DAE Plumbing provides video camera sewer inspections and electronic line locating in Hollister and the surrounding five-county area. Camera inspections reveal the exact condition inside sewer and drain lines, including root intrusion, grease buildup, scale, cracks, offsets, bellies, and collapsed sections, while electronic locating pinpoints the depth and path of buried lines without excavation. Estimates are free.
When You Need a Camera Inspection or Line Locate
A sewer camera inspection answers questions that no amount of guessing from the surface can resolve. You need one when a drain or sewer line keeps backing up after clearing and you need to know why, when you are buying a home and want to know the condition of the sewer lateral before closing, when a plumber recommends repair or replacement and you want to see the evidence yourself before committing to excavation, when you are planning construction or landscaping and need to know exactly where buried lines run and at what depth, when a line has been jetted or cleared and you want to verify the result, or when a property has had a sewer backup and insurance or a home warranty requires documentation of the cause.
- Electronic line locating is the companion service: once the camera identifies a problem, the locator transmits a signal from the camera head through the soil to a surface receiver, marking the exact horizontal position and depth of the issue so excavation, if needed, targets the precise spot rather than trenching blindly.
For real estate transactions in the Hollister area, a pre-purchase sewer scope is one of the highest-value inspections a buyer can request, because a failed lateral is a five-figure repair that a standard home inspection does not catch.
Recurring backups, buying a home, or planning excavation? A camera inspection gives you the answers before you commit to a repair path.
📞 Call (831) 801-1079Mon-Fri 7am-5pm, weekends by appointment
What the Process Looks Like
We access the line through an existing cleanout, and if no cleanout exists, we discuss options for access before proceeding. The camera, a waterproof, self-leveling unit with LED lighting, is fed through the pipe while we watch the live feed on a monitor.
- We record the entire inspection and narrate findings as we go: root intrusion at joints, grease coating, mineral scale, cracks, offset joints, bellies where the pipe has settled and holds standing water, and any structural failures. Distance is tracked by a footage counter on the cable, so every finding is mapped to its location in the line.
- When a problem is identified and you need to know exactly where it sits underground, we switch to the electronic locator. The camera head emits a signal that our surface receiver picks up, and we mark the ground directly above the issue with its depth, giving you or your excavation contractor a precise target.
- After the inspection we walk you through the footage, explain what each finding means for the pipe's remaining life, and give you honest options: monitor, maintain, spot-repair, or replace.
There is no pressure to dig; the camera's job is to give you information so you can make a decision with real evidence.
