Sewer Scope Inspection in Metro Detroit
Camera inspection of the lateral sewer line — a costly defect a standard inspection can't see.
15% off for active and retired military, first responders, nurses, and teachers. Any inspection — just mention it when you book.
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What It Is
What a sewer scope covers.
A sewer scope is a camera inspection of the underground lateral line — the pipe that carries waste from the home to the municipal main or septic tank. It's one of the most expensive systems in a house to repair and one that a standard visual inspection cannot see, because it's buried underground.
A specialized waterproof camera is fed through a cleanout or accessible drain and runs the length of the line while recording video. It reveals cracks, root intrusion, bellies (low spots that collect waste), separations, collapses, and blockages — problems that can cost thousands to tens of thousands to dig up and replace.
This matters most on two kinds of homes: older properties, where clay or cast-iron pipe and mature trees make root intrusion and pipe failure common, and homes on large or wooded lots. But even newer construction can hide a crushed line from careless backfill during the build.
You get video documentation and a written summary of what the camera found. On a home purchase, a failing sewer line discovered before closing is a negotiation; discovered after, it's your problem and your checkbook.
Sewer scope can be added to any inspection or booked standalone: $199 with an inspection, $299 on its own.
Buying a home? Add this to your Complete Inspection — buyer inspection, radon, and sewer scope in one visit and one report, $749 (save $74).
Scope
What we check
Who Needs One
Which Metro Detroit homes should get a sewer scope.
Short answer: almost any home built before 1980, and plenty built after. The housing stock in this area lines up almost exactly with the pipe materials that fail:
- Clay tile laterals (pre-1970s). Most of Warren, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, Royal Oak, Mount Clemens, and the Grosse Pointes. Clay is laid in short sections with joints every few feet, and every joint is an entry point for tree roots. Offset and separated joints are the standard finding.
- Orangeburg pipe (roughly 1945–1972). Bituminous fiber pipe — essentially tar-impregnated paper — used in a lot of postwar subdivisions. It deforms, blisters, and collapses with age. If a home of that era still has it, it's on borrowed time.
- Cast iron. Common under slabs and in the first run out of the house. Scales and corrodes from the inside until the bottom rots out.
- Mature trees near the line. Any material, any age. Roots follow water, and a sewer lateral is a buried water source.
- A history of backups or a "recently snaked" line. Snaking clears a blockage. It doesn't fix the reason it blocked, and a line that needed snaking has a reason.
- Newer construction. PVC doesn't rot, but it does get crushed or bellied by careless backfill, and long runs across large lots in Washington Township, Romeo, and Oakland Township have more room to go wrong.
Closer to home: the 1970s and 1980s subdivisions in Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, and the south half of Macomb Township are old enough that the original clay or early plastic laterals have had fifty years of settling and root pressure, and the newer 1990s and 2000s homes in Washington Township and northern Macomb Township sit on long lateral runs across big lots, where a belly from careless backfill is the typical finding. Replacing a collapsed clay lateral under a driveway or a mature tree in this area commonly runs $8,000 to $25,000 depending on depth, length, and what has to be dug up. That is the number a $199 camera protects you from.
What The Camera Shows
What you'll see on the video.
The camera runs from the cleanout to the municipal main or septic tank and records the whole way. What it finds, when it finds something, is usually one of these: root intrusion at joints; offset or separated joints where sections have shifted; bellies, which show up as standing water the camera has to push through; cracks and fractures; scale and corrosion in cast iron; and the ovalized, blistered look of Orangeburg pipe on its way to collapse. Occasionally it finds a full break or a collapse, and the camera simply stops.
For every defect, you get the distance from the cleanout so a plumber knows where to dig without guessing, along with the video itself and a written summary that says plainly what the finding is and what kind of repair it typically calls for — spot repair, lining, or replacement. The video is yours. On a purchase, it's the single most persuasive attachment you can put on a repair request, because there's nothing to argue about.
What the scope doesn't do: it doesn't cut, clear, or repair anything, and it can't see a section the camera can't reach — a fully blocked line gets documented as far as the camera gets, and that itself tells you something.
Process & Pricing
How it works and what it costs.
1. Book
Add it to any inspection or book it alone. Online, or call or text 586-522-8733.
2. Access
I need a cleanout — usually in the basement floor, at the foundation wall, or outside near the house. If there isn't one, I'll tell you the options before the visit.
3. The scope
Thirty to forty-five minutes. The camera runs the full length of the lateral while recording.
4. Video and report
Video file plus a written summary with defect locations, delivered with your inspection report or within 24 hours on a standalone scope.
5. Next step
If the line has a problem, the report tells you the kind of repair it needs so you can get a real quote — and negotiate with a number instead of a worry.
$199 as an add-on to any inspection, $299 as a standalone service. Buying a home? The Complete Inspection — buyer inspection, radon, and sewer scope in one visit and one report — is $749 (save $74), and it's the package I recommend on most homes in this market. Active and retired military, first responders, nurses, and teachers get a permanent 15% Heroes Discount.
See the full price list — every size tier, the older-home and distance adjustments, add-ons and the Heroes Discount.
Questions
Sewer scope questions.
How much does it cost to replace a sewer line?
It depends on depth, length, and what's on top of it. A spot repair in the yard can run a few thousand dollars. A full replacement under a driveway, a mature tree, or the street routinely runs well into five figures. That's why a $199 camera is worth it on almost any older home.
The seller says the line was just snaked. Isn't that enough?
No. Snaking clears whatever was blocking the line that day. It doesn't repair the joint the roots came through or the belly that collected the debris. A line that needed snaking is a line that should be scoped.
What if the house has no cleanout?
Some older homes don't. Depending on the layout, the camera can sometimes go in through a floor drain, a roof vent, or a pulled toilet. I'll tell you what's possible before the visit, and if a cleanout has to be added, that's a plumber's job and a good one to negotiate with the seller.
Does a sewer scope work on a septic system?
Yes. The camera runs from the house to the tank and evaluates that line the same way. It doesn't evaluate the tank or the drain field — that's a separate septic inspection by a septic contractor.
Do new homes really need one?
Less often, but yes. A brand-new PVC lateral can be crushed, bellied, or separated during backfill, and nobody checks it after it's buried. On a new build it's cheap certainty; on a ten-year-old home in a subdivision with big trees, it's overdue.
Will the camera damage the pipe?
No. It's a camera on a flexible push rod. Nothing cuts, scrapes, or pressurizes the line. If the line is fragile enough to be damaged by a camera, it's already failed.
How long does a sewer scope take, and do I get the video?
Thirty to forty-five minutes on most houses, longer if the lateral is long or the camera has to work through standing water. You get the full video file, not a clip, plus a written summary that gives the distance from the cleanout to every defect so a plumber can quote the repair without digging exploratory holes. On a home purchase the video attaches straight to your repair request.
Do you repair sewer lines or sell lining?
No. I inspect, I document, and I hand you the evidence. I do not do repairs, I do not sell lining or replacement, and I do not get a referral fee from anyone who does. That is on purpose. The scope is only worth something to you if the person holding the camera has no reason to find a problem.
Service Area
Available across Southeast Michigan
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