Drain Camera Inspection in Toronto

Signs you need a drain camera inspection

• The main has backed up twice or more inside twelve months
• Roots came out on the cable the last time it was cleared
• You are buying a house from before roughly 1960
• You are planning a basement renovation or a backwater valve
• There is a sinkhole or soft patch in the lawn along the sewer route

What causes problems in older Toronto homes

The camera tends to find the same things on Toronto streets. Clay tile laterals with open or offset joints, where roots enter at every seam. Cast-iron pipe with heavy scale or a split along the bottom. Bellies, where the pipe has settled and holds water. Old connections from a long-gone outbuilding or a removed fixture. And in some houses, a lateral that was partly replaced decades ago with a different material, leaving a step where solids catch.

What we do on site, in order

1. We clear enough of the line first that the camera can travel, since a camera cannot see through standing sewage.
2. We feed the camera from a cleanout or the running trap and follow it all the way to the city sewer connection.
3. A sonde in the camera head lets us mark the location and depth of any problem on your lawn or driveway, so digging, if needed, is targeted.
4. We walk you through the footage on screen and give you the recording.

What affects the price

The price depends on access and on whether the line needs to be cleared first. A straight inspection through an open cleanout is the simplest case. If we have to pull a toilet or clear a blockage before the camera can go in, we say so and price it before starting. Locating and marking defects is part of the inspection.

When to call right away

After a backup has been cleared, book the camera within days, while the pipe is clean and the cause is still visible. Waiting until the next backup means clearing it again first.

The job, in four moves

1. 1
   Pull the trap or cleanout

   Bucket under it, cap or trap off, standing water bailed first.

2. 2
   Run the right cable

   Small drum for sinks and tubs, sectional machine for the stack and lateral.

3. 3
   Camera the line

   Push camera fed in after the cable to read joints, roots and belly.

4. 4
   Flush and show you

   Hot water run at full flow, footage played back, trap reset with new washers.

Common questions