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We try to make home buyers aware of it during our home inspections, and we will continue to create awareness on this subject as long as we are in business. In case you don’t know; Home Inspectors are not able to evaluate the underground sewer line from the house to the street.
Failure of the sewer line can be devastating for your financial situation, and can put you in a crappy situation if sewer is backing up into your basement.
Up until mid-70’s the underground sewer pipe from a house out to the main sewer on the street was made of clay. Over time, shifting of the soil, and tree roots can damage the sewer line causing it to fail or collapse. If the home is built after that time period the pipes are likely made of plastic and failure is less likely, but can still occur.
City of Fargo’s Plumbing Inspector, Troy Bornmann, has seen issues with the sewer lines in both older and newer homes, and when considering the fairly low cost of a sewer line inspection ($100-$150), he highly recommends the sewer line be inspected prior to purchasing a home.
Scoping of the sewer line involves a plumber running a camera from the sewer pipe from the house all the way through to the main sewer on the street. This allows for a visual inspection of the sewer line and the ability to find any damage or failure to the sewer line which could lead to major damage if the line is not fixed or replaced properly.
Bob Polcher with Precision Plumping also recommends to have the sewer scoped prior to purchasing a home. For existing home owners; Bob said that some signs you can look for in your house that might indicate a problem with your sewer line are slow drains and gurgling toilets.
The cost of repairing or replacing a failed sewer line varies greatly, but could cost from $8,000 to $20,000. Good news is that this expense doesn’t necessarily need to go directly out of pocket. Bornmann says that The City of Fargo will let you add this expense to your “Specials” *, but only if there is a solid connection from the house to where it ties into the main on the street. Furthermore, Steve Sprague with The City of Fargo Auditors Office said that the cost of a sewer line replacement can be added into specials on any house with 3 units or less. It will be the home owner’s responsibility if the home has 4 or more units. If we go across the river however, the rules are different according to Amy Weigel with The City of Moorhead. “Anyone can request to add the cost of a sewer line replacement into specials, and it doesn’t necessarily matter how many units the building has”, Weigel said.” At least 3 different bids need to be gathered, and the city will add a 5% of the bid as an administration cost. The total expense will then be spread over a 20-year period”.
Research is very important to do before hiring a contractor to replace the sewer system. We recommend to get three different bids before making your final decision. When hiring a contractor make sure they are licensed and insured.
The sewer line might already be replaced, and this is something the city could have records of. “We have records of building permits as far back as early 1900’s”, Bornmann said.
When replacing your sewer line Bob Polcher with Precision Plumbing highly recommends installing a backwater valve. “A backwater valve is a “one-way-valve” that is installed in the sewer line that prevents sewage from flowing back into the house. The cost of installing a backwater valve ranges from $1,800 – $2,500 and could take up to a day to install”.
If you have any plumbing questions, would like to have your sewer line inspected, or a backwater valve installed, you can contact Bob Polcher with Precision Plumbing at 701-238-1753. Their website is https://www.precisionpe.com/
*Special assessment is the term used in the United States to designate a unique charge that government units can assess against real estate parcels for certain public projects. This charge is levied in a specific geographic area known as a special assessment district (SAD).
(Source: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_assessment_tax )
Precision Plumbing
701-238-1753