Sewer Camera Inspection in San Jose, CA
From the top of a cleanout, a blocked pipe and a collapsed pipe look identical. Both mean the water is not going anywhere. They are completely different problems with completely different price tags, and guessing between them is how people end up paying for the wrong repair.
A camera settles it. We put it down the line and you watch the screen with us. It shows what the pipe is made of, which tells you a great deal about how much life it has left, and where roots are getting in, whether that is one joint or twenty. You can see whether the line still holds its fall or has developed a belly that collects water and catches solids, and any section that has cracked, offset, or dropped out of line.
We would rather you looked at the inside of your own pipe than took our word for it. A recommendation to spend real money is a great deal easier to trust when you have seen the thing it is based on, and occasionally the camera shows the problem is out at the city connection rather than on your side at all, which is worth knowing before anybody starts digging up your yard.
When people call us about this
- A main line that backs up repeatedly no matter how often it is cleared
- Deciding between a spot repair and a full lateral replacement
- Buying a house and wanting to know the condition of the sewer
- Sewage smell in the yard, or grass greener along one line
- Establishing whether the fault is on your lateral or at the city main
Questions we get asked
Do I need to have the line cleared before the camera goes down?+
Usually yes, and it is worth understanding why rather than assuming it is an upsell. A camera cannot see through standing water or through the blockage itself, so pointing it at a full line shows you a wall of debris and nothing useful about the pipe behind it. Clearing first means the lens can actually reach the length of the run and read the pipe wall. If the line is already flowing and you simply want to know its condition (before buying a house, say), then no clearing is needed and we can go straight in.
What will the camera actually tell me?+
Four things that matter. The pipe material, which sets your expectations for remaining life. Clay and cast iron are near the end of theirs in most older San Jose neighborhoods. The location and extent of root intrusion, and whether it is one bad joint or the whole run. Whether the line still holds its grade or has a belly where water sits. And any physical damage: cracks, offsets, sections that have dropped. We locate the depth and position of anything significant, so if it does need digging, we dig in one place rather than hunting.
Is it worth doing before buying a house?+
In the older parts of San Jose, we think so. In Willow Glen, the Rose Garden, Naglee Park and older Campbell, a great many homes still have their original clay lateral with mature street trees planted over it. A sewer lateral is not something a standard home inspection covers, and it is one of the larger single repairs a house can present you with. Spending a modest amount to know its condition before you commit is reasonable due diligence. Sometimes the camera comes back clean, and you have paid a small amount to stop worrying about it.
Further reading: Why Your Main Line Backs Up Every Year at About the Same Time.
Describe it to us and we will tell you what it is.
Phone consultations do not cost anything. If it turns out to be something you can sort out yourself, we will say so.
Related work
Sewer Camera Inspection across the South Bay
We cover San Jose and the cities around it. Pick your area for what tends to go wrong in houses like yours.