Calgary-area plumbers - advice needed

[czechm8]

My wife and I have been looking to buy a house in Calgary. The market sucks right now (for buyers) but so has renting the past almost 2 years, so we've been trying to look. We're looking to stay inner city so the houses we've been looking at have ranged from 20 to 100 years old. We just put an offer on a 65 year old house.

Coming from the recent home inspection posts, one item I've seen come up a couple times is people saying it may be wise to have the main sewage line scoped by a plumber with a camera from the house to the city connection.

Has anybody here had this done? Any details you can share (price, time, good/bad experience, etc)?

Also, can anyone comment on whether this would be a good thing to do as part of a home inspection? If we do and something negative comes up is this something we could negotiate into the price?

Are there any plumbers on here that can do this? (please pm me if so)

Thank you!

[Sushi]

If you don't get a response from CaberTosser, try Ducky's Drains if you want the sewer line scoped. Look for them on the HomeStars website.

[fog]

Interesting thing is that "ocasionally" another utility will be replaced and inadvertantly it's drilled threw your sewar line. No problem until you get a back up and the roto router machine nicks a gas line. Can you say ****ty - ****ty bang - bang.
Also you home insurance dosent cover any issues that happen between your foundation and the street where the city takes over.
Yes - get someone to run a poop scope threw the system. Cheap "insurance" and if a bad thing is spotted you can negotiate it in your purchase offer.
Start at 15K.

[CaberTosser]

I am not presently equipped with a sewer camera so it is nothing I am able to do personally. It can be a good idea, but generally if a house has sewer issues they would have made themselves known by way of back-ups that the present of previous homeowner has had to have augered. If they are being truthful as to whether or not that has ever been the case, or how long they've had the place can merit some consideration. Issues can be cracks in cast iron sewers bad clay-tile pipe, collapses, etc; some of these faults allow tree roots to penetrate (poplars are bad for this), or it might have incorrect gradient or a 'belly' in the pipe that collects solids over time. Tree roots tend to mat up in a sewer because to a root its a pretty good spot. Once the roots are matted up they collect things that don't dissolve, namely things that women shouldn't be flushing at all, but do anyways; Poop will dissolve and pass, 'white mice' don't.

There are some plumbing outfits that are really heavy on the sales tactics, huge Yellow pages Ads and super glossy websites. Some of these will try to sell you a trenchless re-lining whether you need one or not (the field techs are on commission ;) ). Try phoning an outfit that doesn't do re-lines, they won't try selling you the Brooklyn bridge.

A trenchless re-line is essentially lining your sewer with and epoxy coated 'sock' that they inflate a long balloon inside until it sets up. These work well when they're really needed and save having to dig up the yard, landscaping, sidewalks, etc. They work for some instances but don't help if the pipe has a belly in it or other grade problems.

[Grizzly Adams]

65 year old house ? Willing to bet the main sewer line is little but a hole lined with rust. :D

Grizz

[CaberTosser]

65 year old house ? Willing to bet the main sewer line is little but a hole lined with rust. :D

Grizz

I've cut open plenty of 80 year old cast iron sewers that easily have another 80-120+ years left in them. The there's some stacks that have some pretty good pinholing going on (my Mother-in-laws place for example). I think a lot of it is the quality of the cast iron pipe they got the luck of the draw on. These days with plastic that's not the concern, but most everything else still applies.

Workmanship, workmanship, workmanship.

[czechm8]

It can be a good idea, but generally if a house has sewer issues they would have made themselves known by way of back-ups that the present of previous homeowner has had to have augered. If they are being truthful as to whether or not that has ever been the case, or how long they've had the place can merit some consideration.

Thanks for the tips Caber!

So as a cheap alternative in case there may be some problems being masked, would opening all the faucets with cold water then flushing the upstairs and downstairs toilets at the same time to watch for any water backing up be a good way to check? There is a shower in the basement which sits pretty low so I suspect it would come out there (least resistance?).

I don't really want to flood somebody else's house, but would like to do a good check if it may soon be ours!

[CaberTosser]

Generally speaking, running all the fixtures at once won't accomplish much, the house will usually only have a 3/4" water supply and a 4" sewer, so obviously the sewer has way more capacity than the supply, despite not being pressurized. The best option for a 'test' (along simple lines anyways) is to fill all the bathtubs and sinks and then drain them simultaneously, and flush the toilets as well, the stored volume presents a bigger challenge than just running some taps.

[walking buffalo]

You can also look for signs that show there could be an issue, a few that Caber has already suggested.

Look for signs of previous backups.

Are there large trees near the sewer line?

Is the ground slumping along the sewer line?


Just a thought. The current owner could ask the City to come out and inspect/video the line. The City might do it at not cost as this is often part of their maintenance plan for older communities.

