Sewer Inspection

About half of all sewer lines in Spokane / CDA have either an incorrectly installed cleanout or no cleanout access point at all. This can be an issue if the line fails or clogs. Since there is no access to the external sewer line, there is no way to see what's broken or no way to clear the clog with a rooter machine. Cleanout installs can cost $5k-$7k at this time and that only gets you access to the line. If further issues are found, they can cost more than this to repair. This is why it's important to get a sewer inspection by Spokane Rooter. If there is no access to the external sewer line, your sewer report will reflect this and help you negotiate this cleanout install on your new home purchase.

Sometimes a roof vent can b used to scope the sewer line but the roof vent can not be used to rooter (remove clogs) the line. Toilet lines are sometimes used for access but 50% of the time the toilet line has a 90-degree turn and this blocks access to the camera. Sewer cameras can not make 90 degree turns. This is why 90-degree turns are not allowed to be installed in the external sewer lines. 

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External sewer lines in the Spokane / CDA area are made of many different materials. These materials are: OGBG-Orangeburg a paper pipe material that expired over 15 years ago and 80% of them that are still in use need to be replaced right away. This is the biggest reason why people do sewer inspections, to make sure this is not the material that the external sewer line is made of. The next material is Clay - Terracotta - Tile or Concrete. This material is very strong and fails less often than the OGBG material. This material is known for having root growth in about 90% of the lines in the area. The roots almost never damage the line, but they cause most clogs and backups that flood sewer water back into the home. These roots need to be cut every 1-2 years and if forgotten or neglected, they will most likely clog and backup. The segments on a clay pipe are not glued and this allows the roots to enter at each segment. The next material that's common is PVC. This is a modern material that they started installing in the late 70s and still is the most common external sewer line material to this day. This material breaks and collapses very easily as it's a thin plastic material. Even brand new installs of PVC fail all the time from the weight of the earth above it. It's very important to do a sewer scope on all lines regardless of age. About 30% of PVC lines that are checked have issues that cost for than $5,000 to repair. 

There are more materials that are less common such as trenchless seamless replacement plastics and epoxy liners. 

The most expensive repairs on sewer lines are when they break or collapse. This can happen for many reasons such as if the material is made of paper pipe OGBG Orangeburg or the lines run under a busy road. The city does not pay for any residential sewer line issues even if they run under a city road, the homeowner must pay for the whole repair even road crews. The line can also break or collapse due to the ground settling over the years, an above ground pool set on top of a shallow sewer line, a new driveway install or addition set above a sewer line, the line can even break or collapse when being buried during the install of the line. Brand new lines have issues all the time due to the process of covering the new line with dirt. 

PVC lines are notorious for having low spots from a break or settling of the ground which creates sludge clogs that are very hard to remove. 

Also, some older homes installed before 1940 can have 90 degree turns in the external line. These 90s block access to the line. There is no way to camera beyond this 90 and also there is no way to clear a clog beyond this 90. The cost to replace the 90-degree turn can cost $5k-$7k.