Inspect
Drain camera inspection
HD video of what is inside your drain and sewer lines, with faults located from the surface, so repairs start from evidence.
Repair · Drainage services How the sewer line failed decides how it gets fixed.
Your sewer line is the private pipe from your house to the city connection, and when it fails there are only three honest fixes — clear it, replace a section, or replace the run. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. We camera the line first, show you the footage, and quote the one fix it actually needs.
Signs your sewer line may be failing
A failing sewer line usually gives warning, and the warning is easy to blame on something else: a slow sink, a wet patch, a smell. Any one of these is reason to camera the line before it becomes a backup.
- Sewage backing up at the lowest drain in the house — a basement floor drain, shower or toilet.
- Several fixtures on different floors slow at the same time. One slow drain is a fixture problem. All of them is the line.
- Blockages that keep coming back to the same spot. Cleaning clears it; the defect that caught it is still there.
- A strip of lawn that's greener than the rest, along the line's run to the street. Leaking sewage is fertilizer.
- A dip or sinkhole in the yard over the line. Ground washing into a broken pipe.
- A sewage smell around a cleanout or in the yard.
Buying an older house?
The sewer line is buried, so you cannot judge it by looking. A camera run before you remove subjects gives you something concrete to negotiate with. See our pre-purchase drainage inspection.
Four ways a sewer line fails
Whether your sewer line needs a spot repair or a full replacement depends on how it has failed. A camera inspection shows us what is happening underground — and what will actually fix it.
- Roots at a joint
Roots enter through small gaps at pipe joints. They widen the opening, catch debris, and eventually obstruct the line.
On camera: Roots coming through a joint, with continuous pipe on either side.
Fix: Drain cleaning clears the roots, but it cannot seal the opening. A spot repair replaces the failed joint section and closes the entry point. - A belly that holds waste
A settled section has lost its proper grade and no longer drains completely. Water and solids remain in the low spot, causing recurring blockages.
On camera: Standing water in a sagged section between otherwise sound pipe.
Fix: The affected section must be excavated and relaid at the correct grade. A liner follows the existing sag, so it cannot fix a belly. - An offset or separated joint
Ground movement can shift one pipe length out of line with the next, or pull the joint apart. Waste catches on the step, while roots and groundwater enter through the gap.
On camera: A visible step, gap, or separation at a joint.
Fix: An isolated joint can usually be spot-repaired. If several joints have moved, replacing the affected run is often the better long-term solution. - Collapse or structural failure
Clay pipe can crack or crush under load. Asbestos-cement pipe can crack, fracture, and lose its structural integrity over time.
On camera: The pipe is broken, severely restricted, or closed, and the camera cannot pass.
Fix: Replace the failed section. If damage is widespread, replace the full run.
What your sewer line is likely made of
Your home's age is a useful clue, not a guarantee. A camera inspection identifies the pipe material and its condition.
| Era | Typical material | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1950 | Clay, some cast iron | Clay comes in short lengths with a joint every metre or so; roots and offsets happen at the joints. Cast iron rusts and scales from the inside. |
| 1950s–1960s | Asbestos cement, clay | Brittle. It cracks under load and the inside wears away over time; sections crumble rather than bend. Removal is handled as an asbestos-containing material. |
| 1970s | Mixed: clay, early ABS | Depends on the builder. The camera settles it. |
| 1980s on | ABS | Smooth-walled with glued joints, so roots have few ways in. Failures are usually a crack or a crushed section from load. Under a driveway or other heavy load the line should be CSA-rated ABS DWV, not thin-wall sewer pipe. |
Covered by our Built Better Warranty.
See details of the Built Better WarrantyOne camera run, then one of three outcomes
-
Clear it.
Roots or a blockage in pipe that is otherwise in good shape. We clear the line with an auger and run the camera again to confirm it's open. If the roots came in through a broken joint they will grow back, and the video tells you how long you have before the next step. -
Replace the bad section.
One stretch of the line has failed — a root-broken joint, a joint that's shifted, a sag, a crushed length — and the rest is sound. We dig down over that section, replace it with new pipe sloped properly toward the street, and connect it to the good pipe at each end. -
Replace the whole line.
The pipe has failed in several places. New sewer line from the house to the property line, with an access point at the surface so it can be cleaned or inspected at a later date.
We camera the full line before we quote and mark where each problem is and how deep. You keep the video and written findings whether or not we do the repair, and photos of the open trench and new pipe if we do.
Why two quotes for the same problem can differ
-
Depth.
