We highly recommend that you have a visual camera inspection of sewer laterals when you buy a property. The inspection will ensure that you understand the condition of this critical asset and any potential weaknesses or failure points that need repair before you take ownership. This inspection will help ensure that you don’t get saddled with an expensive problem down the road. We suggest a visual inspection if you have chronic or recurring sewer issues, such as more than one sewer backup in five years. Our sewer professionals use state-of-the-art technology with a self-leveling camera and distance sensor to visually document pipe conditions. This video is available on a USB drive.

Sewer Lateral

The sewer lateral pipe is arguably any home’s most essential and unconsidered asset. This pipe is critical to connecting your house to the local sewer system and taking waste away from your house to prevent disease and odor. Many sewer laterals were constructed decades ago from various materials (i.e. clay, iron, PVC) and had been slowly degrading and sometimes failing. Most homeowners know little about their sewer lateral pipe condition until a major problem, such as a sewage backup. Sewer backups result in raw sewage flowing into a house’s basement through a floor drain or other drain. Sewer backups can result in damage causing an inconvenience to the homeowner.

Poor initial construction, degradation of the pipe material over time, intrusion of roots from trees in the yard, or ground movements can cause sewer lateral issues. Additionally, most sewer laterals are leaky and take in a lot of groundwater and stormwater, which flows to the wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater overflows into local waterways, harms the environment, and causes public health problems at local beaches.

Homeowners or anyone considering buying a home should get a sewer lateral video inspection. A point repair or complete sewer lateral relining can solve any problems found, which is much less costly and intrusive than digging up and replacing the sewer lateral.