CCTV Drain Camera Inspections
See inside your pipes before anyone digs: camera inspections that pinpoint breaks, cracks, roots and backfall, with locating gear that tells us exactly where and how deep.
What is a CCTV drain inspection?
A CCTV drain inspection sends a waterproof camera through your sewer or stormwater pipes to show exactly what's happening underground: breaks, cracks, tree roots, obstructions or backfall. Paired with locating equipment, it pinpoints the problem's exact position and depth from the surface, so you get accurate diagnosis and pricing instead of exploratory digging.
See The Problem
See the problem before you pay to fix it
The majority of drain problems live underground, where nobody can see them. Without the right equipment, diagnosing them is guesswork, and old-school guesswork gets expensive when the digging starts in the wrong place.
Ready Plumbing runs the latest CCTV camera technology through your sewer and stormwater lines to pinpoint breaks, cracks, obstructions and backfall exactly. Our special locating equipment then reads the camera’s position from above ground, telling us precisely how deep the pipe is and where the break sits relative to the surface. That’s how we give our customers exact pricing and correct information: an accurate description of the problem at hand, not a ballpark and a shrug.
What We Find
What a camera inspection finds
- Tree root intrusion: And critically, the joint or crack where the roots are getting in.
- Broken, cracked or collapsed sections: We see the extent of the damage before anyone digs.
- Backfall: Sections where the pipe slopes the wrong way and waste pools instead of flowing.
- Obstructions: Built-up grease, foreign objects, and failed old repairs.
- Illegal or degraded connections: Between sewer and stormwater systems.
Many companies still work with out-of-date methods that simply don’t serve the customer. We invest in staying at the top of the industry because the diagnosis is the foundation of every drain repair that follows, whether that’s water jetting to clear the line, a targeted dig, or permanent no-dig pipe relining.
Renovations & Excavation
Pipe mapping for renovations and excavation
Planning a pool, extension or major landscaping? With the camera and locator we can map your sewer and stormwater systems and mark exactly where your pipes run around the property, before a machine bucket finds them the hard way. It’s a small job that prevents a very expensive one.
When To Book
When to book a camera inspection
Recurring blockages
The blockage is the symptom, the camera finds the cause.
Pre-purchase
A house's sewer is one of its most expensive hidden systems. Twenty minutes of camera work can save a buyer tens of thousands.
After clearing roots
Roots always come back through the same entry point unless it's sealed.
Before any underground quote
If someone's quoting to dig up your yard without camera footage, get the footage first.
Book through our blocked drains team, available 24/7 for emergencies, with convenient 2–4 hour windows for planned work.
Last reviewed: 8 July 2026 by the Ready Plumbing team.
FAQ
CCTV Drain Camera Inspections: your questions answered
Plumbing problems can be extremely frustrating. Our licensed Sydney plumbers are here to provide fast, reliable answers and solutions.
Why do I need a camera inspection instead of just clearing the drain?
Because most drain problems are underground, it's impossible to know what's actually happening in the pipework without seeing it. Clearing a blockage without knowing the cause means the roots or break that caused it are still there, and the blockage comes back. The camera turns a guess into a diagnosis.
Can you tell exactly where the problem is?
Yes. Our locating equipment reads the camera head's position from the surface and tells us exactly where the break is and how deep the pipe runs. That's how we quote repairs accurately: you know precisely what's wrong, where, and what it costs to fix before anything is dug.
When should I get a drain camera inspection?
After any recurring blockage, before buying a property (older sewers hide expensive surprises), after clearing roots (to find their entry point), when planning renovations or landscaping over pipe runs, and whenever a quote for underground work arrives without camera evidence behind it.
Can you map where my pipes run?
Yes, with the camera and locator together we can map out your sewer and stormwater systems and mark exactly where your pipes run around the property. Invaluable before excavation, extensions, pools or major landscaping.
Do I get to see the footage?
Absolutely, we show you what we found and talk you through it. If repairs are needed, you're deciding based on what you've seen, not on our say-so.
Guides & Real Jobs
Helpful reading from our plumbers
Guide
Blocked Drain: Can You Fix It Yourself, or Do You Need a Plumber?
Most blocked drains start small: a sink that's draining slower than it used to. A few household items can genuinely clear that. But if sewage is coming up rather than water going down, that's a different problem entirely, and it won't wait until morning.
Case Study · Balgowlah
Blocked Kitchen Drain in Balgowlah: Years of Grease Finally Caught Up
An emergency call to a blocked kitchen drain in Balgowlah traced back to years of grease and oil hardening in the gully, cleared the same visit with high-pressure water jetting.
Case Study · Seaforth
Blocked Sewer Pipe in Seaforth: Cleared With Jetting, Confirmed Clear on Camera
A Sunday afternoon call-out to a blocked sewer pipe in Seaforth: gully overflow traced to root intrusion in an 80-year-old pipe, cleared with high-pressure water jetting and confirmed clear on CCTV camera.
Case Study · Seaforth
Broken Sewer Pipe in Seaforth: Blockage Backs Up and Floods the Bathroom
A Friday afternoon emergency in Seaforth: a sewer pipe cracked by ground movement had been catching baby wipes for months until it blocked solid and sewage backed up into the lower bathroom. Cleared in three hours, then rerouted around the break.
Case Study · Wheeler Heights
Garage Flooding in Wheeler Heights: Fixing 30 Years of Water Seepage Behind the Slab
A Wheeler Heights garage had water seeping in behind it for 30 years because the ag-line and blue metal drainage was never wrapped in geotextile fabric and the brick and slab were never waterproofed. Here's how we fixed it without adding more pipe.
Case Study · Allambie Heights
Sloping Block Drainage in Allambie Heights: Stopping Stormwater Pooling Against the House
A retaining wall in Allambie Heights was holding back a sloping block, but runoff from the hill and the house above kept finding its way through the backyard and pooling against the house below. Here's how we caught it and redirected it away for good.
Case Study · Mona Vale
Water Under the House in Mona Vale: Old Terracotta Pipes and No Subsoil Drainage
A Mona Vale home had water leaking through the brickwork and running under the house. The cause was old terracotta stormwater pipe, cracked and full of tree roots. New PVC piping and a subsoil drainage system stopped it for good.
Get In Touch
Contact Your Local Plumber in Sydney
Ready Plumbing is a Sydney-based and fully-licensed plumbing business with more than 20 years of experience, offering a range of residential and commercial plumbing solutions and emergency plumbing 24/7. Get in touch and we'll respond promptly.
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