Leak Detection & Sewer Camera Inspection in Phoenix & Scottsdale, priced before we start.
How much of your floor would you let a plumber open on a hunch? Most property managers say none, and then approve a trench anyway, because the leak is under there somewhere and the tenant wants it gone by Monday.
Finding the fault first is cheaper in almost every case. On the drain side, a waterproof camera on a flexible push rod travels down the line from a cleanout and records the pipe wall as it goes: grease, roots, scale, cracks, joints that have pulled apart, low spots where water sits. A small radio transmitter in the camera head lets a technician on the surface find the camera through the concrete and mark the spot with paint, along with its approximate depth.
Supply leaks are hunted differently. Pressurized water escaping a pipe makes noise, and acoustic listening equipment can hear it through a slab. A hot-water leak warms the floor above it, which shows up on a thermal camera long before anyone feels it underfoot. Isolating zones and pressure-testing each one narrows a building-wide problem to a single suite or run. Used together, these methods usually put the leak in a small, marked area before anything is opened.
The camera has a second job that has nothing to do with emergencies. Before you sign a lease on a restaurant space, buy a strip center, or take over management of an older building, footage of the sewer lateral tells you what you are inheriting. A 1960s cast iron line in central Phoenix with a mesquite rooted into it is a different asset than the listing suggests. The same goes for a newer ABS line with a sag in it, holding a few inches of standing water that will turn into a grease problem the month a restaurant moves in. Neither shows up on a walkthrough. Both show up on a screen.
Everything is recorded. You keep the video, the marked locations, and a written summary, which is what your insurer, your landlord, or the next contractor will ask for. If the line needs hydro jetting or the leak turns out to be under the slab, you will know exactly where, and why.
Reasons to look before you dig
Water bill up, operations unchanged
Same hours, same staff, same menu, higher consumption. With nothing new using water, the difference is going somewhere. The hidden leak cost calculator shows what a small leak adds up to over a year.
The meter keeps moving after close
Shut every fixture and watch the leak indicator on the meter. If it turns with the building quiet, water is escaping.
A warm patch of floor
A hot-water line leaking under slab heats the concrete above it. In an open office or a retail floor, the patch is easy to walk past for months.
Sewer odor in one suite only
A broken or separated drain under the slab can vent gas into a single space. Air freshener is not a diagnosis.
Clogs that keep coming back
A line that needs clearing every few weeks has a defect catching material: a root, an offset joint, a low spot. The camera finds it in one pass, and scheduled drain service keeps it from returning.
A lease or purchase is about to close
Signing is the cheapest moment to learn about a failing lateral. Afterward, it is yours.
How a commercial inspection runs
- 01
The meter and the records come first
Consumption history and a meter test tell us whether we are looking for a supply leak, a drain problem, or both.
- 02
Zones isolated one at a time
Closing valves by suite, floor, or riser shrinks the search area before any equipment comes off the truck.
- 03
Listen, image, film
Acoustic detection and thermal imaging for pressurized lines; a camera for drains and sewers. Each method checks the others.
- 04
Marked on the surface
The fault is located from above and marked with its depth, so any opening is sized to the problem instead of the guess.
- 05
A report you can forward
Video, photos, and a plain written summary with the recommended repair and a flat price. Nothing gets opened until you approve it.
How it’s priced
Quoted flat, before we start
What moves the price: how many lines or zones need checking, how easy the cleanouts are to reach, whether a roof vent or a pulled toilet is the only way in, and whether the work has to happen after hours. The quote covers the inspection. Any repair it leads to is priced separately, before it starts.
Financing is available on larger jobsConcrete will keep a secret for years. A camera generally gets it out of it in an afternoon.
Camera Inspection: questions we get asked
Straight answers, the same ones we give on the phone.
