When a drain backs up more than once, the question stops being “can we clear it?” and becomes “why does it keep happening?” A camera inspection answers that. A waterproof camera on a flexible rod goes down the line and puts a live picture on a screen, so instead of guessing from the outside we watch the actual pipe.
What We Are Looking For
- Roots. The most common cause of repeat blockages in older Langley, Surrey and New Westminster neighbourhoods. Roots find the joints in clay and concrete pipe and grow into them looking for water.
- Bellies. A section that has sagged so water sits in it instead of running through. Waste settles in the low spot and the line blocks again and again.
- Cracks, offsets and collapses. Ground movement, old excavation and heavy traffic above the line all shift pipe over time.
- Scale and grease. Kitchen lines in particular narrow over the years until the opening is a fraction of the pipe.
- Material. Older homes here can still have clay tile, cast iron or Orangeburg. Knowing which one you have changes the repair completely.
Where The Problem Is, Not Just What It Is
The other half of an inspection is locating. The camera head carries a transmitter, and a locator above ground finds it, so we can mark the spot on your lawn or driveway and give you a depth. That turns “the line is broken somewhere under the yard” into a marked area a metre across.
The difference matters when it is time to dig. Excavating a known, marked point is a very different job from opening a trench to find the fault first.
When A Camera Is Worth It
- The same drain has blocked twice or more.
- You are buying a house that is more than thirty years old, especially with mature trees near the sewer line.
- You are planning a basement suite, a bathroom addition or new flooring and want to know the state of what is under the slab first.
- A section of lawn stays soggy or smells, or the ground over the line has dipped.
- Before backfilling any new underground work, to confirm it went in clean.
What You Get Afterwards
You should come away with more than an opinion. We show you the footage as we go, mark the location on site, and tell you plainly whether it needs repair now, watching, or nothing at all. Sometimes the answer is that the line is fine and the blockage was a one-off, which is a perfectly good result to pay for.
If it does need work, knowing the depth, the material and the exact position is what lets us quote a real number instead of a range with guesswork built into it.
Related: drainage and excavation · residential plumbing services
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