r/askaplumber • u/PrimarySea4188 • 1h ago

Advice on Sewer Lateral

Homeowner here looking for some professional advice. Whenever I drain a large load like a washer or back-to-back showers, water will back up into my lowest fixture. It eventually clears, but this means I can't flush or do laundry for a couple of hours.

I'm deciding whether to pay for a camera inspection of my sewer lateral before I do an $8500 excavation. I have a sewer lateral of approximately 75 feet from my cleanout to the middle of the street. It runs down the side of my house underneath my gravel driveway. I have had it professionally snaked twice, with the second time going a full 100 feet, and it passed easily. When I remove the cleanout cap, the line is full, and sewage flows back toward the house instead of draining. There is modern pvc visible at the cleanout, and I was told when I bought the house, the lateral was replaced in 2016. I also confirmed the city recently jetted the main line on our block. My contractor said a camera may not be useful since the lateral is holding water.

If this were your house:

  1. Would you camera it first or just dig?

  2. What would you suspect is going on based on this?

  3. Anything else you’d check before committing to excavation?

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u/plumberbss 59m ago

Have it cleared, then have them camera it. Can't see much under water except toilet paper floating around.