Canal inspection recommended / sensible?

Hello everyone,

I was advised to have a video channel inspection carried out in my house from the 60s, as the pipes are quite old and presumably little water has flowed through them in recent years. I do not have any general sewage problems.

Unfortunately, I cannot assess the usefulness at all. Is it worthwhile? Is it sensible?

Best regards Tassimat

what should it cost and never had any problems ??

I have only had the house for a few months and the water seems to drain normally. So no problems for now. Two different [Sanitär-Firmen] have recommended the inspection to me.

Costs would be roughly €20 for travel, €25/15min labor time (flushing or recording video), €50 if I want the video. All prices plus VAT. Allegedly two hours are sufficient.

Possible follow-up costs if something is leaking.... no idea how high that would be.

Hello

The water has been draining for over 50 years. Perfect. I would leave it as it is until problems arise or the pipeline is worked on for another reason.

A company that certainly also carries out renovations on sewage pipes inspects a pipeline that is over 50 years old and discovers...............???
probably things that should be renewed or repaired as a precaution?

Both options are possible and can prove to be correct. You have to weigh the risk.
I would wait.

Olli

I have decided to have the inspection done. Today it finally took place.
Here follows a small report of my experience:

About the condition of the pipe from the house to the sewer:

[*]The part of the sewer pipe under the floor slab is okay.
[*]Right at the end of the house there are two small bends and a pipe break. However, it is rather a large crack along one side of the pipe, probably because a lot of settling has occurred in the soil here.
[*]After that, every meter the joints are defective or broken and there are displacements. They didn’t look too bad to me as a layman.
[*]At meter 10 there was a larger downward displacement, so that water stands here up to half the pipe height.
[*]After that, the sidewalk begins and it looks good.
[*]Some joints supposedly have beginning root intrusion, but to me as a layman it looked more like dirt. Not a typical root pattern.
[*]

I believe many of these issues have arisen due to the vegetation above. Right above the sewer there are still old tree stumps of deep-rooting trees. Some large shrubs also still exist. The pipe is about 1.5m below the surface.

On the other side within the house there are slight deposits that become very heavy in the back in an area that should only be an overflow protection.

The whole operation took just under an hour. I did not order the video because I was personally present.

A company that surely also carries out repairs on sewer pipes inspects a pipe over 50 years old and discovers…………???
Probably things that should be renewed or repaired as a precaution?

Oh wonder, I was advised to renovate everything. Both the outer area and the part inside the house under the floor slab. How convenient that I am getting offers directly from the same company. Seek and you shall find

Whether I will have something done right away, I do not know yet.
All shrubs and plants will be removed first, so I, as a layman, hope that there will no longer be any dramatic shifts so quickly.
I will also discuss everything again with my plumber.

So far I do not regret having had the inspection done

A leak test is even partially mandatory, depending on the age of the pipes. We should probably have one done too, I believe (built in 1921, presumably still the original pipes), but due to the costs, we haven't done it yet. The test itself is not expensive, but the costs in case a renovation is necessary are, and we don’t have the money for that at the moment anyway. Because of the missing leak test, for example, we couldn’t insure the pipes outside the house up to the utility company. That’s also a point to consider. If the test had been currently available, co-insurance would have been possible without problems.

So, long story short, google “leak test mandatory” or something and read up on it... definitely not irrelevant for old building owners. For us, a conversation with the utility company was unfortunately not productive. And no one can tell us how old our pipes on the property actually are. But since the sewage pipe from the basement to the outside is still cast iron, it is probably very old and presumably still original from 1921.