As Seen In The Denver Post 7-11-10

Sewer inspections can save a lot of headaches later

By Tom LaRocque
Special to The Denver Post
Posted: 07/11/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

It is said to be the only thing you can't see when you're inspecting a house.

The sewer drain pipe from a single-family home may connect to the public sewer system at a point as deep as 16 feet below grade.

So the dirty but important work of drainage happens underground, where blockage can result from a grease buildup, flushed debris or the encroachment of tree roots.

Hence the need for sewer scoping, offered by plumbers and specialty contractors for fees from $99 to about $249. It isn't part of a standard home inspection, but many investors and home buyers say they wouldn't do without a good look inside the sewer.

First, the technician removes a toilet from a bathroom floor, or uncaps a "clean-out" plate inside or outside the house. He feeds in a 150-foot flexible rod with a lighted lens. An image of its journey appears live on a video screen. For an extra $29, the customer can preserve its five-minute tour on a DVD.

"A lot of clogging comes from bad installation of sewer pipes, even with brand-new homes," said Bob Ansel, owner of Drain Solvers, based in Denver and serving all of metro-Denver and Longmont. The line may be straight when it's laid in the ground, but it may buckle under 16 feet of backfill.

When a pipe breaks, sewage may continue to flow into the ground for months, until it runs out of places to settle. Then it backs up into the house.

Ansel recalls a Boulder homeowner with expensive antiques in her basement. She noticed slow drainage in the toilet and sink. Ansel recommended a repair of the pipe, but she resisted.

"She said, 'I don't believe you, you're trying to rip me off.' " The homeowner left on vacation, and a faulty toilet let water flow uninterrupted for several days. She returned to find her antiques floating in the basement, he said.

When sewer pipes must be replaced, the costs jump. A "typical" repair bill is about $5,000, contractors say. But with excavation of dirt in the yard and jackhammering of concrete in the alley or street, the price tag can exceed $20,000. Repairs are the biggest profit center for companies such as Drain Solvers, according to Ansel.

Pat Herbert of Lakewood was under contract in March to buy an investment property in southeast Denver. The 1,000-square-foot ranch home looked like a profitable fix-and-flip project until the sewer was checked.

"They got about 80 feet out and ran into solid tree roots about 15 feet short of the city sewer," Herbert said. A rooter company failed in repeated attempts to break through the blockage.

Replacing the pipe would have cost $10,000, a contractor said. When the seller wouldn't come down on price, the deal was dead.

Denver home inspector Dave Radovich checks drainage flow as part of any scheduled inspection. He also does repairs and receives a lot of drainage complaints during holiday periods.

"The water may flow adequately until there are a few guests staying in the house," he said. Radovich recommends scoping with any inspection, particularly for an older home.

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