Sewer Camera Inspection

DILIGENT is a strong proponent that a home inspection is not complete without a sewer camera inspection. The home inspector will spend hours in the home looking at fixtures, basins, drains, and visible waste plumbing. Why would you want to exclude the main waste pipe that carries all of the waste water away from the home?

More than Meets the Eye

In a home inspection, the inspector is limited to the exterior view of the waste plumbing and most of the time they cannot see the main waste pipe after it exits through the foundation wall or slab. After the pipe exits the home, the waste plumbing extends to the city waste lines or to a private system (septic, step system, etc.). This pipe can sometimes be as long as 100+ feet of waste pipe that is not able to be visually inspected. A sewer camera inspection allows us to see the interior of the underground pipes by use of a camera mounted to a long cable.

How the Inspection is Performed

In order to feed the camera into the underground plumbing pipes, the technician must first locate the most ideal entry point. Modern plumbing standards require a clean-out (intentional point of entry) in the yard, basement, or crawlspace. In older homes without a safe and accessible clean-out, it is often easiest to feed the camera through a roof vent, or a toilet waste line. In the case of a toilet waste line, the technician must remove the toilet and re-install after the inspection is performed.

Once the access point is found, the technician feeds the cable and camera down the sewer line, capturing a video of the entire inspection. The camera is attached to a portable display that allows the technician to stop in certain areas and evaluate potential issues. When the inspection is complete, the video will be edited, and various markers will be placed in the report to indicate the observed defects. Upon approval of the current homeowner, markers can be placed in the yard to identify the location of defects that will match the report information.

When is a Sewer Inspection Required?

DILIGENT is a strong proponent that a home inspection is not complete without a sewer camera inspection. The home inspector will spend hours in the home looking at fixtures, basins, drains, and visible waste plumbing. Why would you want to exclude the main waste pipe that carries all of the waste water away from the home? It is commonly thought that because a house is newer, there is no need for a sewer camera inspection because the pipe materials are new. This is partially true. However, many defects that are found in a sewer camera inspection are caused by installation errors that translate to drainage problems from the very first time a sink is run, or a toilet is flushed. Repairing underground waste lines can be a costly repair due to the required excavation of the yard. If you are buying a new home, or an old home, a sewer camera inspection is a powerful tool when negotiating repairs and gaining valuable education of your future home.

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Common TN issues

There is no shortage of mid century home in middle TN. If your home was built prior to 1975, then there is a high probability that your house has cast iron piping. Cast iron pipe has a typical lifespan of approximately 50 years and the most currently installed cast iron pipe is 50 years or older. Due to the older age of all cast iron piping, it is common for the interior of the horizontal pipe to be heavily corroded.

Pipe Materials and Configurations

Waste plumbing in new construction homes are typically constructed with PVC. In older homes, we can see many different types of piping, such as; Cast iron, galvanized steel, lead, terra-cotta clay. If you are purchasing or current living in a remodeled home, you may have multiple material types based on the amount of renovations that have occurred since the original time of construction. In remodeled homes it is not uncommon to have PVC installed close to the home, and then transition to cast iron or clay as it stretches farther away from the house. The only way to confirm the waste pipe materials is through a sewer camera inspection.