Sewer camera inspection in Houston

What the camera shows

A sewer camera inspection in Houston is a 1-inch waterproof camera on a stiff push cable, fed through the cleanout or a pulled toilet, with a screen the operator watches and a recording you should keep. Over 60 to 100 feet of lateral it shows:

• Root intrusion — fine hair roots at a joint, or a mass that fills the pipe
• Offset joints — the step where one pipe section has dropped or shifted against the next
• Bellies — standing water where the pipe has sagged; the camera goes underwater and comes back out
• Channel rot in cast iron — a rough, flat pipe floor, then holes
• Cracks and breaks — longitudinal cracks in PVC, shattered hubs in cast iron
• Grease, scale and debris — a line that needs jetting, not surgery
• Collapse — the point the camera cannot pass

The camera head carries a transmitter. Once the problem is found, a locator on the surface pinpoints it and reads its depth, and the spot gets marked with paint. That mark is what turns a vague "somewhere in the yard" into a 4-by-6-foot dig instead of a trench.

What it costs

Typical market ranges, not a quote. See the pricing page for what comes after the camera.

Hydrostatic testing for Houston slab homes

This is the test that matters most in a slab market like Houston. A hydrostatic test plugs the sewer line at the cleanout, fills the drain system up to slab level, and watches the water level for 15–20 minutes. If it drops, the drains under the slab are leaking into the clay. Foundation companies ask for it after leveling a house, because leveling moves the slab and cast iron joints that were barely holding let go. Buyers ask for it on any 1950s–70s home in Meyerland, Bellaire, Oak Forest or Sharpstown. Some foundation warranties require a passed test to stay valid.

If the test fails, the next step is isolation — testing one section at a time by plugging branch lines — until it is clear which run under the slab is leaking, then a camera down that run. That is the difference between "there is a leak under the house" and "the leak is at the hub under the hall bath." The first sentence tends to get a $20,000 quote; the second gets a $6,000 tunnel. The under-slab page covers what happens next.

Commercial sewer camera inspection in Houston

Restaurants, strip centers, small offices and older apartment buildings have longer, larger and busier lines than a house, and a grease-heavy kitchen branch that can clog the whole building. A commercial sewer camera inspection in Houston should come with more than a video: expect a written report that lists each line run by distance, pipe size and material, the grease or scale level, every defect with its location and depth, and where the private line meets the city tap. Ask whether the inspection can be done after hours so the business can stay open, and whether the report is in a format your landlord, insurer or buyer can read. The licensing rules are the same as for a house.

Drain and sewer inspection in Houston before you buy a house

Houston has no point-of-sale sewer inspection requirement. Texas asks the seller to disclose known defects, and a seller who has been snaking the line every spring may honestly not know why. A general home inspector runs water and watches drains; they usually do not put a camera down the lateral. On any home built before 1980, or any home with a big tree between the house and the street, a Houston drain and sewer inspection during the option period is one of the cheapest checks you can buy on the purchase. Sewer inspection before buying a house in Houston goes through how to use the report in negotiation.

When jetting is the answer

A lot of inspections end with the camera showing a sound pipe and a lot of grease, scale or roots. That is a hydro jetting job — 3,000–4,000 psi water scouring the pipe back to the wall — for $350–$900, and no digging. Main-line clogs: signs and clearing options covers the visit that usually comes before the camera. Jet, camera again, and if the pipe is clean and intact, you are done for years. Sewer cleaning in Houston covers how often it is worth repeating, and hydro jetting vs. snaking explains the two drain cleaning methods. Anyone who quotes a replacement from a camera pass through a dirty pipe is quoting what they cannot see.

What you should get

The recording, a one-page report with the footage marked by distance from the cleanout, the location and depth of anything found, and a written price for the fix if one is needed. A contractor who runs a camera and will not give you the video is asking you to trust a description of something you paid to see. What a camera inspection shows and what it costs walks through the common findings and how to read the report.

How to read the footage yourself

You do not need training to get a lot out of the recording. A few things to watch for as it plays:

• The counter. Most cameras show the distance from the cleanout on screen. Write down the footage at anything that looks wrong. That number is how a break gets found from the yard.
• Water level. A little water along the bottom is normal. Water that rises until the lens goes under is a belly. Note where it starts and where it ends.
• The joints. On PVC or clay you will see a ring every few feet. A clean ring is fine. A step, a gap or hair-like roots at a ring is the problem.
• The pipe floor. On cast iron, a smooth round floor is good. A rough, flat or flaky floor is rust eating through from the inside.
• Where it stops. If the camera cannot get past a point, ask why: a clog, a collapse, or a turn too tight for the head.

If the operator says "it is bad all the way," ask to see three examples on the footage, with the distance for each.

Before the camera goes in

A few things make the visit faster and more useful. Know where your cleanout is, if you have one; it is usually a capped pipe near the foundation, often by a hose bib or in a flower bed. Do not run the washer or the dishwasher for an hour before the visit, so the line is not full. Tell the operator what you have noticed and where: which drain backs up, how often, and after what. If a foundation crew has leveled the house, say when. And ask, before the camera goes in, whether you will get the recording to keep. The answer should be yes.