What a sewer camera inspection is
A sewer camera inspection, also called a sewer scope, is a recorded video of the inside of your sewer lateral from the house to the city main. A waterproof, self-leveling camera on a stiff push cable goes in through a cleanout and travels the length of the line while a counter records the distance in feet. A transmitter in the camera head lets us locate it from the surface and read its depth. The result is not an opinion. It is footage of the pipe, with every crack, root and sag time-stamped and measured.
Every repair we do in Kansas City starts here, because the alternative is guessing. Guessing is how homeowners end up paying for a full sewer line replacement when a $2,000 spot repair would have done, or paying for a liner on a pipe with a belly that a liner cannot fix.
When you need one
- Recurring backups. If a drain cleaner has cabled the line more than once, something structural is letting roots or debris back in.
- Buying a home. Especially pre-1980 homes and any lot with mature trees. The general home inspection stops at the foundation wall.
- Selling a home. A clean scope in hand removes the biggest negotiating lever a buyer has.
- Slow drains throughout the house rather than at one fixture. One slow sink is a local clog. Every drain slow, with gurgling, points to the lateral.
- A sewer smell in the basement or yard, or a patch of lawn that stays green and soft in August.
- Before landscaping, a driveway, an addition or a finished basement. Find out what is under there first.
- After a backup claim. Insurers and warranty programs want footage and a written cause.
How we do it
- Find the access. Most Kansas City homes have a cleanout in the basement floor near the front wall or in the yard. If there is none, we go through a roof vent or pull a toilet; if you plan to repair, we recommend installing a cleanout so this is the last time anyone has to do that.
- Run the camera. The head travels the full length to the city tap, usually 40 to 90 feet. We pause at every defect and note the footage counter.
- Locate from the surface. We track the sonde with a receiver, mark the line on the lawn, and mark and measure the depth at each problem. You will know that the offset joint is 47 feet out, 6 feet down, under the edge of the driveway.
- Walk you through it. On the monitor, with you standing there. We explain what a root mass, a belly, a fracture and channel corrosion each look like and what each one means for the repair options.
- Written report and footage. Emailed the same day: the video, still frames of each defect, footage and depth, and a written price for each viable repair. The $249 is credited to any of them.
What the camera usually finds in Kansas City
The metro's housing stock tells you what to expect. Homes built before 1975 mostly have vitrified clay pipe with root intrusion at the joints. Homes from the 1950s to the 1970s often have cast iron under the slab with scale and channel rot. Homes with a lot of settled fill, common on the Missouri side bluffs and in newer subdivisions, show bellies. Orangeburg, a tar-paper pipe used briefly after the war, turns up in a few pockets and is always a replacement.
| What we see | What it means | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Fine roots at joints | Clay joints opening, early stage | Jetting now, lining before the next season |
| Root mass filling the pipe | Joints wide open | Jetting plus lining |
| Standing water, camera submerged | Belly | Dig and re-bed that section |
| Step in the pipe wall | Offset joint | Spot repair, then line if the rest is sound |
| Camera cannot pass, soil visible | Collapse | Pipe bursting or excavation |
| Rough, flaking walls, flat bottom | Cast iron corrosion | Lining, or replacement if the bottom is gone |
Pricing
A standard residential sewer scope in Kansas City is $249 with an accessible cleanout, credited in full toward any repair we do. Access through a roof vent or a pulled toilet is $349 to $450 because of the extra time and the reset. A pre-purchase inspection with a written report for the buyer is $299. If the line is too blocked for the camera to pass, we will tell you what jetting costs before we do it; we do not charge for a scope that could not see anything.
When we do not recommend it
Rarely, but it happens. If the line is actively backing up into the house right now, the first job is to get it draining, not to film it; we clear it, then scope it once the water is down. If a home is under ten years old with PVC and no trees, and a single fixture is slow, the problem is almost certainly inside the house and a scope of the lateral would be money spent to confirm the obvious. We will say so on the phone. See the emergency page if water is coming up now.
Service area
Sewer inspection across the metro, both states: Kansas City MO and KS, Overland Park, Olathe, Independence, Lee's Summit, Shawnee, Lenexa, Blue Springs, Raytown and Gladstone. Same-day in most of them, next morning at the latest.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a sewer camera inspection cost in Kansas City?
Our sewer scope starts at $249 for a standard residential lateral with an accessible cleanout, and the fee is credited toward any repair we do. Lines without a cleanout, or with a pulled toilet as the only access, run $349 to $450.
How long does a sewer scope take?
About an hour on site: 15 minutes to set up, 20 to 30 minutes running the camera and locating from the surface, and time to walk you through the footage.
Should I get a sewer inspection before buying a house in Kansas City?
Yes, on any home built before 1980 and on any home with large trees between the house and the street. A general home inspection does not include the sewer. A $249 scope has saved buyers here from $15,000 surprises many times.
Do I get a copy of the video?
Always. You get the full recording with on-screen distance markers, plus a written summary of what we found, where, and how deep. It is yours to share with an insurer, a seller or another contractor.
Can the camera find where the pipe is under the yard?
Yes. The camera head carries a sonde, a small transmitter we locate from the surface. We mark the line and each defect on the lawn with paint or flags and note the depth.