What does a CCTV drain inspection actually find?

Every drainlayer's pitch sounds the same: “We use a camera before we quote.” Fair enough — but what does the camera actually tell us, and why is it worth the extra step on a job you might think is just a quick unblock?

I run a Razorback HD camera reel on most jobs bigger than a basic auger-and-go. Here's what it's actually pulling up out of Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Wellington drains — and why the footage usually changes the quote.

1. Cracks and split joins

The most common thing the camera finds in older Wellington Region drains is a cracked or split join. Earthenware drainage was laid in 60cm sections with a bell-and-spigot join sealed with cement mortar. Sixty years of ground movement later, the mortar's gone, the joins have settled out of alignment, and groundwater is leaking in while wastewater leaks out.

You can't see a split join from above. You only know it's there when the auger keeps catching, or when winter rain doubles your sewage flow and the wastewater plant rings the council asking why. The camera shows it directly — and once we know which section, we can quote a targeted sectional repair instead of guessing at where to dig.

2. Tree root ingress

Roots find moisture. A drain leaking through a cracked join is a beacon for any tree within 10 metres. We see liquidambar, willow, poplar and birch most often around Heretaunga, Naenae and Karori — they grow fine, hair-like root mats inside the pipe that act as catch-nets for everything that flows past.

An auger clears the visible root mass but the root system inside the wall is still there, regrowing. Cutting roots without sealing the entry point is buying yourself 6–12 months. If we see roots at three or four points along the same line, the honest quote is re-lay, not repeat root-cutting.

3. Pipe sag (“bellies”) and collapse

Drainage needs fall — a consistent downhill slope of around 1:60 for foul lines. When ground subsides, sections sag in the middle, creating a low point where waste pools. Sludge settles, the line never properly clears itself, and you get repeat slow drains that no amount of jetting fixes long-term.

The camera shows sags clearly — water level rises mid-line then drops. A short sag can sometimes be jacked or repacked; a long one means re-lay. Without the footage, we'd be quoting blind. With it, we can say with certainty “5m of sag at 9m depth from the gully” and quote the right fix.

4. Foreign objects you didn't know were there

Toy cars. Toothbrushes. Cleaning rags. A complete set of dentures (true story, Wallaceville job last winter). The single weirdest thing we've pulled out of an Upper Hutt drain was a hammer — apparently dropped down the open gully during a roof repair years before.

Then there's the modern stuff: cotton buds, dental floss, hair clumps, and the relentless flood of “flushable” wipes that aren't actually flushable. The camera shows us exactly what's stuck and where, so we can size the right tool to retrieve it (or jet through it) instead of starting with a guess.

5. Wrong drain entirely

About once a month, the camera tells us the line you think is yours actually belongs to a neighbour, the council, or runs across an easement nobody documented. Older Upper Hutt subdivisions have unusual layouts — drains crossing under fences, sharing connections, joining lines that no record shows.

Finding this out before excavation matters. Digging a drain you don't own is everyone's bad day. The camera plus a sondé locator above-ground lets us confirm ownership before any spade comes out.

What about pre-purchase inspections?

If you're buying an older Upper Hutt or Wellington home, a CCTV drain inspection is one of the cheapest insurance policies you can buy. We get called to do these regularly — typically before unconditional, sometimes during the LIM-review period.

We run the full line from gully to council connection, footage on USB, plus a written report flagging anything that needs action in the next 0–2 years and anything that's a deal-breaker. Costs less than the building inspection, and on a 70-year-old home it's often more important — because earthenware drainage failure is one of the most expensive surprise repairs a new homeowner can cop.

How long does an inspection take?

For a standard residential property — maybe 25 metres of line from house to street boundary — about 45 minutes on-site. Includes setting up at the gully, running the camera the full length, recording, capturing key findings as still images, and a quick walk-through with the owner of anything notable. The written report and full footage come through within 24 hours.

If there's anything ambiguous in the footage — a hairline crack that might be a major break, or a sag that might be a collapse — we'll tell you up front and quote a follow-up dig only if necessary. No upsells. The camera is a diagnostic tool; the actionable findings should be plain to you when you watch the footage.