Camera Inspection

What the camera answers

A self-levelling camera head on a push rod goes down the line and the picture comes back in real time. What we are reading is four things: what the pipe is made of, what condition it is in, where the defect sits, and how far along the run it is.

• Material. Cast iron, clay, Orangeburg, copper, PVC. Each fails in its own way and on its own timescale.
• Condition. Scale, corrosion, cracking, a joint that has dropped, a section that has lost its bottom.
• Location. A sonde in the head transmits to a locator above, so the defect can be marked on the floor or the sidewalk rather than guessed at.
• Distance. Counted on the rod, which is what tells you whether the problem is inside the building line or out under the street.

That last distinction decides who pays. Inside the property line is the owner's. Beyond it becomes a different conversation entirely.

When it is worth doing

Before buying

A loft or a co-op in a pre-war building is a purchase with a century of drainage behind it. A standard inspection does not cover the inside of the house drain. Twenty minutes with a camera is the difference between knowing and hoping.

After a second blockage

Once is bad luck. Twice in a year is a defect, and clearing it a third time without looking is paying to postpone the same job.

Before any work that closes things up

If a ceiling is going back or a floor is being laid, the pipe above or below it should be surveyed first. Access is never cheaper than it is right now.

When the building is deciding on capital work

Boards and managing agents get asked to approve stack replacement on the strength of an opinion. Footage is a better basis for a decision that size. See sewer line repair.

What you get

A recording of the run, the measured position of anything found, and a plain description of what it means and what the options are. If the pipe is fine, that is a useful answer too, and it redirects attention to whatever is actually causing the trouble.