- Service
- Sewer Camera Inspection
- Category
- Drains and sewers
- Where
- Newmarket and nearby York Region
- Booking
- By telephone
Clues that point to sewer camera inspection
- The main line has backed up on more than one occasion in a year.
- Roots came back on the cutter the last time the line was cleared.
- You are purchasing a house built before about 1975.
- A sinkhole or a lush green stripe has appeared across the front lawn.
- You are planning a basement renovation and want to know what the floor is hiding.
Our method, in order
The camera head is about the size of a thumb, with its own lights. We feed it through the basement cleanout and push it slowly toward the street while watching a screen together. A small transmitter in the head lets us locate it from above with a receiver, so when we find a problem we can mark its position and depth on the lawn.
You will see what we see: clean pipe walls, joints, any roots, cracks, sags where water pools, and the connection to the Town's main. We record the run and explain the footage in plain words. If the line is fine, that is worth knowing too.
| Finding | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Fine roots at a joint | Clear now, plan a repair |
| Standing water in a section | A sag or belly in the pipe |
| Offset joint | Ground movement; may catch debris |
| Crushed or broken pipe | Repair needed soon |
Newmarket houses and this job
A line that is completely blocked has to be cleared before the camera can travel, so many inspections follow a main line clearing. Older homes near Main Street and Prospect Street can have clay laterals with many joints, each a place roots can enter. Newer homes around Copper Hills or Summerhill Estates usually show smooth PVC with nothing to report.
A camera inspection is especially sensible when buying an older home. A home inspector usually does not run a camera down the sewer, and the lateral is one of the costlier parts of a house to replace. Our circular on buying an older home goes into more detail.
Bench note
Ask for a copy of the recording. If you later need a repair quote or an insurance claim, it is useful evidence.
Booking a look
Call us to book an inspection at a time that suits you. If a backup is happening now, tell us and we will clear the line first.
Phoned-in questions
Could the camera harm my pipes?
No. The head is soft-mounted and pushed by hand, not by machine.
Can you inspect from a roof vent?
Sometimes, for upper drain lines. For the sewer lateral we use the basement cleanout.