Stop Guessing What Is Underground
A high-resolution waterproof camera on a flexible cable, fed directly into the drain or sewer line. It sends back a live picture of the inside of the pipe: where the blockage sits, how far down it is, what the pipe is made of, and what condition it is in.
This is the step that makes everything else on this site honest. Flat-rate pricing, "we fix the cause not the symptom", telling you a repair is unnecessary: none of that is possible if nobody looked. A quote written without a camera is an estimate of a guess.
You get the footage. Not a description of the footage.
Six different faults, all of which feel identical from the top of the drain.
Roots enter through joints and hairline cracks, then keep growing. The camera shows how far in they are and whether the pipe around them is still sound.
A crack is a spot repair. A collapse is a replacement. From the top of the drain they behave the same way, which is an expensive thing to guess at.
Buildup coating the pipe wall, narrowing it a little more each year. The camera shows where it starts, which tells us how far the jetting needs to reach.
Cast iron flaking from the inside out. Seeing how much wall is left is the difference between cleaning it and replacing it.
Offset joints catch everything that passes and are a common entry point for roots. Often the real cause behind a clog that keeps returning.
A sag where the line has lost its grade, so waste pools instead of flowing. No amount of cleaning fixes it, and only a camera reveals it.
A single minor clog usually does not need one. These four situations do.
| With A Camera | Without One | |
|---|---|---|
| The cause | Seen, located and measured | Inferred from symptoms |
| The quote | Priced against what is actually there | Priced against the worst case |
| Digging | Only where the fault is, if at all | Exploratory, until something is found |
| Repeat visits | Cause removed, so it does not return | Symptom cleared, cause still in the line |
| Verification | Re-cameraed, and you watch it | "It is draining now" |
| Your evidence | Footage you keep | A description on an invoice |
| Second opinions | Possible, you hold the recording | Starts from scratch every time |
Usually through an existing cleanout, so nothing is cut or dug. The camera goes in where the line already opens.
We run the full length, mark the depth and position of anything we find, and record the whole pass.
We go through the footage together and explain what each thing means for the pipe, including when the answer is that nothing needs doing.
"Cesar was very knowledgeable and professional. He knew what the problem was and resolved our issue very quickly! Would highly recommend Hack's Plumbing & Drain to my family and friends!!!"
"I've been working with Hack for over 20 years, he and his team are the only ones I trust. From small job to large, they always get it done right and take care of you."
Tell us what the drain is doing and we'll get a licensed technician out with a camera. You watch the footage with us, and you keep the recording.
What happens after the camera finds a break, a belly or root intrusion.
See Sewer Line RepairNeighborhood-level notes for the eight cities we publish, from coastal corrosion to hard water inland.
See Service Areas
