In Pittsburgh, Sewer Line Inspection Has Gone High Tech
For most people, when it comes to sewer lines, out of sight means out of mind. Dealing with raw sewage and any of the components of a sewer system is certainly no glamour job, so it’s when a problem arises that home and commercial building owners sit up and take notice.
Having a bathroom shut down can put a crimp in your lifestyle or slash income if it’s a bathroom at your place of business.
So now, in Pittsburgh sewer line inspection by way of a high-tech miniaturized camera system is allowing folks to finally get ahead of sewer line problems before things get messy.
Should you get a pre home purchase sewer line inspection?
Unless it’s a brand new home, the simple answer here is, by all means, yes, you should.
Particularly if it’s an older home on a septic system.
Before selling a home or commercial building, it’s almost unheard of in this day and age not to go through at least one or even more inspections.
Even if you as the buyer don’t feel it’s needed, the finance company will want to have an inspector take a good look at whatever it is they’re their financing.
There is just one problem with these types of home inspections, though, and that is that with rare exceptions, they don’t include a sewer line inspection.
The inspector might take a look at the surface components of a sewer system and perhaps walk the grounds looking and smelling for possible sewage leaks. Still, by and large, the actual sewer lines won’t undergo a comprehensive inspection unless you, the prospective buyer, order it.
What will a sewer line inspector look for?
There are several items on a sewer line inspectors checklist, with those being both current and potential future problems that you should be made aware of.
A great analogy would be if you were considering buying a high-mileage used car that looked great on the outside but mechanically was on its last leg.
So there are for sure things other than the curb appeal of a home or commercial building that need to be checked out before you buy. Buildings that are serviced by a septic system have a well-earned reputation for problems, and that for sure holds true if there’s a high water table or if the ground that a building or home was constructed on doesn’t perk well.
That means that the ground does not readily absorb water. So a sewer line inspector can be brought in to take a critical underground look at the inner workings of a septic system.
What is a sewer line inspection camera?
The sewer line inspection camera is just one tool the inspector will use to search for problems with a sewer system. It allows them to get a comprehensive look at the inside of buried sewer lines.
Times have changed over the years though, and now sewer pipes are made out of high-tech plastics that take centuries to break down. But that just wasn’t always the case because it wasn’t that many decades back that cast iron was used almost exclusively.
Then it’s a little known fact that during World War II, because metals were being diverted to the war effort, housing developments were known to use rolled up tar paper coated with asphalt for the pipes in sewer systems.
Most of these asphalt systems have long since been replaced, but some can still be found in areas of the country involved with war materials production and housing for workers.
So now, a compact hi-tech compact camera connected to the end of the cable is run up inside sewer lines to finally get a look at what they’re made of and the condition they’re in.
What about sewer line inspection cost?
The answer here is that costs can vary depending on a small handful of variables.
Of course, the optimal scenario is for a sewer line inspection to pass with flying colors. But keep in mind that the actual reason for the sewer line inspection is to look for problems, and one of these problems can be a blockage that prevents the remote camera from going through.
In this case, the camera has to be retrieved, and the blockage cleared out before the inspection process can proceed.
So this is just one of the problems that can work to run up sewer line inspection cost in Pittsburgh.
But if there are no problems and the sewer line is easily accessed, the cost is usually nominal, with most reputable plumbers in Pittsburgh deducting the cost of an inspection from the bill for repairs.
Will you receive a final sewer inspection report in Pittsburgh?
The answer here is yes; you will receive an inspection report in Pittsburgh that will include clear photographs of any problems detected that need repair.
But it gets better than that because, in this day and age where so many people are remotely connected with cell phones, it’s even now possible to relay in real-time the actual video the sewer inspection camera is producing.
What this means is that you can be sitting at your desk at work while at the same time seeing with your own eyes any problems that are found. This versus not too many years ago when a plumber in Pittsburgh had to use words to paint pictures over the phone of what they had found and what needed to be done.
A sewer line inspection report in Pittsburgh in your hand saves time and allows for clarity with regard to decisions that can be made anytime from anywhere.
Then finally, as it pertains to a septic system, if it is determined that the entire septic system is shot, it may turn out that it was grandfathered in, and now the local municipality may no longer permit any new septic systems to be installed.
This means that you will be required to pay for a modern sewer system complete with hook-up fees, and the final bill for this can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.