Sewer Camera Inspection in District of Columbia Near Me

On most older homes, and on any lot with large trees near the sewer route, it is worth doing. A general home inspection does not look inside the buried line, and sewer replacement can be one of the larger repair bills a new owner faces. Schedule the scope inside your inspection contingency so the findings can still shape your offer.

A belly is a section of pipe that has sunk lower than the pipe on either side, usually because the soil underneath settled or washed out. On video it shows up as standing water that the camera dips into. Waste and paper collect in the low spot, so a line with a belly tends to clog again and again. Shallow bellies may only need monitoring; deep ones often need the section re-laid.

Price depends on how easy the line is to reach, how long it runs, whether it has to be cleared before the camera can pass, whether a locate and written report are included, and whether the job is residential or commercial. A line with an outdoor cleanout is simpler than one that means pulling a toilet or going in through a roof vent. Ask what the visit includes when you book.

Cameras can stop at a heavy blockage, a collapsed section, a sharp bend or a deep belly full of water. The report should note the distance where the camera stopped and why. Often the line is cleared and the run tried again, or the tech enters from a second access point. A stop point is a finding in itself, since it marks where something is wrong.

You should. Ask for the recorded footage as a file or link, along with the written notes, before the visit ends, and keep it with your property records. The video helps with repair bids, home sales and insurance questions, and it gives you a baseline to compare against if the line starts acting up years from now.