CCTV Drain Inspection Shortland
CCTV drain inspection in Shortland puts a small camera inside your pipe, so you see the fault on a monitor instead of hearing a guess. It suits repeat blockages, wet-weather sewer spills and any repair that might start with a shovel. You keep the recording.
Camera work is one part of the blocked drains service, and our plumber in Shortland page lists the rest of what we do.
Licensed plumbers and gas fitters · NSW Lic. 359278C
Last updated October 2026
When Does a Drain Need the Camera?
Bring the camera in when:
- A drain has choked again not long after a clear, which hints at a broken pipe rather than a stray clog.
- The sewer spills during heavy rain, and the cause might be roots, a fallen section or groundwater pushing in at old joints.
- Every fixture in the house is slow, so the problem is somewhere along the main run.
- Someone has suggested digging, and you want the exact spot first, since a wrong trench in waterlogged ground wastes a day.
How We Run a Camera Inspection
- 1
Use an existing opening
The camera goes in at an inspection point, a gully or a vent, so nothing has to be broken to start.
- 2
Push and film
A flexible rod carries the head along the pipe while it records, and a counter logs the distance travelled.
- 3
Note each defect
Open joints, roots, silt and sagging or broken lengths are marked with how far along and how deep they sit.
- 4
Go over it together
You see the same pictures as the plumber, and the options for fixing it come from those pictures.
If the pipe is worth keeping, pipe relining repairs it from inside. If roots are the only trouble, tree root removal explains the cutting and clearing.
What Sets the Price of a Camera Inspection?
How many pipes need filming comes first, because a sewer plus a stormwater run is two inspections, not one.
- Length and depth matter too, as a long run under a low-set house takes more rod and more time.
- A full blockage has to be jetted open before anything can be seen, and that pass is part of the price.
We provide up-front, honest quotes that will always match the final price, should you decide to go ahead.
Clay Joints and a High Water Table
A trench here fills with water
Old joints, mature trees
In the Customer's Words
Our blocked toilet morphed into a huge plumbing earthworks project due to extreme pipe damage from tree roots.
When the Camera Is Not the Answer
When we're not the right call: if a drain clears with one jetting pass and stays clear, a separate inspection is money you do not need to spend. A fault in Hunter Water's shared main sits outside your property, so filming ends at your connection and you report their section to them.
Questions About Camera Checks
How long does a CCTV drain inspection in Shortland take?
One line from an easy opening is a short visit; a block with separate sewer and stormwater runs, or a long pipe under the house, takes longer. You watch the screen as it happens, and the plumber talks you through each joint.
Can the camera get through old earthenware drains in postwar homes?
Yes. The camera head is narrow enough for the earthenware lines laid under the Housing Commission houses, and their joints are what it is there to inspect. If a length has caved in, the picture stops at that point and the distance is noted.
Do I receive a copy of the footage?
Yes. The file is yours, so a landlord, agent or buyer can see the same pictures you did. It also records how the pipe looked on the day, which helps if the drain gives trouble later.
Is a camera run needed before every drain clear?
No. A one-off kitchen sink clog gets cleared, then filmed to confirm. The camera matters most on drains that choke again, sewers that spill in heavy rain, and any pipe where the repair depends on seeing inside first.
Arrange the Camera Pass
Call (02) 4063 1093 or send the form below. Available 24/7, you see a fixed figure ahead of any work, and every job carries our 365-day warranty on all work.
Request a callback
Leave a name and number and a plumber will ring you back.