Sewer lines are out of sight and out of mind until something backs up. On this Mesa-area home, a sewer camera scan turned up the kind of damage that costs $10,000 or more to fix. The buyer found out before closing, not after.
What the camera found
- A deteriorating cast iron cleanout in the front yard, holding water. That’s an early red flag.
- Cracks in the line to the street. At about 26 feet the pipe changes to ABS on its way to the city sewer, and there are several cracks along the way, including a concerning one at 75 feet.
- A pipe reducer in the lateral line. It narrows the pipe, which makes buildup and clogs more likely down the road.
- Failing cast iron under the house. I couldn’t get the camera around the curves from the cleanout, so I went in through the roof vent. Under the slab I found heavy corrosion and three to four feet of cracked pipe.
- A makeshift cleanout cap. A proper cap costs about $6 and keeps water and pests out.
Why partial replacements fall short
Someone had already replaced the line out to the street, which is great. But the original cast iron under the house was left in place, and it’s failing. When most of a system is old, fixing one section just moves the problem. In this case, the damage under the slab was enough to justify a full replacement, and that means cutting into floors.
Cast iron in Arizona homes
A lot of older homes in Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix and parts of Gilbert still have cast iron drain lines. Cast iron corrodes from the inside out, so the pipe can look fine at the cleanout and be cracked and scaled 20 feet in. The only way to know is to put a camera in it.
The math is simple
A sewer camera inspection is $200 when you add it to a home inspection. Replacing a failed line under a slab can easily run $10,000 or more. Finding it during your inspection period gives you the chance to ask for a repair, a credit or a lower price.
Watch the full scan
See the camera footage in the video above, or watch it on YouTube. Book your inspection and sewer scan online or call 623-399-0079.
Property Inspections Plus is a Gilbert, AZ home inspection company led by Certified Master Inspector Dan Pierce. We inspect homes across the East Valley, the Phoenix metro and the rest of Arizona. See all of our service areas.
