The Importance of Sewer Line Inspection Before Buying a Property

When buying a home in Toronto, you typically have a checklist that includes location, square footage, the roof, and perhaps even the age of the furnace. However, one crucial aspect is often overlooked: what lies underground? Specifically, the sewer line. It’s out of sight, but ignoring it can come back to bite hard. A damaged or deteriorating sewer line can turn your dream home into a nightmare of repairs, odours, and surprise expenses.

Getting a professional sewer line inspection before you sign the papers might not be the most exciting part of the process, but it’s one of the smartest. Here’s what we look for, what can go wrong, and how a simple pipe camera inspection can save you from a very expensive mess.

Common Sewer Line Problems Found During Inspection

Tree Root Intrusion

Toronto’s older neighbourhoods are full of beautiful, mature trees. Unfortunately, their roots aren’t just stretching into your yard, but they’re eyeing your pipes. Over time, roots can push through pipe joints, cracking the line and causing blockages that build up quietly. Without a sewer line inspection, most people don’t realize what is happening until it’s too late. These intrusions can also snag debris, leading to even faster clogs and potential backups that strike when you least expect them.

Pipe Deterioration in Older Homes

Many pre-1970s homes have sewer pipes made of clay, cast iron, or Orangeburg, a fibre-based material with a lifespan that expired decades ago. These materials break down slowly, but once the failure starts, it moves quickly. A pipe camera not only confirms if the system’s intact, but it also shows how much time you realistically have left. This kind of insight can save you from getting blindsided during your first rainy season or major water use.

Misaligned or Collapsed Pipes

Between ground shifting, poor backfill, and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles, underground pipes have a tough job staying aligned. Sections can sag, buckle, or even snap without a sound. You would never spot this during a walk-through, and most home inspections don’t include it. That’s where a sewer line inspection comes in. These hidden flaws can cause everything from slow drains to recurring blockages, and left unchecked, may lead to total pipe collapse.

Financial and Structural Risks of Skipping Inspection

Unexpected Sewer Backups

Picture this: you have just moved in, celebrating with a load of laundry and a long shower, when suddenly the floor drain gurgles and overflows. Sewer backups love bad timing. They often hit early, especially in homes with undiscovered plumbing problems. While the water might be the first thing you notice, the real danger lies in what that water contains. It’s messy, toxic, and far more expensive to clean up than most people expect.

Expensive Emergency Repairs

Emergency plumbing isn’t cheap. If you need an entire line replaced, that could mean excavation, new pipe installation, and restoring whatever was torn up in the process, such as landscaping, driveways, or even basement floors. Skip the inspection and you might be footing that bill yourself. Even worse, you will be doing it under stress and a ticking clock. A simple sewer line inspection gives you the chance to plan instead of panic.

Long-Term Structural Damage

Leaky sewer pipes are more than just unpleasant. They slowly wash away soil beneath your foundation, weaken structural supports, and invite water into places it should never be. Over time, that can lead to shifting foundations, cracked walls, or mould creeping through the basement. The damage often remains hidden until it becomes widespread. A good inspection helps you catch it before the slow drip turns into major damage.

Decreased Property Value

If sewer issues aren’t fixed before resale, they become your problem at closing. Buyers will demand repairs or a price reduction, and disclosure laws may force you to reveal the trouble anyway. Either way, a damaged sewer line drags down your property value. It’s far better to identify and fix the problem while it’s still yours to manage on your timeline, not someone else’s.

Benefits of Pipe Camera Inspection by Professionals

Clear Visual Evidence

Forget guesswork. A pipe camera gives you a live look inside the sewer line, so you can see exactly what is happening. Cracks, blockages, tree roots, and corrosion are all there, on screen. This kind of visual proof helps you make confident decisions and shows sellers you’re not making baseless demands. You can even use the footage as leverage if issues pop up during negotiation.

Accurate Issue Detection

At Brothers Plumbing, we look for early warning signs. Small cracks, rust, and debris buildup are things that aren’t causing chaos yet, but eventually will. Our tools go beyond a basic pass-fail grade, offering detailed views so you know exactly what you’re up against. Better detection means fewer surprises and a more targeted approach to fixing what matters.

Faster, Non-Invasive Assessment

You don’t need to rip up your yard or wait around all day. A professional sewer line inspection is quick and clean. In most cases, our team is done in under an hour. It fits easily into the home inspection timeline and gives you peace of mind before finalizing the deal. There is also no clean-up required, and we’re in and out without a trace.

Detailed Cost Estimates

Once we have seen the problem, we can tell you what fixing it is likely to cost. That estimate is useful whether you are negotiating a price, planning your post-purchase repairs, or deciding to walk away. The inspection cost is tiny compared to the repair bills you might dodge. Plus, it keeps your budget grounded in reality instead of guesswork.

Make an Informed Investment with Sewer Line Inspection

Some issues fix themselves, but sewer lines are not on that list. However, with the right tools and a trained set of eyes, you can find out exactly what shape the system is in before making one of the biggest purchases of your life. Compared to the cost of excavation or recovering from a sewer backup, a pipe camera inspection is a small price for big peace of mind.

If you’re buying a home in Toronto, don’t skip sewer line inspection. Contact Brothers Plumbing today at 647-247-2230 or contact us online. We will help you get the full picture before you buy.