Sewer camera inspections from Stinson Plumbing, fast answers without the guesswork.
See What Is Inside Your Pipes Before Digging Up the Yard
A drain that keeps backing up is telling you something. Snaking it buys time, but the real problem could be a cracked pipe, root intrusion or a collapsed section sitting four feet underground. Digging blindly to find it is expensive and tears up the yard for nothing, often in the wrong spot.
Our hydro jetting team pairs every major drain job with a camera inspection so we know exactly what we are dealing with. The camera shows the problem on a live screen. You see it, we explain it, then we fix it the right way instead of guessing at it.
The whole point is to stop paying to clear the same clog over and over. A snake or a jet opens the line today, but if a broken joint or a sagging section keeps catching debris, the clog comes back. A camera turns a guessing game into a plain look at the actual pipe, so the repair targets the real cause and the problem stays fixed.
How a video pipe inspection works
We feed a waterproof camera head through your cleanout or an open drain. It travels the full length of your drain or sewer lateral while sending real-time video to a monitor above ground, so nothing is left to assumption.
Access. We enter through an exterior cleanout, a roof vent or an interior drain, whichever gets us to the problem fastest.
Live feed. You watch the camera feed alongside us. We point out scale buildup, root masses, cracks and offsets as we pass them.
Location marking. The camera head carries a radio transmitter. We mark the exact spot on the ground above the issue, so any excavation is surgical instead of a trench across your lawn.
Report. You get a written summary and a recorded video file you can share with your insurance carrier or a real estate agent if you ever need it.
When you need a camera inspection
- Recurring slow drains or backups in the same line
- A sewage smell inside the house or near the foundation
- Buying or selling a home, where a camera inspection is cheaper than a surprise after closing
- Older homes with cast iron or clay sewer laterals, common in Mayfield and Marshall County
- Before and after sewer line repair to verify the fix
- Tree roots near the sewer path, where oaks and willows are the worst offenders in western Kentucky
What the camera finds
Most of the time the camera reveals one of these issues, and each one calls for a different fix.
Root intrusion. Tree roots enter through pipe joints. Small roots become dense mats that trap debris and cause repeated clogs.
Cracks and fractures. Shifting soil, frost heave or age cracks clay and cast iron pipes. Water escapes and the surrounding soil washes in.
Bellied pipe. A section sags and creates a low spot where waste collects. Gravity stops working there, and snaking will not fix it, because the pipe needs re-grading or replacement.
Offset joints. Pipes shift at the connection point. Debris catches on the lip and builds up over months until the line clogs.
Scale and corrosion. Hard water deposits and iron buildup narrow the inside diameter. Whole-home filtration can slow this down on the supply side.
Why the camera changes the repair
Knowing the exact problem and its exact location is what keeps a sewer repair from becoming a guessing game. A root intrusion at one joint can be cleared and the joint sealed, while a bellied or collapsed section needs that stretch dug up and replaced. Without the camera, those two very different problems look the same from the cleanout. With it, we dig once, in the right spot, instead of trenching the yard hoping to find the trouble. That is the difference between a targeted repair and tearing up a lawn.
Home buying and selling inspections
A sewer line is one of the most expensive things in a house to repair, and it is invisible from a standard home inspection. Before you buy, a camera run down the lateral tells you whether you are inheriting a sound line or a repair bill waiting to land. Before you sell, it heads off a deal falling apart at the last minute over a problem nobody knew about. The recorded file and written report give you something solid to hand a buyer, a seller or an inspector rather than a verbal opinion.
Camera plus hydro jetting
The camera and the jetter work as a pair. We inspect the line first to see what is in it, clear it with hydro jetting when grease or roots have coated the pipe wall, then run the camera again to confirm the line is actually clean and the pipe underneath is sound. A snake punches a hole through a blockage, but the jetter scours the wall, and the before-and-after camera proves the job is done rather than just opened up.
Older homes and tree roots
Western Kentucky has a lot of older housing stock, and the sewer laterals under those homes are often clay or cast iron that has been in the ground for fifty years or more. Clay joints are exactly where tree roots find their way in, and the big shade trees that make an old neighborhood pleasant are the same oaks and willows whose roots pack a sewer line solid. If your home is older or sits under mature trees, a camera run shows whether the lateral is holding up or quietly filling with roots, long before it backs up into the house at the worst possible time.
What happens after the inspection
The camera is the diagnosis, not the whole job. Once we see what is in the line, we walk you through what we found on the screen and lay out the options in plain terms. Sometimes the fix is a cleaning and nothing more. Sometimes it is sealing a joint, re-grading a bellied section or replacing a collapsed run, which falls under our sewer line repair work. Either way you make the call with the actual footage in front of you, not a sales pitch, and the recording stays yours if you want a second opinion before deciding.
Video inspection versus guesswork
A snake clears the clog you have today. A camera inspection tells you why you keep getting clogs. One saves you money this week. The other saves you money for years to come.
We have pulled cameras through lines in Benton, Paducah, Mayfield, Owensboro and across Marshall County that showed problems no amount of snaking would ever fix. Bellied pipes, collapsed sections and root-packed laterals need targeted repair, and the camera is how we price that repair accurately instead of guessing high to cover the unknown. A clear picture of the line means a clear price for the work, with no padding for the parts nobody could see. Sewer lines over old mine ground around Madisonville are a regular camera job.
Our work
Our crew at work
Good to know
Common Questions About Sewer Camera Inspections
How much does a video pipe inspection cost?
We give you a flat price before we start. The cost depends on the access point and the line length. Most residential inspections in our service area run far less than blind excavation.
Can you inspect a line through a toilet?
We can, but an exterior cleanout gives us a straighter path and better image quality. If your home does not have a cleanout, we can install one.
Do you keep the video recording?
Yes. Every inspection is recorded and we provide the file. It is yours to share with insurers, realtors or a second-opinion contractor.
How long does an inspection take?
Most residential inspections take 30 to 60 minutes. Longer commercial runs or multi-building sites take more time. We will give you a time estimate when you book.
Should I get a sewer inspection before buying a house?
It is one of the smartest checks you can make. The sewer line is invisible to a standard home inspection and expensive to repair, so a camera run tells you what you are buying before you close, not after.
Need a plumber you can count on?
Ready to see what is going on? Call (270) 356-1204 or schedule a camera inspection online. We bring the camera and the monitor, and you get a clear answer and a recording you can keep for your records or a second opinion.
Benton, Paducah, Mayfield, Owensboro & Western Kentucky