We do sewer line camera inspections, clear slow and blocked drains, and dig up and replace broken sections of sewer and water lines across the Shuswap.
Most drain problems start small and get worse over a few weeks. Here's what people usually call us about:
One slow drain usually means a clog close to the fixture, like hair in the shower trap or grease in the kitchen line, and we clear it on the spot with a drain machine. When several drains act up together, or water shows up at the lowest drain in the house, the problem is usually further down, in the main line that carries everything out to the street or the septic tank. That's when the camera comes out.
Before you reach for a bottle of drain cleaner, keep in mind that many of them are corrosive, and Health Canada warns (opens in a new tab) that mixing household chemicals can release harmful gases. If a plunger doesn't do it, give us a call.
Sewage coming up through a floor drain or toilet? Stop running water in the house, including the dishwasher and the washing machine, so you're not adding to it. Then call (250) 832-5846. Our emergency line is answered 24/7.
Thank you for your promptness and excellent work on our sewer problem..
A sewer camera is a small waterproof camera on the end of a long, flexible cable. We feed it into the line through a cleanout and watch the picture live on a screen as it travels toward the street, so you can stand beside us and see exactly what we see. The things it finds most often are:
The camera also measures how far it has travelled down the line, so when it reaches the problem we know how far from the cleanout it sits. That narrows down where to dig, so if anything has to come up, nobody's digging blind.
Then you get a price based on what's actually on the footage. Sometimes that's a cleaning and nothing more. Sometimes it's a section of pipe that needs replacing. Either way, you've seen it with your own eyes before you decide anything.
The sewer line is one of the few parts of a house you can't see at a showing, and it's an expensive one to replace. A camera inspection before your subjects come off tells you whether the line from the house to the street is sound, cracked, or full of roots. Finding a problem before you buy gives you room to negotiate the repair before it becomes your bill.
It matters most on a house with big trees in the yard, or one that's had a few decades for the ground to settle around the pipe.
If the camera shows a broken section, we arrange the digging and replace that part of the line with new pipe. If the line is failing along most of its length, replacing the whole run is usually the better money, and the footage makes that call easy to see. Either way, you get one price before the shovel goes in, and we put the yard back as close to how we found it as we can.
Your sewer line runs from the house to the property line, where it meets the City's sewer connection (opens in a new tab). If the footage shows the problem is out past your property line, we'll show you where it is and point you to the City.
The City also runs smoke tests on the sewer system from time to time. If smoke shows up inside your house during one, the City says there's a good chance something in your plumbing needs fixing, and that's a call for us.
A lot of homes outside town aren't on the City sewer at all. On a septic system, we look after the plumbing side: the drains, and the line from the house to the tank, which we can put the camera down to find out why things are backing up. If every drain in the house slows down at once, though, the tank may be full or the field may be struggling, and under BC's rules that work belongs to an authorized septic professional, like a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner. If that's where the problem is, we'll tell you and point you in the right direction.
If you're in one of the CSRD areas that qualify (opens in a new tab), the SepticSmart rebate covers 75% of a full system inspection, up to $300, until the end of 2026. You need the CSRD's approval before the work is done.
You can read a bit about all of our employees on our About page!
Meet the crewIt depends on where the clog is and what caused it, and we won't know that until we've had a look. A clog we clear on the first visit costs a lot less than a camera inspection and a repair, and you'll know which one you're paying for, and the price, before we start.
Not for every clog. It's worth it when the same drain keeps blocking, when more than one drain is slow at once, before you buy an older home, or before you finish a basement over an old line. In those cases, a camera inspection is cheaper than guessing.
Only if the camera shows a broken section, and only where the break is. The camera tells us how far down the line the problem is before anyone picks up a shovel, and you'll see the footage and get the price first.
As little grease as possible. The City of Salmon Arm (opens in a new tab) asks residents to keep fats, oils, and grease out of the drains and take them to a collection depot instead, and to keep plastics like cleaning swabs out of the toilet. Wiping greasy pans with a paper towel before you wash them helps a lot.
Only if you've added it. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (opens in a new tab) says sewer backup isn't covered by a standard policy, but most insurers offer it as optional coverage. Check your policy, and ask your broker whether a backwater valve would lower your premium. We install them, too.
Yes. Call (250) 832-5846 any time. Outside weekday business hours there's a callout fee, and it's higher than the daytime rate. You'll hear what it is on the phone, before anyone gets in the truck.
Call us, text us a photo of what's coming up the floor drain, or fill out our contact form and we'll get back to you to book a time.
Reach us between 8:00 and 4:00 on a weekday and you'll hear back the same day.
