When a drain blocks, you can clear it and hope for the best. Or you can look inside and find out why it blocked. A CCTV drain inspection is how you do the second one.
Here’s what’s involved, what it shows, and when it’s worth doing.
What a drain camera is
It’s a small waterproof camera with its own lights, on the end of a long flexible cable. The cable is fed into your drain and pushed along the pipe, sending live video back to a screen. A locator in the camera head lets us mark on the ground exactly where it is and how deep.
In short, it lets us see inside your pipes without digging anything up.
What happens on the day
- We find an access point. Usually an inspection opening, an overflow gully or a toilet. Most homes have one we can use without lifting anything.
- We clear the line if needed. A camera can’t see through a blockage, so if the drain is blocked, we’ll jet it first.
- We run the camera. The camera travels down the pipe while we watch the screen. We stop at anything worth a closer look.
- We mark the problem spots. The locator shows where a crack, root intrusion or sag sits, so any repair can be targeted to that spot.
- We show you the footage. You see what we see, and we explain it in plain English. [CONFIRM: footage or report supplied to the customer after the job]
Most residential inspections are done in a single visit. [CONFIRM: typical time on site]
What it can find
- Tree roots getting in through cracked joints, very common in older North Shore clay pipes. [Link: Tree roots in your sewer pipes]
- Cracked or broken pipes, from age, ground movement or roots.
- Sags or dips where the pipe has settled and water sits instead of flowing.
- Displaced joints where two sections of pipe have shifted out of line.
- Grease and scale build-up narrowing the inside of the pipe.
- Foreign objects like wipes, toys or building debris.
When it’s worth getting one
- The same drain keeps blocking. A camera tells you whether it’s a build-up you can manage or damage that needs fixing.
- Before you agree to a big repair. You should see the problem before you pay to dig it up or reline it.
- You’re buying an older home. A pre-purchase drain check can flag problems the building inspection won’t.
- Strata buildings with recurring problems. Camera footage and a short report give the committee something solid to make a decision on. [Link: Strata plumbing]
- Before or after renovating. To check new work has been connected properly, or that old pipes are sound before you build over them.
What it won’t do
A camera finds the problem. It doesn’t fix it. What happens next depends on what we find, and we’ll lay out your options with the trade-offs: regular maintenance clearing, a spot repair, or relining the damaged section.
If the pipe is in good shape, we’ll tell you that too. Sometimes the best result of an inspection is knowing you don’t need to spend any more.
Book a drain camera inspection
Call Peter on 0403 404 307 or send a photo of what’s happening. Tell us about any past blockages and we’ll let you know whether a camera inspection makes sense.