The variable people underestimate. A lateral at 2 m is a different job from one at 1 m: shoring, more digging, more time. -
How much of the run failed.
One bad joint is a spot repair. Several, or a belly, means more of the run comes out. -
What's on top of it.
Lawn is easy. Driveway, patio, deck or a mature tree over the line is not. -
Which side of the property line.
Past it is usually the municipality's pipe, not a private repair. -
Permits and inspections.
Each municipality has its own. We arrange them where required. -
Putting the ground back.
Lawn, concrete and pavers are quoted as their own phase so you can see that cost on its own.
Scope and price in writing before work starts, including what happens if we find more than the camera showed.
Which part of the sewer line is yours
The sewer line from your house to the property line is yours. From the property line to the main is the municipality's, and only their crews or contractors work on it. Most homeowners find this out when the line fails and the city says the problem is on their side.
Every municipality we work in sets it the same way, with small differences in where the handover point sits: District of North Vancouver (Sewer Bylaw 6656), City of North Vancouver (Bylaw 6746), West Vancouver (Bylaw 5263 — the handover is at the inspection chamber if there is one), Burnaby (Sewer Connection Bylaw 1961) and Vancouver (see our Vancouver drainage page).
We confirm where your line ends before we quote.
What can and cannot go into the sewer line
Your sewer line is for sewage only. Gutter downspouts, the foundation drains around your house and the sump pump are supposed to run to the storm drain, not the sewer. On older homes they are sometimes connected to the sewer anyway — the municipality calls this a cross-connection — and they now have to be separated. A sewer line that only backs up during heavy rain is often carrying rainwater it was never meant to.
When the camera finds a downspout or foundation drain tied into the sewer, we'll show you and quote the separation. See perimeter drainage repair and sump pump installation and repair for the systems that carry rainwater where it should go.
One camera run tells you what failed, where, and how deep. You keep the video either way.
Related services
Repair
Drain cleaning and hydro jetting
Drain cleaning for sewer lines and hydro jetting for perimeter drains, with the camera showing what is blocking the line and whether cleaning will hold.
Repair
Perimeter drainage repair
Spot repair, one side or full renewal, scoped from camera footage of your drain tile and the age of the pipe around it.
Related reading
Guide ·
Why a home inspection tells you almost nothing about what's underground
A standard home inspection cannot evaluate buried perimeter drains. Here is what a drainage inspection covers before you remove subjects in Vancouver.
Questions we get asked
Where does my responsibility for the sewer line end?
Usually at the property line, or at an inspection chamber near it. Each municipality sets the exact point in its bylaws, so the answer at your address can differ from a house in another city. Past that point the pipe is the municipality's. We confirm with the municipality where the private sewer line ends at your address.
What if the defect is past the property line?
That pipe is usually the municipality's, so the repair is not a private job. In the District of North Vancouver, only District employees or its contractors work on the municipal connection unless the Director allows a private contractor case by case. The footage, with each defect marked at the surface, shows which side of the line it sits on.
Does a sewer line repair always mean trenching across the yard?
No. A single located defect can mean opening the ground at that spot only, while an open-cut replacement of the whole private run opens it along its length. A sag needs digging, because the grade has to be re-cut. We don't line sewers or install trenchless systems. It isn't accurate and it doesn't hold on this pipe.
Will home insurance cover a broken sewer line?
Policies vary, so ask your insurer before you assume. Sewer backup cover is usually an optional add-on. Most policies treat a worn-out drain as maintenance rather than a sudden event. We don't advise on coverage.
What are older sewer lines around here made of?
Homes built before 1950 usually have clay, with some cast iron. Lines from the 1950s and 1960s are often asbestos cement or clay, the 1970s are a mix of clay and early ABS, and from the 1980s on the line is usually ABS. Your home's age is a useful clue, not a guarantee, so a camera run confirms what is in your yard.
Is my sewer line the same as my perimeter drain?
No. The sewer lateral carries the house's sewage under the yard to the municipal connection. The perimeter drain sits outside the foundation wall, beside the footing, and relieves the water pressure that builds up against the wall. They do different jobs, though in some older houses the foundation drain was connected to the sewer line.
What is a sewer cleanout, and why does it matter?
A cleanout is a capped access point on the sewer lateral. A camera, a rod or a flush can reach the line through it without digging. Where a line has no cleanout, access has to be planned before a camera can go in.
Reviewed
We find the cause before we quote the fix
Tell us the address and what you're seeing — a backup, a wet wall, a smell, a sinking lawn. We'll tell you what the next step is and what it costs, before anyone digs. Not sure yet? Ask us a question first.