Sewer scope inspection
The one nobody checks
until it backs up.
A camera down the main line from the cleanout to the street, with every defect measured to
the foot — and a link to watch the whole run yourself.
Why it matters more here than most places.
A lot of the housing stock across Lake and McHenry County is old enough to still be on clay
tile or cast iron. Both fail in ways you cannot see from inside the house.
Roots
Clay tile joins every few feet, and roots find the joints. A mature tree in the parkway
is usually the reason a line closes up.
Bellies
A section that has settled holds standing water. It drains slowly, catches solids, and
gets worse on its own schedule.
Offsets and breaks
Cast iron rusts from the inside and clay shifts with the ground. Either way the pipe stops
lining up and the flow starts catching.
What you actually get.
Not "we looked and it seemed fine" — a document a plumber can quote from.
01Distance to every defect, in feet
02A still image of each one
03Severity: note, monitor, repair, urgent
04Pipe material, and where it changes
05Whether we reached the municipal main
06A link to the full video
The distance is the number that matters. A plumber quoting off “roots somewhere in the
line” is guessing; a plumber quoting off “root intrusion at 41 feet” is
pricing a job.
Worth doing when…
·The house is over about 25 years old
·There are mature trees near the line
·The seller mentions any past backup
·It is on clay tile or cast iron
·The basement is finished
·You would rather know than not
We scope mains with an accessible PVC cleanout. If the cleanout is cast iron we will tell you
on the day and recommend a plumber rather than force it.