasher for an hour before, so the line isn't full.
- Note which drains are slow and when the problem started.
- Have any old receipts or footage from past clearings ready.
- Be home, so you can watch the screen and ask questions.
What the written summary should say
A good pipe inspection ends with more than a video. Ask for a short summary that lists the run length, the pipe materials, and each problem by distance and depth. It should say whether the camera reached the main. It should give a recommendation, with more than one option when more than one would work. A summary that says only "replace" with no distances isn't one you can take to a second contractor.
A buyer's version of the checklist
If you're buying, book the inspection inside your contract's inspection period. Ask the seller whether the line has ever been cleared, repaired or lined, and ask for any records. Watch the run, keep the file, and get a written price from the footage if there's a problem. Your agent can decide how to use it.
Common questions
Can I watch the inspection as it happens?
You should. Stand at the monitor and ask the operator to pause at anything unusual and say what it is. Watching live is the easiest way to understand the footage you'll be handed afterwards.
Can the same footage be used for a second opinion?
Yes, if it's recorded with a distance counter and you have the file. Many contractors can price from someone else's footage, which saves paying for a second camera run.
Does a sound line need to be inspected again?
Not on a schedule. Camera it again if a drain slows, before a sale or remodel, or after work near the line. Keep the old file to compare with the new one.
What if the camera can't get all the way to the main?
That's a finding in itself. It usually means a collapse, a large offset or a heavy root mat. The locate marks where the camera stopped, so you know where a dig or a deeper clearing would start. Ask the operator to note the distance in the summary, then plan the next step from there.
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