Sewer Line Locating with a Sonde
Seeing a bad joint on a screen is not the same as knowing which rose bush it sits under. A sonde in the camera head transmits. A receiver walks that signal until the indicator peaks.
Picture, then position
The camera says there is an offset forty feet out. The locator says where those forty feet land on the ground, and how deep. We paint the spot and note it against the foundation, the sidewalk, or the tree. A root mass in the lawn is not the same project as an offset under a hallway slab.
What the indicator is doing
The receiver is listening for the transmitter in the head, not guessing from the cleanout. The strongest signal, confirmed from two directions, is the mark. Depth is a reading, not a promise to the inch, and it gets worse under a reinforced slab or next to other metal. We say so when the signal is dirty.
Why the mark changes the price
A spot repair opens the length that failed. Without a mark, the trench grows until someone is lucky. With a mark, the estimate can name access, the repair, and the surface. That is the difference between a plan and a day rate.
Questions people ask before they call
Do I need a camera if the drain is running again? If this is the second time, yes. A clearing that does not last is the reason to look.
Will I get the recording? Yes. It is yours.
If water is on the floor, call 818-631-7296. The form can wait.