Do I Need a Sewer Scope?

If your home was built prior to the 1970’s it probably has cast iron pipe from the house and transitions over to a clay lateral to the street where it connects to the city mainline. The clay line is made up of sections of pipe about 3 feet long with a bell shape on one end. They are installed by slipping the straight end of one pipe into the bell end of the other. This means you have a joint every 3 feet between the sections of pipe. This joint is where many problems start with this type of installation. 

Over time as the ground settles these joints can separate and the sections of pipe become uneven and out of place.  If these joints open enough to allow dirt inside you can end up with a serious reoccurring blockage.  If they migrate out of their horizontal plane and develop a ‘belly’ the line won’t drain well and can start holding water.  When this happens solids won’t drain out and the line will eventually back up. Tree roots also seek out these joints and the water they provide. The tree roots can push the joints apart and even break the pipe. We all know someone who’s had to have their line ‘snaked out’ to clear these roots. 

Having a sewer scope run can alert you to potential problems. This is where they run a small camera down the line and can even provide a video of it on a thumb drive for you. It usually costs 250.00 to 350.00. A lot of people skip the sewer scope during their inspection period when buying but if the home is much older you’ve got to think about having it done. Homes built in the 1800’s and early 1900’s have a much greater chance of having and issue.  I had one scope on a very old home where the sewer line just stopped prior to hitting the city’s mainline.  It had totally collapsed and washed out a large cavity under the sidewalk and was dumping raw sewage into that cavity.  It would likely have taken a few years to show up without the sewer scope being done. Obviously, my buyer passed on that home!