Trenchless methods
Sewer camera inspection in Denver: see the pipe before you pay for it
Every sewer repair decision in Denver rests on a video. This page explains what a proper inspection records, how the locator turns footage into a map of your yard, how to read the common Front Range defects on screen, and why the quote waits until the camera is out.
Serving Denver · Denver County
All Sewer and Plumbing Services, LLC
CIPP Verified installer. Camera inspection before any quote; permits and inspections handled. More about All Sewer and Plumbing Services →
The quote waits for the camera
No one can price a sewer repair in Denver from a description. The same symptom, a basement floor drain backing up during snowmelt, can mean roots in clay tile, a collapsed section of Orangeburg, scaled cast iron under the slab, or a belly where the ground settled, and each has a different fix at a different cost. A camera inspection with a locator is the only thing that distinguishes them. It is also the record that lets you compare proposals, because every contractor is then bidding on the same footage rather than on their own guess.
What a complete inspection records
A self-leveling camera head on a push rod travels from the access point to the connection at the main while the technician narrates and the recorder captures the running footage counter. Along the way the technician notes the pipe material and each change of material, the diameter, every branch connection, every joint that shows a gap or an offset, root intrusion and its density, cracks and fractures, scale, grease, standing water and its extent, and the condition of the tap at the main. At each significant defect the technician stops, and a second person on the surface uses a receiver to locate the camera head and read its depth. The result is a video plus a sheet listing defects by footage and depth and a sketch of where they fall on the Denver lot.
Reading the Front Range defects on screen
Roots appear as fine hair or thick stalactites hanging from the top of a joint, and in the pre-1960 blocks of Denver they appear at joint after joint. An offset shows as a step in the floor of the pipe or a crescent of soil visible where one tile has dropped below its neighbor, the signature of bentonite clay heaving and settling. Cast iron shows a rough, cratered bottom and sometimes a channel worn clean through. Orangeburg shows an egg-shaped bore and a blistered, delaminating wall. A belly is the submerged stretch between two footage marks. Learning these five pictures lets a Denver County owner follow the narration and understand the proposal that comes from it.
Inspections during a home sale
Sewer scopes are a normal part of buying a house in Denver, and most laterals in older neighborhoods get their first camera run under contract. Buyers should insist on the full video and a locate, because a two-line report cannot be priced. Sellers who receive a buyer's scope with findings should get their own inspection before negotiating; the difference between one offset and six root joints is the difference between a sleeve and a full liner, and the footage settles it. A pre-listing inspection is the simplest way for a seller to avoid the question entirely.
Inspections after a repair
A post-repair video is part of any lining, bursting or sectional job, and it should be made with the same counter so defects can be matched footage for footage. The lined wall should be smooth, branches open and the end at the main clean. After excavation, the video should show the new pipe and its connections. Keep both recordings with the permit record and warranty; the next buyer's inspector will compare them. The reference material on what to expect in a post-lining video is at the independent cured-in-place pipe reference.
Scheduling an inspection in Denver
An inspection takes about an hour for a residential lateral and longer if a cleaning is needed first. Access is simplest through an exterior cleanout; where a house has none, the crew works from a basement fixture or a roof vent and may recommend adding a cleanout during any later repair. You are welcome to watch the monitor as the camera travels, ask what each shape on the screen is, and you receive the file and the written findings before any method or price is discussed. All Sewer and Plumbing Services, LLC's sewer inspection page covering Denver describes how All Sewer and Plumbing Services, LLC conducts inspections in Denver, and its verified installer listing is at All Sewer and Plumbing Services, LLC's page on the CIPP installer verification site. To put a camera in your line, call (720) 606-6223. Estimates are free. Call now.
Estimates are free. Call now: (720) 606-6223.
Other trenchless services in Denver
Trenchless Sewer Repair Denver
Repair or replace a failed sewer line with little or no excavation.
Sewer Pipe Lining (CIPP) Denver
A resin-saturated liner cured in place forms a new, jointless pipe inside the old one.
Pipe Bursting Denver
A bursting head splits the old pipe while pulling new HDPE pipe in behind it, through two small pits.
Sectional Point Repair Denver
A short liner fixes one bad spot and leaves the rest of a sound line alone.
Hydro Jetting Denver
High-pressure water strips roots, grease and scale so the pipe can be inspected and lined.
Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Denver
When a line cannot be lined: spot excavation or trenchless replacement, chosen from the footage.
Questions we hear about sewer camera inspection
How does the camera get into the line?+
Through a cleanout if the house has one, or by pulling a basement toilet or using a roof vent if it does not. Many pre-1960 Denver houses have no exterior cleanout, and adding one during a repair is worth doing; it makes every future inspection and cleaning simpler and cheaper.
What is the locator for?+
The camera head carries a transmitter. A technician on the surface with a receiver finds its signal, marks the spot on the lawn or driveway, and reads the depth. Done at each defect and at the main, this turns the video into a map, which is what any repair quote in Denver County should be built on.
Should the line be cleaned before the inspection?+
If the camera can pass and the walls are visible, inspect first so you see the pipe in its real condition, roots and all. If the line is blocked or coated with grease, a jetting comes first. The crew should tell you which order they are using and why, and record the inspection after cleaning in either case.
How do I spot a belly on the video?+
The camera enters standing water and the image goes murky or submerged, then clears when it climbs out. Note the footage where it goes under and where it surfaces; that is the length of the sag. A belly caused by heaving Denver clay cannot be fixed by lining or sleeving, so this finding changes the repair plan more than any other.
Do I own the video?+
Yes, and you should receive the file itself, not a link that expires or a one-page summary. Ask for footage with the counter visible and a written sheet listing each defect by footage and depth. Those two items let you get a second opinion without paying for a second inspection. Estimates are free; call now.