Getting a quote to dig up your yard when nobody has actually looked at the pipe is a rough way to spend a few thousand dollars. At Coopers Plumbing, we perform sewer camera inspections in and around Asheville, NC, so homeowners can see what's really down there before anyone breaks ground. Seeing the footage yourself beats taking somebody's word for it.
Based in Asheville, NC, Coopers Plumbing is an independently owned, family-run plumbing company that performs sewer camera inspections for homes throughout Buncombe County and neighboring areas. Operating since 1999 with a P-1 Residential and Commercial Master License, we locate blockages, map sewer lines, identify failing cast iron and root intrusion, and give homeowners a detailed picture of the condition of hard-to-reach underground piping.
Every drain in your house is slow, a toilet burps when the tub empties, and snaking the line helped for about two weeks. Somewhere between your foundation and the street, there's an obstruction, and the pipe carrying it could be anywhere from three to eight feet down, running under grass, a driveway, or a forty-year-old oak.
Blockages build up for all sorts of reasons. Grease coats the pipe walls a little at a time and grabs whatever floats by. Roots slip through a crack in the joint and fan out into a mat. Cast iron scales inward until the opening is half what it started as, and a bellied section holds standing water that catches solids until nothing moves. From inside the house, all of these look identical.
A camera settles it. We feed the line in through a cleanout and monitor the pipe as it travels, showing the exact distance to the trouble and the cause. A locator on the camera head marks the spot above ground, so we can flag it in the yard right where it sits. If the obstruction is soft buildup, mechanical clearing takes care of it, and a second pass confirms the pipe is genuinely clear. Structural damage means a targeted repair on that section instead.
You end up knowing what's wrong, where it is, and what fixing it involves, all before spending money on the fix. A dig that would have been a trench across the whole yard usually ends up being a few square feet, and you have footage documenting the pipe's condition if you ever need it for a sale or an insurance claim.
Here's what the camera actually shows us once it's in the line.
Footage gives you a full read on the pipe from the house to the connection, not just the spot causing trouble today. Scaling, hairline cracks, and sections beginning to sag all show up long before they turn into a backup. Homeowners planning ahead find that especially useful for budgeting rather than reacting.
Cracked joints, offset sections, and pipes that have bellied out due to soil settlement are obvious on camera but invisible otherwise. Catching them early usually means a spot repair rather than replacing the whole run. A sewer line inspection turns a vague worry into a specific, fixable problem.
Cast iron corrodes from the inside, and by the time it affects flow, the wall thickness has often dropped considerably. Rough, flaking interior surfaces are clearly visible under the camera head's light. Knowing how much life is left helps you decide between maintenance and replacement on your own schedule.
Lines under driveways, patios, and mature landscaping are exactly the ones nobody wants to guess about. Camera access reaches those runs without disturbing a thing above ground. Our plumbers can usually complete the whole pass in under an hour.
Distance readings tell us how far in the obstruction sits, and a locator pinpoints it on the surface. Marking the spot means any digging stays narrow and purposeful. What caused the clog matters too, since grease, roots, and collapsed pipe each call for a different fix.
Roots reveal themselves as fine hairs at a joint long before they grow into the mass that stops your line. Spotting them at that stage gives you options that cost far less than emergency work. Yards with large trees near the sewer line benefit most from periodic checks.
Older properties often lack records of where the line runs or which direction it takes to the street. Tracing it with the camera and locator produces a map worth keeping, particularly before landscaping, adding a garage, or pouring anything permanent. A licensed plumber should always know the layout before excavation starts.
Homebuyers get real value from a sewer camera inspection during the due diligence window, since sewer surprises after closing are expensive and entirely on you. An hour of looking can change what you offer or whether you walk. Sellers sometimes run one first to keep the negotiation from turning into a guessing match.
When old pipes cause low water pressure, rusty water, or one leak after another, we can help you determine whether replacement makes sense. Our repiping services include whole-home repiping, galvanized pipe replacement, polybutylene pipe replacement, and upgrades for aging plumbing systems.
Hot water problems can get old fast, especially when your system starts leaking, struggling to keep up, or quitting altogether. We provide water heater services, including installation, replacement, repair, maintenance, emergency repairs, and system sizing for traditional tank water heaters.
Recurring backups, slow drains, and sewer odors can point to a problem deeper in the line. With our sewer line services, we handle repairs, replacements, blockages, root intrusion, damaged piping, maintenance, and underground sewer diagnostics.
A slow or clogged drain may seem simple, but recurring problems can mean there's more going on farther down the line. We provide drain cleaning for kitchen and bathroom drains, stubborn clogs, slow drains, and blockages, along with preventive maintenance, while identifying the cause of the problem.
From a dripping fixture to a damaged pipe, plumbing problems have a way of becoming bigger headaches when they're left alone. Our plumbing repairs cover leaks, pipes, fixtures, water pressure issues, aging components, and general troubleshooting throughout the home.
Replacing an old faucet, toilet, sink, or shower fixture can make a noticeable difference in how your plumbing works day to day. We handle plumbing fixture installation, including faucets, sinks, toilets, tubs, and showers, as well as replacements and other residential upgrades.
When a pipe bursts, a major leak starts, or a sewer problem can't wait until morning, we're available to help 24/7. Our emergency plumbing service covers leaking and burst pipes, sewer and drain emergencies, water heater problems, shutoff assistance, rapid diagnosis, and steps to limit further water damage.
Anybody can rent a camera, so here's what you get when we're the ones holding it.
Reading footage well takes practice, and 25+ years of experience plus a P-1 Residential and Commercial Master License mean we can tell the difference between pipe that needs watching and pipe that needs replacing.
Independent ownership means no incentive to talk you into unnecessary excavation, which matters a great deal when the diagnosis and the quote come from the same crew.
Reliable equipment earns its place with us, the same reasoning behind installing Rheem and Bradford White water heaters throughout the rest of the house.
Any repair work we perform after an inspection carries a one-year labor warranty, with additional coverage available on certain jobs.
Yes, sewer camera inspections can often show roots that have worked their way into cracks or joints in the pipe. The camera can also help show how much damage the roots have caused and where the trouble is located.
A plumber feeds a small waterproof camera down the sewer line and watches the pipe's interior on a monitor. It's a straightforward way to spot clogs, roots, failing cast iron, damaged sections, and other problems hiding underground.
Most homeowners don't need one every year unless they've had ongoing sewer issues. Sewer camera inspections make the most sense when clogs keep coming back, the line is older, or you need a better look before deciding on a repair.
A sewer camera can reveal blockages, cracks, root intrusion, worn-out pipes, failing cast iron, and other trouble inside the line. It can also help pinpoint where the problem is so you're not guessing about what needs to happen next.
It's worth scheduling one if you have repeat clogs, sewer odors, unexplained backups, or several slow drains around the house. A sewer camera inspection can help show what's actually going on before the problem gets any worse.
FAQs reviewed by Chris Cooper, founder and owner of Coopers Plumbing, a licensed plumber in Asheville, NC.
An hour with a camera can save you from paying for the wrong repair entirely. Contact our company, and we'll show you exactly what's happening in your sewer line.
Business Name: Coopers Plumbing
Address: Asheville, NC, 28804
Phone: 828-254-0383
Business Hours:
Mon - Fri: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Sat-Sun: Closed
24 Hour Emergency Service Available
As a Master Licensed contractor, we stand behind our workmanship with a 1-year labor warranty. Ask us about additional warranties.