New Home Warranty Tip: Check the Sewer Before Your Warranty Expires
While it is important and always recommended to have the main sewer line (sanitary system) inspected with a high-resolution camera (also known as a sewer scope inspection) before buying any home or property, it is equally important to have a video inspection of your sewer completed by a reputable professional BEFORE your new home warranty expires. We are finding that more and more home inspectors and REALTORS® are recommending this inspection be completed on newly-built homes.
Why? Here are 3 points to consider as it relates to your sanitary system in a newly-built home:
1.) Don’t be lulled into thinking the “unseen” areas of your home are “okay” simply because your home is newly constructed. Even if there is currently no detectable problems and you’re not having any sewage backups, there might be unseen problems lurking below. Our technicians have discovered problem areas in both newly-built multi-million dollar homes as well as starter homes. Did you know a sewer line repair can cost as much as replacing a roof? Before the warranty expires on a new home it’s always best to add that extra peace of mind to your investment and hopefully avoid headaches in the future.
2.) Especially in areas, like Colorado, with shifting and settling soil, even new sewer lines can be broken during construction, go undetected, and cause plenty of headache for you in just a short period of time.
One of our customer’s who built a new home in Parker, Colorado reminded us of the importance of having such an inspection.
A Colorado New Home Owner’s Story:
“I contacted Pipe Spies after the purchase of my new home to ensure all was well before our warranty ran out. The Pipe Spies’ technician thoroughly and efficiently checked our system. He explained what he was doing and the results as he progressed. His inspection found a minor low spot under our basement floor. Though I chose not to have this fixed, he described how best to keep materials from building up in the low spot. I was thankful to know we did not have a major problem since settling can easily occur with newly constructed homes and I wanted to know if that might have created an issue for us before our warranty had run out.”
3.) Potential poor construction can be another factor. If the soil is not properly compacted before the sanitary line is placed or not properly sloped, this can cause poor flow, breaks, offsets, low areas, sags or bellies in the line, which may not be causing problems as the moment, but over time will gather debris and eventually lead to a backup. It would be better to locate the problem area/s while the builder is still responsible and can repair the problem.
We recommend scheduling an independent, (truly) unbiased camera inspection of your sanitary system for added peace of mind. By facing the good, bad, ugly and honest truth about your newly-constructed pipe’s condition the unseen becomes the seen, empowering you to be in the driver’s seat if a true issue needs to be addressed before your warranty expires.
Warren Rickford is a blogger and the founder/owner and operator of Pipe Spies, Inc.® He is considered an expert in the sewer scope video pipeline industry, and his company was awarded the 2015 Best Businesses of Littleton Award in the Plumbing category by the Best Businesses of Littleton Award Program and voted 2015 Best Video Pipe Inspectors in Colorado with the Experience Pros Radio Show. After having been vetted across a 16-layer accreditation process, Pipe Spies, Inc.® was approved from a customer service point of view to be listed in the Experience Pros Extreme Customer Service Directory. Warren can be contacted at warren@pipespies.com.
Call 303-795-3630 to experience first-hand the quality of our work and what sets Pipe Spies, Inc.® apart from the “other sewer guys.”