Commercial Sewer Camera Inspection in Phoenix

The camera covers the private drain system that belongs to the building: the building drain inside, the building sewer outside, and the connection where it meets the city's pipe. That is the part you own and pay to fix. In Phoenix the owner is responsible for the sewer line that runs through the property and connects to the City's main, which is why a commercial owner or tenant orders this inspection, not the city.

EPA describes closed-circuit television inspection as the most commonly used way to see inside a sewer, with the footage traveled recorded so every irregularity has a location. Cameras are used in lines from 4 inches up to 48 inches. Most small commercial buildings are 4 or 6 inch. Larger sites can have 8 inch and bigger sewers, and those are built with manholes instead of cleanouts.

Access decides how good the inspection is. The plumbing code sets cleanouts at no more than 100 feet apart on sewers under 8 inches, with one at the junction of the building drain and the building sewer. They cannot be buried or hidden in walls. A standard cleanout also only lets you work in the direction the water flows. So a cleanout at the back of a restaurant lets the camera travel toward the street, but it will not show you the branch that comes in behind it.

Older commercial buildings often miss some of this. When there is no usable cleanout, we look for other ways in: a floor drain or floor sink with the strainer removed, a roof vent, or a fixture that can be pulled. Each one takes longer and shows less. A cleanout installed first makes this inspection, and every cleaning after it, faster. See what a sewer cleanout is and inspecting a line without a cleanout.

A video alone is not an inspection. The professional standard, NASSCO's PACP, expects the footage counted on screen, every defect called out on audio and in a written log, and a header that states pipe material, size, length surveyed, direction and whether the line was cleaned before the camera went in. If grease or scale hides the pipe wall, the inspector is supposed to say so and clean first, or note that the picture is limited.

Here is what to ask for before you pay:

• The full video file, not a clip, and a copy you keep.
• A log with a distance for every defect, so a repair crew can find it.
• Pipe material and size by section, such as cast iron to 40 feet and PVC after that.
• A severity note for each finding, not just a list.
• The point where the camera stopped and the reason: an obstruction, a collapse, a bend or a size change.

Our inspections come with the video, a written report and, when it matters, the location and depth of a problem marked on the surface. More on what a good commercial report contains.

Fixture load changes what the camera finds. A restaurant line carries grease and starch, so expect ledges and buildup at joints. An older multifamily building can have a single shared lateral serving dozens of units, which makes one bellied section a whole-building problem. A strip center may have several tenants feeding one sewer, and the camera can tell you which branch is the weak one. If you run a food business, our restaurant sewer camera inspection page covers grease-damaged lines in more detail, and for apartment portfolios see apartment community camera inspection.

Do not order one in the middle of an active stoppage. A blocked line has to be cleared first, usually with a cable, and the camera goes in after so it can see. If the only complaint is a sewer smell with a clear, flowing line, a smoke test is usually the faster, cheaper first look. See commercial sewer smoke testing. And a camera in a drain will not find a leak in a pressurized water line.

Call with the address, the building type and what you want to learn: a pre-purchase look, a recurring complaint or a baseline before a repair. Tell us whether you have a cleanout, where it is and when the building is empty, and we schedule the visit around that. HQ offers 24/7 emergency service, free estimates and an upfront price before any work starts. If the video shows the line needs work, our sewer repair team can quote it, and the same crew handles hydro jetting when the pipe needs cleaning first. The general service page is sewer camera inspection.