The home inspection came back clean. The furnace is newer, the roof has years left, the panel was upgraded. What almost no standard inspection looks at is the one pipe you cannot see: the sewer line from the house to the street.
In much of Kelowna that pipe is older than the buyer. Rutland, Glenmore, the Mission and the older parts of downtown are full of houses built between the 1950s and the 1980s, and the sewer laterals under their lawns are clay tile, cast iron or early plastic. Replacing one is among the most expensive plumbing jobs a homeowner can face, and it is never in the listing photos.
What a sewer camera inspection is
A plumber feeds a waterproof camera on a flexible cable into the line through a cleanout, and records video all the way to the city connection. You see the inside of the pipe on a screen in real time. It usually takes under an hour.
What it finds
- Root intrusion. Okanagan summers send tree roots looking for water, and an old clay joint is an open invitation.
- Bellies. A sag in the line where waste settles. It drains, slowly, until the day it does not.
- Offset or cracked joints. Ground movement shifts old pipe sections out of line.
- Collapsed sections. The worst case, and the one that turns into an excavation.
- Grease and scale. Often the cheapest finding, because cleaning fixes it.
When it is worth booking
Before you remove subjects on any house more than about thirty years old. When there are large trees between the house and the street. When the seller mentions a drain that has been snaked more than once. And when you already own the house and the basement floor drain has backed up even one time.
What to ask for
Ask for the recording, not just a verbal report. Ask where the problem is, measured in feet from the cleanout, so a repair quote can be specific. And ask whether the line can be cleaned or spot repaired before anyone mentions full replacement.
Who does it in Kelowna
The Plumbinators list sewer inspection, drain cleaning, and water main and sewer replacement among their core services, so the company that finds the problem can also price the fix. Every call is attended by a journeyman plumber, and all parts and labour are covered by a one-year warranty. They hold a 4.9 rating across more than 320 Google reviews.
Book by call or text at 250-300-6963. See The Plumbinators on the Okanagan Trade Directory or theplumbinators.com.