CCTV · sonde located · footage supplied
Look first.
Then decide.
A camera survey is the difference between a diagnosis and a guess. We run the line from the cleanout to the main, record the whole pass, locate defects on the surface with a sonde, and hand you the footage, whether or not you hire us for the repair.
- Every defect located and marked above ground, with depth recorded
- Full video recording supplied to you, the owner, or the managing agent
- Written summary in language a homeowner, board, or engineer can act on
- The standard first step before any sewer purchase decision or repair approval
Fit
When this is the right call,
and when it isn’t.
Selling you the wrong method is how a job comes back. Here is where this one genuinely wins, and where we will tell you to spend the money differently.
Before you buy a house
A standard home inspection does not include the sewer lateral. A failed line found afterwards is a five-figure surprise the seller no longer owns.
Before approving any sewer quote
If a contractor recommends a method without showing you footage, you are being asked to buy blind.
Recurring backups with no obvious cause
Repeated clearing without a camera survey means nobody has found the actual defect yet.
Board, HOA, and managing agent due diligence
Documented condition of shared lines, with footage that supports a capital planning decision.
Method
How the work
actually runs.
No surprises on the day. This is the sequence, start to finish.
Access the line
Through an existing cleanout wherever possible, with no disruption to the property.
Record the full run
Continuous footage from access point to the main, with distances marked as we go.
Locate and mark
A sonde in the camera head lets us mark each defect on the surface and record its depth.
Report
You receive the video and a plain-language written summary of what was found and what it means.
Why trenchless wins here
The restoration is
the real cost.
Same property, same failed line, two methods. Drag to compare what each one leaves behind.
- Excavation
- 58 linear ft
- Driveway
- Removed + repoured
- Mature trees
- 3 lost
- On site
- 4–7 days
- Excavation
- 2 access pits
- Driveway
- Untouched
- Mature trees
- All retained
- On site
- 1 day
Questions
Sewer Camera Inspection:
what people ask.
Do I get the video, or just a verbal summary?
You get the footage. It is your property and your evidence. You should be able to show it to a second contractor, your insurer, or a buyer.
Is an inspection worth it before buying a home?
On any property with mature trees or built before roughly 1980, yes. A lateral inspection costs a fraction of what a replacement costs, and it is negotiating leverage while you still have it.
Can you inspect if there is no cleanout?
Often we can access through a pulled toilet or an existing vent. If there is genuinely no access, installing a cleanout is worth doing anyway. It makes every future service call cheaper.
Related
Often part of the same job
CIPP · 3–8 in. laterals · one-day cure
Trenchless Pipe Lining
Cured-in-place pipe lining rebuilds a failing sewer line from the inside.
Spot repair · full replacement · re-grade
Sewer Line Repair & Replacement
When a line has failed structurally, the question is not whether to fix it but which method actually solves it.
HDPE · upsizing available · 2 access pits
Pipe Bursting
Pipe bursting pulls a bursting head through the old pipe, fracturing it outward into the surrounding soil while drawing new seamless HDPE in behind it.
Next step
Start with footage.
Then decide what it needs.
Every Freitas job begins with a camera survey, because a five-figure repair decision should be made from evidence rather than from a guess at the cleanout. Tell us what the property is doing and we will take it from there.
- Camera survey before any recommendation, every time
- Written scope with each viable method priced side by side
- Your own copy of the footage, whoever you hire
- One licensed in-house crew, never subcontracted