A Couple Words About Older Denver Homes
While still a relatively new city, Denver, Colorado does have many older homes in areas like City Park , Park Hill , Washington Park , the Highlands , Cherry Creek , Capitol Hill , Congress Park and Sloan’s Lake , to name a few (note many of these older area have "park" in the name). These older homes, while magnificent and frequently well built, have their own issues home buyers, sellers, and owners need to be aware of.
Sewer Systems in Older Denver Homes
Older Denver homes have cast iron waste lines running throughout the house. The pipes from the house to the Denver city sewer system, frequently in the alley behind the home, especially in the areas mentioned above, were predominantly made of vitreous clay tile (known as VCTs). These sections of tile are buried and run from the house through the yard and deep underground to the main sewer line servicing the neighborhood. All well and good so far.
However, over time these pipes can develop problems that must be monitored to avoid worsening conditions. In some cases, a section of pipe can start sinking, creating a "belly" in the pipe that doesn’t totally allow waste to flow through the section. Sinking can also create an offset between sections where the ends don’t align, catching debris and affecting drainage. This can be caused by poor compaction of the soil the tile was laid on or increased weight on that section by something like a tree that grows over the years or the house settling.
In addition to sinking, cracks can also appear in the clay tile pipes and the joints can attract roots since roots seek out moisture. Cracks and roots must be monitored to ensure they don’t compromise the integrity of your sewer system.
Why We Recommend a Sewer Scope Inspection for Your Older Denver Home
Knowing what’s in your sewer pipes is key to maintaining them and avoiding an expensive major fix like digging up and replacing your entire sewer line. Over time, root penetration can enlarge cracks and increase pipe section off-sets. This can be prevented or slowed with cable cleaning or snaking where a blade is sent into the sewer line to cut back roots.
So how do you monitor a sewer line? Get a sewer scope for your older Denver home! Yes, there are services that run a video camera on a cable through your sewer system to inspect the line from the house to the sewer main, which is owned and maintained by the city. This service runs from$160-$200 and is well worth the investment for an older home and less expensive that a multi-thousand system replacement.
Check out this video to see what a sewer scope inspection looks like(we added the techno music to make it a little more exciting than it really is).
Contact us for information on buying or selling an older Denver home in these great communities or for a referral of a good sewer scope inspector to keep your system maintained.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Please inform me of names of companies who scope sewer lines.
The seller is giving up on this part of our contract to buy his home saying,”there is no one who performs this service.” Help ASAP
Margaret, thanks for your comment. Your real estate agent should be able to provide you a list of companies that do this in your area. I sent you an email with the name of a company we use. If you need more information, drop us a line and we’ll be glad to help!
I am a sewer scope tech for 1st choice home inspection and sewer scope. I would like people to understand that sewer scoping is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to ensure that you sewage drain is functioning as it should. It is not just older homes that we see problems in. Sometimes the newer developments end up with problems as well. Granted the older homes have problems from ground shift and erosion, tree roots, and age and use. The newer homes run into problems like pipe joints were not fitted properly, or after the lines have been buried they get crushed from excavation of the rest of the building site. So, no matter old or new it is my opinion that sewer scoping should be done anytime you purchase a home and at every 2 yrs after purchase just to protect you investment and your home.