Signs you need sewer camera inspection
A camera is worth sending down when a problem keeps returning or when money is about to be spent on a pipe nobody has seen. Common reasons:
- The main drain backs up repeatedly in a year, even after cabling
- Floor drains gurgle when the washing machine empties
- You are buying an aging house and want to know the state of the lateral
- A large tree stands between the house and the road
- You are planning a basement bathroom and need to know where the line runs
How we handle the job
We enter through a cleanout or the floor drain and feed the camera toward the street, watching a live screen. The footage is recorded so you can keep it. Along the way we note the depth and distance of anything worth attention, and a locator built into the camera head lets us mark the spot on the lawn or driveway above.
What the camera typically finds: root intrusion at joints, sags called bellies where water sits, offset joints, cracked clay or cast iron, scale build-up, or simply grease. If the line is badly blocked, it may need clearing first by main drain clearing or hydro jetting so the camera can travel through.
Pickering's housing spans several generations of sewer pipe. Houses built in the 1960s and 70s around Bay Ridges, Rosebank and the West Shore often have clay or cast-iron sewer laterals, which roots love.
Pickering homes and this problem
Pickering's housing spans several generations of sewer pipe. Houses built in the 1960s and 70s around Bay Ridges, Rosebank and the West Shore often have clay or cast-iron sewer laterals, which roots love. Homes from the 1980s and 90s in Amberlea, Liverpool and Highbush usually have PVC or ABS, which resists roots but can still sag or separate. Newer Seaton and Duffin Heights homes are mostly checked for construction debris or settling.
Job note: in many Ontario municipalities, the part of the lateral on private property is the owner's responsibility. If the camera reveals the defect is under the road allowance, ask the City of Pickering how they handle it before you hire anyone to dig.
What affects the cost
Access matters most. A clear cleanout near the front wall is quick; pulling a toilet or going through a cramped floor drain takes longer. A line that must be cleared first adds time, as does locating and marking a defect for a repair crew. We will tell you which of these apply before we start.
What you can do first
Find the cleanout if you can, usually a capped fitting in the basement floor or on the front wall. Move stored boxes away from the floor drain. If the drain is currently backed up, stop running water so the line has a chance to settle before we arrive. And if you are mid-purchase, ask the seller whether any past footage or repair records exist; our home-buying checklist explains why this matters.
Questions callers ask
Does a camera inspection fix anything?
No. It shows the problem, its location and its depth. The fix might be cleaning, spot repair or replacement, and the footage helps you choose.
Is the footage mine to keep?
Yes, we record the run and provide it so you can share it with a home inspector, insurer or another contractor.
Can the camera go through a toilet?
It can, though a cleanout is better. Pulling the toilet is a common route when no cleanout exists.