When the source of an issue is concealed, every exploratory cut piles on cost and risk, threatening the time sync of a project. This can snowball into collateral damage, steeper repairs and prolonged customer disruption.
Sometimes the issue is a chronic or underlying defect. Sometimes, hidden issues in the pipes of brand-new buildings can be a surprise.
FINDING ADVANCED PROBLEMS
Rod Brace’s career runs on curiosity and precision — from his time ceramic-coating NASCAR engines to when he was troubleshooting restaurant equipment. Whatever tool or tactic solves the problem effectively, and fast.
For more than 30 years, Brace has built up Iowa-based Advanced Problem Solutions, a full-service mechanical, HVAC and refrigeration contractor prioritizing project transparency and diagnostics.
Long focused on drain locating and additions for industrial and commercial clients, the company in 2024 recognized a need — and APS added residential heating, cooling and plumbing, now performing everything from leak detection to full repairs.
With 26 employees, the contractor’s exploration work and selection of pinpointing and locating technology is guided by the necessity for accuracy and precision. Technicians are trained to think not only like installers, but also diagnosticians, Brace said.
A GOOD FIT
APS adopted Milwaukee Tool’s M18 100-foot Flexible Modular Pipeline Inspection System — a self-lit, self-righting pipeline inspection reel and control hub — two years ago for industrial drain work and now deploys the same tech in residential spaces.
From flushed toys to a hard tool wedged sideways, and construction flaws that had been overlooked, hidden issues can be easy to miss without the right line of sight.
The Milwaukee kit doesn’t replace decades of experience, gut checks and expertise. As the company pans out, the tools reinforce instinct with proof, helping technicians find faults faster and show customers live, providing high-definition evidence before taking the least-invasive next step.
REMOVING GUESSWORK
Brace is sensitive to the fact that every piece of guesswork could mean cutting into finished space. Costs can add up for project owners, alongside erosion in their confidence level and trust.
The camera’s compact 25 mm, 1080p HD head is designed for easy fits, while the self-leveling sensor, pan-and-zoom functions and high-definition image provide a clear, right-side-up view.
A control hub, with onboard storage and live-sharing capabilities, ensures every discovery is visible and verifiable.
APS uses its equipment to lessen the probability that a core issue will require a return visit, engagement with multiple contractors or lack of resolution after repeated attempts and calls.
IOWA WINTER VIEWS
Two second-story toilets were leaking at the wax rings. After a snake stalled, APS ran its inspection reel and camera 27 feet down the main drain.
The technician discovered an ice wall built up in the ninety at the sill plate where the single-family home’s first and second stories meet. Brace notes a builder construction flaw had allowed winter air to pour through an uninsulated seam and freeze the line.
“From the call, we responded within an hour, diagnosed the problem within two hours and finished in four,” he says, including the repair and clean up. A small section of crown molding was removed, the crack was sealed and insulation was added behind the elbow.
Though repairs to a custom ceiling remained, the surgical opening — and on-screen proof — leaves homeowners in a better state of mind. Brace would show them, “Here is your ice.”
“The customer was totally impressed,” he says. “We made it so it would never do it again.”
FIFTH TIME’S A CHARM
Two kitchen sinks in a newly built apartment were holding water. APS was the fifth contractor to be called on-site. The four priors snaked the drain and left.
The camera kit revealed a forgotten test plug blocking a kitchen line. “We snaked it, the water went away,” Brace says. “I pulled it back and forth and something didn’t feel right; it was still hitting. We put our camera down and realized a T-plug had been left in there.”
The technician restored flow without any unnecessary demolition, carefully cutting out the back of the cabinet, unthreading and removing the test plug from the T-threaded cleanout, and reinstalling a new clean-out plug.
Only minimal remediation to repair a small section of drywall was needed.
MEDICAL ISSUE
The toilets at a doctor’s office periodically quit flushing. About every two weeks, a clogged sewer would have to be unplugged.
Brace deployed the camera through a side branch from a sink and dropped in the main sewer lateral. The issue was a 10-foot-long sag between two rooms — about 75 feet out. A pipe segment had been set but improperly bedded, creating a “sow-belly” that lessened pipe diameter and drain effectiveness. About 10 feet beyond that another sow belly was found — and resolved — on the same trip.
Part of the floor had to be removed and repaired, Brace says. The inspection system’s digital pitch data confirmed the defect and pinpointed the exact excavation spot. “Without this equipment, you are literally going by feel on a cable or going in until you hit something,” he continues. “Then try to reverse-engineer that.”
ON TARGETS
For APS, the Milwaukee kit is part of the company’s due diligence and is used first as a diagnostic tool.
In these cases, issues were resolved the same day with minimal teardown.
Deployment of the equipment highlights how a repair can be targeted and justified while enabling crews to capture, review and present findings on the fly. It offers irrefutable proof. When a defect is found, customers can see the problem for themselves.
“We run the system a couple of times,” Brace says. “Don’t just go where you have the problem, go beyond to make sure. Labor is so expensive now. You have to be as efficient as possible for the customer so they are not being charged more than what they should be.
“This equipment allows you to get in and get out, you don’t have to spend a lot of time looking for the problem.”
