CCTV drain inspection
CCTV drain inspection. You see the footage, not just a verdict
Camera down the line, the recording sent to you, and a written report. Not a plumber telling you what he reckons.
- $0 call out fee & free quotes
- 24 hours, 7 days, public holidays
- Price agreed before we start
- 5.0 stars from over 50 Google reviews
- Licensed plumber, drainer & gasfitter
- Angelo answers the phone himself
Get a plumber out today
Fill this in and Angelo will call you right back.
What we get called for
What we fix, and how?
When it is worth it
Why anyone puts a camera down a drain
A camera does not clear anything. What it does is end the guessing, which is why it is the difference between a repair and a repeat.
Worth doing
Signs your line should be looked at
Any one of these is a reason. Two of them together and you are almost certainly paying to clear the same fault repeatedly.
- The drain has blocked more than once in two years
- A plumber has pulled roots out of it before
- The house is pre-1980 and still has its original clay line
- There are mature trees between the house and the street
- You are about to buy the property
- You are about to pave, concrete or build over the line
- There is a smell that comes and goes with no visible cause
- A section of the backyard stays soft or sinks slightly
How we do it
What actually happens on the day
The whole job is visible on a screen while it happens. You are welcome to stand there and watch it, and most people do.
What to expect
How the job runs
- 1 Priced before we startNo call out fee and no charge to quote. The inspection is free after any drain we clear.
- 2 Usually under an hourMost domestic lines are inspected end to end inside an hour.
- 3 You watch the screenNot a summary afterwards. You see the pipe as the camera moves through it.
- 4 Footage and report to youBoth handed over the same day, yours to keep and to forward to anyone you like.
What it costs
How a camera inspection gets priced
It is priced on access and length, and it is free in the one case where most companies charge for it.
Our pricing promise
- Free after any drain we clear, not an upsell
- No call out fee to come out and look at the job
- The footage is yours to keep
- Any repair quoted separately, with no obligation
Be straight about it
When a camera is worth it, and when it is not
Plenty of companies sell a camera inspection on every job. It is not always worth your money, and here is where we would and would not bother.
Worth doing
- The drain has blocked before
- You are buying the property
- You are about to build or pave over the line
- Roots have been cleared out of it previously
- Somebody has quoted you for relining or excavation
- You need to prove the cause to a tenant, landlord, strata or insurer
Probably not worth it
- A single slow basin or shower with nothing else affected
- A first-time blockage in a modern PVC line with no trees nearby
- A toilet blocked by something you know went down it
- A new build still under builder’s warranty
- You have had one done in the last two years and nothing has changed
Before you buy
The inspection nobody does on a house purchase
A building inspection looks at what can be seen. A pest inspection looks for what eats timber. Neither of them goes down the sewer line, and that line is the single most expensive thing on a residential property that nobody checks before buying.
In the Inner West this matters more than most places. A great many houses still have their original clay drainage, short sections with a joint every metre, laid under what are now mature trees and, in a lot of cases, under a driveway poured forty years later.
The failure mode is predictable. It blocks within the first year or two of new ownership, gets cleared, blocks again, and eventually somebody puts a camera down and finds a line that needs relining from the house to the boundary. That is a substantial bill, and it is a bill you could have known about before you exchanged.
An hour with a camera before you buy either gives you nothing to worry about or gives you a number to take into the negotiation. We will do it for you on a property you do not own yet, and the report is written to be handed to a conveyancer.
While we are there
Other things we get called for
What Sydney says
Every review below is on our Google Business Profile. None of them are edited.
Can't recommend Angelo at Cesco Plumbing highly enough. We'd been dealing with a leaking basin tap for ages, and other plumbers had quoted us thousands to fix it. Angelo came in and provided a super cost-effective repair that solved the problem properly. He also organised a leak detection service to help us pinpoint the source of another tricky leak we couldn't track down. His service, expertise, and pricing are hard to beat. Absolutely would recommend to anyone looking for an honest, skilled plumber.
We hired Cesco plumbing recently to do some repair works at our warehouse. Apart from doing a great job, the three things that really impressed me were: 1) they arrived on time 2) they cleaned up after themselves 3) they quoted honestly saving my business thousands compared to our other quotes. Thanks Cesco. Highly recommended!!
Absolutely fantastic service! Angelo and his Apprentice were prompt, professional, and completed the gas compliance thoroughly and quickly for my new home. I highly recommend Cesco for any plumbing or gas needs!
Questions
Before you call
Do I actually get the footage?
Yes. The recording is yours, along with a written report. You do not have to take our word for anything.
How much is a CCTV inspection?
Priced on access and the length of the run, and quoted before we start. It is included free after any drain we clear.
Can you do it before I buy a house?
Yes, and it is the best money you will spend on the inspection. A collapsed sewer line is not in a building report.
How long does it take?
Most domestic lines are done inside an hour.
Can you tell me where my pipes run?
Yes. The camera head carries a locator, so we can mark the line and its depth on the surface.
Can you see a crack on camera, or only a blockage?
Both. Cracks, open joints, root intrusion, sags holding water and collapsed sections are all visible, and they all look different to a simple blockage.
Does the drain have to be cleared first?
Yes. A camera cannot see through a blockage. If the line is choked it is jetted first, then inspected, and the clear is a separate price.
What format do I get the footage in?
A video file you can keep, forward, or hand to a conveyancer, a strata committee or an insurer. It is yours, not a viewing in our van.
Can you inspect a property I do not own yet?
Yes, with the owner or the agent arranging access. It is one of the better uses of a camera and the report is written for a conveyancer.
Is it worth it on a new build?
Usually not while it is still under builder’s warranty, unless something is already going wrong. We will say so rather than take the booking.
Will a camera find a leak?
It finds faults in a drain. A pressurised water leak is a different job and needs acoustic gear, which is leak detection rather than a camera.
How deep can you locate a pipe?
The locator in the camera head reads position and depth on typical domestic runs, and we mark both on the surface so nobody has to guess before digging.
Where we work
All of Sydney, based in the Inner West
Every corner of the city, from the beaches to the west. Ring and we will tell you straight away how long we will be.
- Inner West
- Sydney CBD & Inner City
- Eastern Suburbs
- North Shore
- Northern Beaches
- Northern Suburbs & Hills
- Western Sydney
- St George & Sutherland
- South West Sydney
Suburb by suburb
Contact us
Want to speak to Angelo?
He answers his own phone, day or night. No call centre, no message bank, no waiting until Monday. If it can hold until the morning, send the form instead and he will ring you back.
0434 410 612- Hours 24 hours, 7 days, public holidays included
- Email [email protected]
- Areas All of Sydney, based Inner West
Send an enquiry
For anything urgent, call. The form is for jobs that can wait until the morning.