Additional Services

Services

Additional Inspection Services

Sewer Line Inspection

A sewer line inspection involves using a special video camera that is fed down your sewer line through a clean out, vent line or removed toilet inside the house that digitally records the condition of the sewer line either within the house or all the way to the city connection.

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Any home built prior to 1990
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Houses with large trees
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Homes with garburators
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Large amounts of grease flushed down lines
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Homes with cast iron pipes
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If your toilets, sinks or tubs drain slowly or glugs
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If water backs up in floor drains
filming the inside of pipes of a household sewage system
Do I need a sewer line inspection?

Prior to the 1990’s a lot of homes in Edmonton were constructed using clay sewer lines. The problem is clay sewer lines allow for easy root infiltration. After the 90s PVC pipes have been the industry standard. PVC’s rigidity does not allow easy root infiltration. Also some areas of the city still have no-corrode sewer lines (basically cardboard impregnated with tar).

What's the benefit?

The reason you would want a sewer line inspection is that it can cost $5000, $10,000 or more to replace a failed sewer line. Always deal with these items before you own the home. Sewer line backs ups can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your basement and create health hazards as well.

Do trees affect the sewer line?

Roots can work their way into the pipes and will cause blockages and eventually collapse of the sewer line. Once roots get into the sewer line through a hole or space and once they are removed there can be damage to the sewer line exposed.

What's included?

Our inspectors will come to your home and perform a video inspection of the sewer lines, providing pictures, distance down the line and potential solutions that you can have done. A color report and video trip down the line is provided. Note that we do not repair the problem, so we have nothing to gain by exaggerating the problem.

Sewer Line Images

A few dirty pictures from various sewer line inspections.

thermal imaging infrared camera with viewfinder

Thermal Inspection

What’s hidden behind your walls?

Thermal Imaging is a non-invasive method of seeing what might be going on behind your walls. The thermal imaging camera picks up very small differences in surface temperature, as little as .6 of a degree. It is not x-ray vision, cannot see through clothes and does not release radiation. This is a basic scan for missing insulation, water penetration and electrical overloads. Color images will be included in the same day emailed report .

Most items hold and radiate heat differently. For instance a dry jacket is warm outside in the cold and a wet jacket is cold outside. Why you ask? The wet jacket transfers the heat off your body quicker than the air trapped inside the dry jacket.

Electrical

When a circuit is overloaded it creates heat, like the element on your stove. While this is good on your stove, it is bad in your walls, because if enough heat is generated there can be a fire.

A failing circuit breaker will generate heat. While some heat is normal a bad breaker can short circuit and cause a fire, trip often, or not trip when a short circuit is happening.

Insulation

Some attics have difficult sections to reach, or insulation has been moved around to work on lights and is not put back properly. Attic hatches often have poor insulation on them. In older homes the insulation sometimes settles, leaving half of the wall with no insulation. Also around floors and basement roofs there is inadequate insulation.

Water has a different thermal mass than most other building items, meaning that it takes longer to change temperature, as well as conducting heat (or lack of heat known as cold). Plumbing leaks, foundation leaks, roof leaks, humidifier leaks even animal urine!

Plumbing

Water has a different thermal mass than most other building items, meaning that it takes longer to change temperature, as well as conducting heat (or lack of heat known as cold). Plumbing leaks, foundation leaks, roof leaks, humidifier leaks even animal urine!

WETT Inspection

A basic WETT inspection involves a visual evaulation of readily accessibe parts of permanently installed wood burning system by evaluating functionality, cleanliness and certifing it for safe use as required by insurance companies or a real estate purchase.

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wood burning fireplace with glowing fire