At first glance the notion of having a video camera line inspection may seem like science-fiction, or overkill. True, they’re just pieces of pipe that have been screwed together, buried in the ground. However, the houses, yards and lives built up around them have greatly increased in complexity. Disturbing them to find a troubled piece of pipe can quickly become a nightmare. Further, the homeowner has responsibility for the home’s sewer line all the way to the city’s main. This includes portions under the sidewalk, under the street, and under any street landscaping. Finding a problem the old-fashioned way could become a very expensive nightmare in and of itself.
Thankfully, plumbing technology has advanced so that it is no longer necessary to dig ditches and pull pipes apart just to locate a break or clog. Instead of creating enormous messes with snakes and compressed air and construction equipment, tracking down a problem in a drain or sewer using modern cameras allows us to pinpoint the cause before a crowbar or shovel appears.
Knowing the problem allows our professional technician to use the right tool the first time and, indeed, determine if a tool is needed. So, for example, he won’t try to use a chemical drain opener to get a toy car out of the pipe. This all translates to less damage to your home and less interruption in your life....
- Experienced dispatchers to answer your call
- Fully insured, bonded, and licensed personnel
- Neat, uniformed professionals
- A clean workplace after we are gone
Technology Comes To The Rescue
Historically, a plumbing technician could only guess at the location of an obstruction, judging by personal experience and his observation of the symptoms. The actual cause might only be found after laborious excavation and/or disassembly of pipes. The backhoe has until recently been the most technologically advanced equipment available. The cost of these rough methods of diagnosis was enormous in terms of both money and time, and certainly only undertaken if made necessary by a backup.
Now our neat, uniformed professional can use a pipe camera, a flexible rod with a fiber optic line and waterproof, high-resolution camera to feed a video image of the inside from inside the pipe back to a handheld monitor. Separate radio transmitters allow the depth and distance of the camera to be traced constantly. Camera inspection allows for pinpoint accuracy in locating the place where that toy car has become lodged, or which tree has attacked. Recorders can even be used that allow capture of the video for later playback.
One of the greatest benefits of a camera inspection is that it can buy you time. Just a dozen feet away from that grease buildup, tree roots may have just broken into the pipe. The pipe camera will show the threat in addition to the blockage, and allow the technician to know just what to do to relieve the problem. The advance knowledge of this intrusion will allow you some time to prepare before it becomes an emergency, and perhaps spare you the necessity of return visits. For this reason alone, having an inspection done even if the drains aren’t completely backed up can be a wise idea.
Reasons To Have An Inspection
A video inspection may be warranted if your home is suffering from blockage of a drain involving more than one source. Depending upon the complexity of the plumbing involved, the plumbing technician may need to use a video inspection to ascertain the common path where the blockage lies.
Interior blockages are not always grease or hair. Inappropriate items being flushed down a drain are a major cause of drain blockages. In addition, corrosion, especially in older homes, can cause debris buildups in level sections or elbows that gradually decreases the inside diameter of the pipe until the drain will not flow. Visual inspection with our camera will reveal the extent of the blockage: whether it can be cleared, or whether pipe needs to be replaced.
If all the drains are backed up, and the cause is not known, e.g., something flushed that should not have been, a camera can be invaluable in determining the cause. Root intrusions on the main line are often the cause of these backups. Tree roots breaking into the drain line not only capture grease and other solid waste, causing a blockage; they damage the pipe and may have caused a complete failure of the pipe itself.
Roots are certainly not the only threat facing your drain pipes. Seismic activity, heavy traffic above and compaction of soil in the area can aggravate the ability of the drain pipes outside the house to hold up over time. The materials of which the pipes are made certainly don’t last forever.
If you plan to sell your house, or if you own an older home, an inspection is a good idea. Any of the above problems probably already exist to some extent in your pipes. If you are planning to purchase a house, make it a point to request an inspection video from the seller. Waiting until there is an emergency takes control of the situation out of your hands. The technology is available and affordable. Call for an inspection today.