Fountain Square sewer camera inspection

The farmland that became Fountain Square was platted again and again between 1870 and 1873, and Virginia Avenue grew into a busy commercial street with homes around it ^[2]. Later, the neighborhood became the city's entertainment district, and later still the interstate interchange cleared whole blocks ^[2]. Each of those eras left pipe in the ground. A camera inspection here is less a check of one pipe than an investigation of what history left under your lot.

The common findings fall into three groups. Original clay laterals under older cottages, often with roots at joints and offsets from decades of soil movement. New pipe meeting old, on rehabs and infill homes where plumbing to the property line is modern but the connection beyond it is not. And extra pipes: an abandoned lateral from a demolished house, an old wye with nothing attached, or a connection in an unexpected place. The camera, together with a locator, sorts out which pipe actually carries your wastewater.

Renovation has transformed many Fountain Square houses: new kitchens, new bathrooms, new supply lines and often new drains inside. The lateral outside, under the yard and sidewalk, is the part most often left untouched because it is out of sight and the house drained during the work. Then a household moves in, with laundry, dishwashers and more showers, and the old clay line is asked to carry much more than it did while the house sat empty.

If you are buying a rehab, ask whether the lateral was filmed, lined or replaced, and ask for the video. If no one knows, book a sewer camera inspection during your inspection period. If you are rehabbing a house yourself, film the lateral before the new floors and finishes go in; fixing it while the house is empty is far easier than after.

The commercial blocks around the fountain hold restaurants, bars, venues and apartments in buildings that are often more than a century old. Their laterals are longer, carry more flow and collect kitchen grease, which hides the pipe wall from the camera. Contractors usually jet these lines before filming so the video shows cracks and offsets rather than a coat of grease. The footage also reveals whether the line runs under the sidewalk or into the street, which matters if a repair is needed.

Lots here are small, houses sit close to the sidewalk, and near the interstate edges some streets were altered when blocks were cleared. A lateral may not head straight to the main in front; it may run to a side street or join where you would not guess. The camera's transmitter lets the contractor follow the line from the surface and paint the route and depth on the ground. Photograph those marks. They tell you where a pit could go if a repair is needed and where not to plant a tree.

Light roots in a round line may only need clearing. Roots at many joints point toward CIPP lining, which suits small lots because it needs little or no digging. Broken or deformed pipe suits pipe bursting. A damaged connection at the main or a sag needs a short excavation. All of those repairs need a Citizens Energy Group permit and inspection ^[1]. See the Fountain Square area page for more on local history and housing.

Hosts can avoid the worst kind of call, a guest reporting sewage in the shower, by filming the lateral before the busy season. The video shows whether roots or a bad transition are waiting to cause trouble, and lets you schedule clearing or a repair between bookings instead of during a stay.

If roots have caused trouble before, late winter is a good time to film, ahead of spring growth. Rehabbers should film before new finishes go in. Buyers should book the scope early in their inspection period so there is time for a second opinion. For commercial lines, film after a scheduled jetting so the wall is clean and the video shows what really matters.

Store the video with the house records. Fountain Square houses change hands often after rehabs, and buyers increasingly ask to see the sewer.