Mobile, Mobile County
Drain camera inspection for a Mobile line nobody has seen inside
Before anyone cuts a slab or digs up a yard, it pays to see the inside of the pipe. Paul Evans runs the camera himself, finds the trouble and marks the spot above it on the ground. You watch the screen with him, so whatever comes next is decided on what you both saw.
What older pipe looks like from inside
In the older parts of Mobile, many drains under the house are still the cast iron that went in before 1975, sometimes with galvanized branches tied in. From the outside it looks like it has years left. On the screen it often looks different: rust scale built up in ridges along the bottom, roots fingering through a joint, a belly where the pipe has sagged and holds water, or a hairline crack running along the barrel. Each of those calls for a different fix, which is the whole reason to look before deciding. Other jobs he takes in the city are listed on the Mobile page.
Getting the camera in is the first puzzle. A cleanout outside near the foundation is the best door, because it gives the cable a straight run toward the street. Plenty of houses have none, or have one buried under a row of shrubs. Then Paul goes up to the roof and feeds the camera down the vent stack into the drain system. Pulling a toilet works too on some lines. There are photos like that in the gallery.
Once the camera finds something, the cable count on the reel says how far out from the cleanout it sits, and the footage shows which way the line is running. A flag goes on the ground along that line, and whatever comes next starts from that mark. You can sit with him while the footage plays and ask what you are looking at. Keith Williams wrote in his Google review: “Paul is honest and treats everyone like family.” A break on the screen leads to sewer line repair in Mobile; the general drain camera inspection page explains the equipment. To book a look, phone (251) 421-0367 or ask Paul here.
What the camera tends to turn up
Most camera runs end on one of these findings. Each one leads to a different conversation about what to do next.
Rust scale
Cast iron corrodes from the inside, and the rust stacks up in rough ridges that narrow the bore. On the monitor it looks like the pipe is lined with bark. Paper and grease snag on it, which is why a scaled line clogs again soon after it is cleared. How far the scale has gone decides whether cleaning is worth it or that section should come out.
Roots at a joint
Roots show up as fine hairs at first, then as a thick tangle filling the pipe at the joint where they got in. The camera shows how many joints are affected and how far apart they are. One root joint is a small, local fix. Roots at joint after joint along the run point toward replacing the line instead of chasing them.
A belly
Where the ground under the pipe has settled, the line dips and holds a puddle that the camera drives right into. Waste slows down in that low spot and drops what it carries, so the same place keeps clogging. The water on the screen and the cable count together tell Paul how long the sag runs and where it begins.
A crack or a break
A crack runs along the barrel or around a joint, sometimes with soil showing through it. A break is worse: a missing piece, an offset where two sections no longer line up, or a bottom that has rotted away. That kind of finding usually means digging, and the cable count tells you how far out the hole goes.
When to skip it
A camera is not always worth running. If one sink was slow from hair, cleared easily and stays clear, there is nothing to look for, and Paul will say so. The camera earns its place on a line that keeps coming back, a backup with no obvious cause, or a drain that only acts up when it rains.
When a camera run makes sense
These are the calls where seeing inside the pipe saves time, digging and guesswork.
If a line was cleared and backed up again within a few weeks
then something in the pipe is catching waste. The camera shows whether it is scale, roots, a sag or a break, and each one has a different answer.
If a slab house has a drain backing up with no visible cause
then the trouble is under the floor, and opening concrete on a guess is the worst way to find it. The camera shows how far in it sits before anything is cut.
If you are about to dig for a sewer repair
then the camera comes first. It confirms the break, shows the condition of the pipe on each side and tells you how much needs to come out.
If the drain was slow once, cleared easily and has stayed fine
then a camera probably adds nothing. Paul will tell you that rather than run one for the sake of running it.
Setting up for the camera
A little prep lets the camera get in fast and makes the footage easier to read.
- Hold the water Stop running fixtures for a while before the visit. A line full of moving water hides the bottom of the pipe on the screen.
- Know your access If you know where the cleanout is, or that there isn’t one, say so when you call. It tells Paul whether the ladder comes off the truck.
- Make room Clear space at the cleanout, beside the toilet or under the eave nearest the vent so the reel and monitor can sit close.
- Write down the history Note past backups, roughly when they happened and what fixed them. A pattern on paper often points right at a joint on the screen.
- Plan to watch Be home and free for the run. Seeing the footage with Paul is how you know what you are deciding about.
Camera questions answered plainly
Still not sure? Ask Paul directly.
Can I watch the camera footage?
Yes, and Paul would rather you did. The monitor sits right there while the camera travels down the line, and he points out what each thing on the screen is as it goes by. If he finds a crack, a root mat or a sag, you see it at the same moment he does.
How does the camera get into the line if I have no cleanout?
The roof vent is the usual way in. Paul feeds the camera down the vent stack into the drain system from up top. On some lines, pulling a toilet gives better access to the main. He picks whichever route gets the camera closest to the trouble and tells you why before he starts.
How do you know where to dig after the camera finds a problem?
The reel counts how much cable is in the line, so the camera gives the distance from the cleanout to the problem, and the footage shows which way the pipe turns on the way there. Paul marks that run on the ground. If any doubt is left, the first opening is a small test hole, not a full pit.
What does rust scale in cast iron mean for my house?
It means the pipe is corroding from the inside and the opening is getting smaller. Waste and paper catch on the rough ridges, so the line clogs more often. Light scale on otherwise solid pipe can be lived with for a time. Where the wall has worn thin underneath, that section is close to failing.
Do I need a camera for every clogged drain?
No. A single slow fixture that clears easily and stays clear rarely needs one. A camera is worth it when a line keeps backing up, when the cause is unclear, when rain makes it worse, or before anyone digs or cuts concrete. Paul will tell you which of those cases you are in.
Who runs the camera?
Paul Evans, the same person who answered your call. LT Drain is one truck and one plumber, so there is no technician you have never met and no salesman reading the footage afterward. His Master Plumber number, MP4379, is printed on this site, and the business is licensed, bonded and insured with an A+ from the BBB.
Want to see inside first?
Tell Paul what the drain has been doing and how long it has gone on. He will say whether a camera run makes sense for your line and when he can bring it out.
Talk to Paul (251) 421-0367 Or send a message