This is what a homeowner receives after a push-camera run: one page, four findings, each pinned at the footage where the camera saw it. Below the sample, every part of it is explained — so you can read the report you were given, or copy the format for the ones you write.
A made-up job. The company, the homeowner and the address below are fictional, and the photographs are left out. Everything else — the structure, the wording, the severities — is what a real report from this format carries.
PRIORITY: HIGH
Clearline Drain & Sewer · Mike Reyes · Lic. PL-48213 · (614) 555-0148
Footage strip — findings along the run
Overall assessment
Clay lateral with roots at the joints and a sag mid-run. The break at 81 ft is the priority — repair it before the next backup. The offset at 42 ft is minor and can be kept clear with jetting for now.
Findings
Cable/auger or hydro-jet to clear, then seal the entry with a spot repair or CIPP lining so they don't grow back.
Note: roots entering at the first clay joint past the foundation.
Minor offset: monitor and keep clear with jetting. Significant: CIPP lining if small enough to line over, or excavate and re-bed if the pipe has dropped.
Hydro-jet to clear the sludge as maintenance; the real fix is to excavate and re-grade that section. Lining will NOT fix a belly. A shallow belly with no symptoms can be monitored.
Note: water standing roughly 2 ft of the run; camera submerged to the lens.
Excavate and replace, or pipe-burst; CIPP only if the pipe still holds a round shape. A fully collapsed pipe cannot be lined. This is emergency-tier.
Note: soil visible at the invert; camera passed with difficulty.
Priority key: green = minor / monitor · amber = repair recommended · red = urgent / failure
This report is a visual documentation of a sewer or drain line inspection performed with a push camera on the date shown. It records what the camera could see along the accessible main line and the findings, footage locations, and repair recommendations of the licensed plumber who performed the inspection.
This is a documentation and estimate tool — not a NASSCO/PACP-certified structural assessment, an engineering evaluation, or a home-inspection report. This report reflects the on-site judgment of the licensed plumber, not an automated diagnosis by the app. The inspection is non-invasive and limited to the visible, accessible sections the camera reached; it does not include branch or auxiliary lines that were not entered, sections the camera could not pass, the inside of joints, or any leak test. Defects may exist that a visual camera inspection cannot detect.
All findings, severity ratings, and recommendations represent the professional judgment of the inspecting plumber based on what was visible at the time. This report does not guarantee the future performance, longevity, or full condition of the line. Before authorizing major excavation or replacement, the homeowner is advised to obtain independent confirmation of the recommended repair. Underground conditions, depth, and exact repair scope should be confirmed by locating and a written estimate before any excavation.
Inspecting plumber: ____________________ Licence: __________ Date: __________
One word for the whole job, and it is the worst single finding — not an average. This report says HIGH because of the break at 81 ft; the other three findings do not soften it. If a report you were given says "high" and nothing in the findings looks urgent, ask which finding drove it.
The run from the access point to where the camera stopped, with every finding numbered in the order the camera met it. It tells you two things at a glance: how much of the line was actually seen, and whether the problems are scattered along it or concentrated in one section. Four pins spread over 96 ft is an ageing line; four pins inside ten feet is one failure.
"City main at 96 ft" means the camera reached the connection — the whole lateral was seen. "Blocked at 54 ft" would mean the other 40 feet are unknown, and no report can tell you what is in them. This single line is the most commonly missing piece in reports we see.
Name, footage, severity, photograph, recommended repair. The footage matters more than it looks: it is what makes a second opinion possible, because the next camera can be driven to the same number and asked the same question. What each finding means explains the fourteen you are likely to see.
Notice what the sample recommends and what it does not. The offset joint gets jetting and monitoring rather than a dig. The belly gets maintenance now and re-grading as the real fix, with an explicit warning that lining will not restore slope. Only the break gets excavation. If every finding in a report you were handed points to excavation, that is worth a second opinion.
A camera run sees the inside of the accessible line and nothing else: no branch lines it never entered, no sections it could not pass, no leak test. Any report that claims more than that is claiming more than a camera can do.
Company and licence, the property and date, the access point and camera, total footage and material, where the run ended, each finding with footage and photograph and recommendation, an overall assessment, and the limits of the inspection. The sample above carries all of them on one page.
It is still a record, but it cannot be checked. Photographs at the footage of each finding are what let another plumber — or you — see the same thing later.
Usually yes, and it is worth asking for at the time of the inspection rather than a week later.
The licensed plumber or drain technician who ran the camera. The findings and the grades are their professional judgement — not the output of software, and not a certified condition assessment.
The same layout, empty and ready: fill in the run, add findings, attach the monitor photos, print or save as PDF. Nothing is uploaded.