Buying a fixer-upper? Better consider a sewer line camera inspection FIRST
Your #WiseChoice for plumbing services explains why a sewer camera inspection is a must if you’re in the market for an old home.
Tuberculation. Now there’s a word for your vocabulary.
It’s the process of how corrosion builds up on your sewer line pipes over time, especially on cast-iron pipes. “If your house was built before the mid-1970s and still has its original sewer system, it’s likely that a portion of that system is cast iron,” wrote Phoenix-area plumber Don Paz in a blog post for Angie’s List. “After 25-30 years, corrosion deposits usually have taken over 25 percent of the cast-iron pipe.”
Dustin Smith said the corrosion problem doesn’t end with cast-iron sewer pipes — or with homes built before the mid-1970s. The owner and chief plumber of your #WiseChoice for plumbing services, Smith’s Plumbing Services in Bartlett, Tennessee, said homebuyers should be concerned about the sewer lines of homes built as late as 1980. “They typically have concrete or clay sewer lines, which are susceptible to root problems and typically need replacing,” Smith said.
It’s that very reason that Smith recommended getting a sewer camera inspection before buying any home built on or before 1980. He said paying a plumber to snake a camera down the sewer line could save a homebuyer a world of trouble if the camera reveals the sewer line’s so corroded, it must be replaced. “If the sewer isn’t in good shape, it could cost a lot of money,” Smith said. “(A sewer camera inspection) could be a bargaining tool with the person selling the home.”
Smith said a sewer line camera inspection typically costs $350 with an accessible clean-out. As one of your #WiseChoices of the Month, Smith’s Plumbing Services is offering $50 off sewer camera inspections during the month of March.
Back to the cast-iron sewer pipes: Paz wrote in some cases, the tuberculation build-up on cast-iron sewer pipes can be removed without having to replace the pipes — that is, if the plumber has the right equipment. “It’s possible to remove the corrosion deposits within cast-iron drainpipe. Specialized descaling equipment can scrape the corrosion off the inner walls of the pipe, so it can be flushed down the sewer,” wrote Paz.
But you can’t know how corroded the sewer pipes are in that house for sale without seeing how corroded they are. Invest in that sewer camera inspection before signing a contract, and get $50 off that inspection in March with Smith’s Plumbing Services.
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