Sewer camera inspection in Minneapolis

What the camera actually shows

A self-leveling color camera on a flexible push rod goes in at the cleanout — or, if the house has none, through a pulled toilet or the floor drain — and travels to the city main. Contractors also call it drain pipe televising; Minneapolis bids use both names for the same recorded scope. On the screen you see the pipe material (clay, cast iron, Orangeburg, PVC), every joint, and whatever is wrong:

• Root intrusion — fine hair roots at a joint or a mat filling the pipe
• Cracks and breaks — longitudinal cracks in clay, rusted-out bottoms in cast iron
• Offset joints — one section lifted by frost or settling, leaving a lip
• Bellies — a sag where the camera goes underwater and stays there
• Scale and grease — the rough, narrowed interior of old cast iron
• Collapse — the pipe stops, or the camera pushes into dirt
• Blistering and ovaling — the signature of Orangeburg on its way out

The rod is marked, so the distance from the cleanout to each problem is known. A sonde in the camera head transmits to a locator on the surface, so a technician can stand on the lawn directly above the fault and read its depth. That gets painted on the grass, and it is what turns a video into a quote.

When to get one

A backup or a slow main line. Snaking clears the symptom. The camera tells you why it happened and whether it will happen again in three months.

Before buying a house in Minneapolis. Minneapolis's Truth in Sale of Housing evaluation does not include a sewer scope. Some metro cities have their own point-of-sale sewer or I&I rules — check with the city where you are buying or selling. A pre-1960 house in Kingfield, Como or Highland Park has a clay or Orangeburg sewer that may be the most expensive single thing wrong with the property, and $250–$500 for a sewer scope during the inspection period is the best money in the transaction.

Before finishing a basement, pouring a driveway or building an addition. If the line is going to fail, you want to know before there is a slab on top of it.

Before any repair quote. A sewer inspection in Minneapolis should come before anyone prices a dig.

What it costs

A recorded sewer line camera inspection in Minneapolis typically runs $250–$500, depending on access and length, with locating and depth-marking the problem usually included. Ask whether the fee is credited if you hire that contractor for the repair. A pre-purchase scope with a written summary and the video file is usually in the same range.

Getting the camera in

Most houses built after 1950 have a cleanout — a capped pipe near the foundation wall in the basement or just outside. Many 1900–1930 houses don't; the line goes straight from the main stack into the floor. A contractor can scope through a pulled toilet or the floor drain, but if you own the house long-term, adding a cleanout during any repair is worth doing so nobody has to pull a toilet again.

What you should get

The video file, a short written summary of the pipe material and each finding with its distance and depth, and — if there is a problem — a written price for the fix by spot repair, replacement or trenchless. If the line is fine, a good report says so, and you keep the video for the next owner.

How to get ready for the visit

A little prep saves time and gives a cleaner picture of the pipe.

• Clear a path to the cleanout or, if there isn't one, to the lowest toilet and the floor drain.
• Don't run big loads of water for an hour or so beforehand. A pipe that is mostly empty is easier to see.
• Have the history handy: when the line last backed up, when it was last snaked, and any old video.
• Plan to watch. Ask to see the monitor as the camera goes out, and ask the technician to pause at anything worth a closer look.
• Ask about the file format before the visit, so you know how you will get the video afterwards.

Questions to ask about your report

1. What is the pipe made of, and does it change partway to the street?
2. How many joints show roots, and at what distances?
3. Is there any standing water, and how long is that stretch?
4. Where is each problem on the lawn, and how deep?
5. Did the camera reach the city main? If not, where did it stop and why?
6. Is this a repair, a lining job, a replacement, or just maintenance?

If the answer to the last question is "replacement," ask the technician to point to the footage that shows why. The best reports are the ones you could hand to a second contractor for their own price.

Common mistakes with sewer scopes

• Scoping a line that is still full of water. The camera needs to see the pipe wall; clear the line first.
• Stopping at the property line. The part under the boulevard and the street is often where the worst joints are, and in Minneapolis it is generally yours.
• Leaving without the video. A written note that says "roots present" is not enough to price a job.
• Treating a free scope as neutral. When the same company sells the repair, a paid, recorded scope you keep is the safer start.
• Waiting until after closing. On a purchase, the inspection period is your window to ask questions and negotiate.

How often to scope a line

A clay lateral under mature trees that scopes sound is worth a look every few years, and after any backup. A lined or PVC line rarely needs one unless something changes. Before a basement finish, a new driveway or an addition, scope it no matter how old the last video is. A sewer line camera inspection in Minneapolis costs far less than cutting into a new slab later.

Read more: what a camera inspection shows and what it costs and signs of a broken sewer line.