[czechm8]

Generally speaking, running all the fixtures at once won't accomplish much, the house will usually only have a 3/4" water supply and a 4" sewer, so obviously the sewer has way more capacity than the supply, despite not being pressurized. The best option for a 'test' (along simple lines anyways) is to fill all the bathtubs and sinks and then drain them simultaneously, and flush the toilets as well, the stored volume presents a bigger challenge than just running some taps.

Makes sense, I'll be doing that Thursday for sure!

One of the main reasons I wanted to check is because they have a large evergreen (50+ ft at least) in the front yard. Where we're renting now (Killarney) all of the new infills are connecting to utilities from the street in front of the house. I don't know if there are any areas where the utilities come from the alley, but I may try to track down the city/civil drawings to see if I could discern whether the sewage line runs right under the dang tree... Seems like a mess waiting to happen if so.

[CaberTosser]

What neighborhood?

[mudbug]

Another thing I'd do is ask some of the neighbors if any of them have had problems with their own sewer, they tend to be quite truthful since you might end up being their new neighbor. Potential neighbors can tell you a whole lot of interesting things :thinking-006:

[czechm8]

You can also look for signs that show there could be an issue, a few that Caber has already suggested.

Look for signs of previous backups.

Are there large trees near the sewer line?

Is the ground slumping along the sewer line?


Just a thought. The current owner could ask the City to come out and inspect/video the line. The City might do it at not cost as this is often part of their maintenance plan for older communities.

Good point! I just mentioned the large tree 1 post up, but I don't know if the line is on that side of the yard or not.

I never thought the City would do something like that for free. Even if so, I can't imagine the timing would be quick enough to factor into our real estate decision in this market. I've been feeling like even if we do find something they'll just put it back on the market and find the next person in line that's willing to put a bid in based on a 15-minute walk through.

I'm venting a little because we asked if we would do a 2nd viewing in between when we put our offer in and the home inspection and they've said 'no' multiple times. It wasn't in our conditions, but dang I thought that was reasonable.

[czechm8]

What neighborhood?

Renfrew.

[Unregistered user]

X2 on Ducky's, Drainsmith is good too.

[CaberTosser]

Renfrew would be a wild card, not predictable like the neighborhoods from the 1960's onwards where things were more standardized through high volume builders. If it has galvanized water lines you won't be able to get a new insurance policy on it.

[czechm8]

Renfrew would be a wild card, not predictable like the neighborhoods from the 1960's onwards where things were more standardized through high volume builders. If it has galvanized water lines you won't be able to get a new insurance policy on it.

Dang, the galvanized water line is another thing I did not check during the walk through. What information does the insurance company base this on? (i.e. how do they find out?)

How long has that rule been in effect? The current owners bought it in 2007 so I'm wondering if that would be an easy way to check (seeing if they were able to get insurance).

[walking buffalo]

Good point! I just mentioned the large tree 1 post up, but I don't know if the line is on that side of the yard or not.

I never thought the City would do something like that for free. Even if so, I can't imagine the timing would be quick enough to factor into our real estate decision in this market. I've been feeling like even if we do find something they'll just put it back on the market and find the next person in line that's willing to put a bid in based on a 15-minute walk through.

I'm venting a little because we asked if we would do a 2nd viewing in between when we put our offer in and the home inspection and they've said 'no' multiple times. It wasn't in our conditions, but dang I thought that was reasonable.


I missed you stating in the op that there already is an offer on the house. Live and learn.

If you take possession, give the city a call.

[czechm8]

I missed you stating in the op that there already is an offer on the house. Live and learn.

If you take possession, give the city a call.

We made an offer last Friday and have until Friday at 9:30 PM to wave the conditions. I wanted to go back for a second viewing myself just to check a few things ahead of the inspection, but our agent asked for us multiple times and was told 'no'.

The home inspection is on Thursday, so we still have then where something might come up and we can walk. I had been wondering after we made our offer whether there are a few major items we should have checked beforehand, but you can only do so much during the first walk-through (don't have a ladder with me to pop my head in the attic). The way the Calgary market has been, that 15-20 minutes is about all you get before you need to put an offer in.

[Justanotherbuck2]

If your home was built during the cast era, DON"T hesitate camera the drain, replacement can be a huge cost, most shops will camera the drain for a couple hundred dollars, (that's what I bill out) I use the rigid seesnake and after augering so many problem cast drains for years, I always recommend camera inspection prior to purchasing a older home. Remember its not if it needs to be upgraded its WHEN. I have a few customers in older homes that we auger the roots out every few months even in the winter because it is not in their budget to replace their main drain, several smaller communities do not share the cost so it is up to the home owner to replace right out to the main line, and that includes sidewalk and street repairs. The village of Standard does it right to the main at a cost of close to $30,000.00 and loans the homeowner the money to complete it. If you ever sell your home you then have to repay the full amount. most large cities take over the cost at the property line.