Yes, before buying and often before signing a long lease. In Phoenix the owner maintains the sewer line from the building to the city main, and a walk-through inspection cannot see inside underground pipe. A camera inspection during your due diligence period shows the pipe's condition while you can still negotiate.
Why does the sewer line matter to a buyer or tenant?
Because the building's sewer line is the owner's to maintain. The City of Phoenix states that property owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing the sewer and water lines that run through their property and connect to the city's main lines. That covers the pipe under the parking lot or landscaping, and it is the line that carries every drain in the building. If it is cracked, full of roots or sagging, the owner pays for the repair, and a backup shuts down every business that uses it.
A general walk-through inspection of a commercial building looks at what an inspector can see and reach. Underground pipe is neither. Nobody can judge a buried line's condition from the surface, and a clean-looking restroom says nothing about the pipe underground.
What does a camera inspection show?
A technician feeds a camera on a flexible cable into the line, usually through a cleanout, and records the trip. Inspectors who follow the NASSCO standard use a common language to classify what they see and record how severe it is. The recorded pass typically shows:
- the pipe material, diameter and lengths, which tell you how old the system is likely to be
- roots, cracks, broken or offset joints and sags where water sits
- grease or scale buildup narrowing the pipe
- how far the camera could go, and where it stopped
A clog or heavy buildup may have to be cleaned before the camera can see the whole run. NASSCO's guideline for pipe assessment sets up cleaning as its own step before inspection and a final post-cleaning inspection. That is why a good inspector tells you whether the line was cleaned first.
The camera does not test whether a pipe is watertight and it cannot see past a full blockage. It records condition and gives you something a plumber can price. Our page on what a commercial camera inspection report should show explains how to read the result.
When should you do it?
- Buying: during the inspection or due diligence period in your contract. Ask for access to the cleanouts in the purchase agreement, and ask for the video and report, not only a verbal summary.
- Long-term leasing: before signing, especially for a restaurant, salon, dental office or any use with heavy drain loads. If the lease puts drain repairs on you, the line's history is your risk. A dental office also needs an amalgam separator if it places or removes amalgam; see dental office amalgam separators. For a salon, also ask whether the shampoo bowls drain through hair interceptors.
- Older buildings: clay, cast iron and other older materials, or a property with mature trees near the line, carry more risk.
Have the report in hand before you negotiate. A documented defect can support a price change, a repair before closing, or a lease clause that puts the pre-existing condition on the landlord. Who pays for what in a lease is a contract question, and our page on tenant versus landlord plumbing responsibilities covers the usual split.
### What should a good inspection look like?
NASSCO's guideline is written for sewer owners hiring a contractor, so it is not a law for a private building. It is still a useful yardstick for the person paying for the inspection. It says the camera should travel slowly enough to see each pipe joint, tee connection, deposit and structural problem, and never faster than 30 feet per minute unless the document says otherwise. The camera should be centered in the pipe so distances are accurate, and the footage counter should appear on the video. Each observation is called out by audio and written in a log. The guideline also says the pipe should be clean enough that every defect can be seen and logged.
If your inspector's video races along, hides the footage counter or never shows the pipe walls, ask for a redo before you rely on it.
### Does the camera need cleaning first?
Sometimes. In NASSCO's phased approach, the first pass is an inspection, the owner then decides whether cleaning is needed, and a post-cleaning inspection confirms the result. Cleaning options in the guideline include light cleaning, heavy cleaning, deposit cuts and root cuts. For a buyer, this means an inspection that stops at a blockage has told you where the problem starts, not what lies beyond it. Ask what the inspector could not reach, and whether a second pass after cleaning is part of the quote.
### How does a camera pass fit into the deal?
Think of the report as one more due-diligence document, next to the survey and the building inspection.
- 1Before you order it, get written permission from the seller or landlord to open the cleanouts and run the camera. A seller who refuses is telling you something.
- 2Ask for the pieces. You want the video, the written log with distances, and a plain site sketch showing where the line runs. Our page on what a commercial camera inspection report should show lists them.
- 3Have a licensed plumber review it. A plumber can tell a cosmetic finding from one that will cost money, and can say what repair fits the defect.
- 4Bring the findings to the table while your contract or lease still lets you renegotiate.
### Who should run the camera?
The guideline's sample contract asks that every camera operator hold current NASSCO PACP certification, that the software and database be PACP-certified, and that the inspection be delivered in digital form, with the video and the data linked together. A private buyer doesn't have to write a contract, but the same questions make a good screen: Is the person coding the defects PACP-certified? Will you get the video and the log in a digital format you can share with your lender, attorney or plumber? One more item from the same sample contract: reported footage should be within two feet of the measured length of the pipe run. That is the kind of accuracy you need if a defect has to be found and dug up later. A vendor who can't answer these questions is a poor fit for a purchase decision.
### Does the city's line stop at the property?
The city's page draws the boundary: owners are responsible for the sewer and water lines running through their property and connecting to the city's main lines. So the camera pass should cover the whole private run from the building to the connection, not only the first stretch you can reach from a cleanout. If the run is too long or has a turn the camera cannot pass, that limit belongs in the report.
What if the line has problems?
A defect does not always mean a dig. Depending on what the camera finds, options range from cleaning to lining or spot repair to replacement, and the trenchless versus dig comparison explains how those compare. Repairs to a sewer line generally need a permit and licensed plumbing work, which our guide to commercial permits in Phoenix covers. If you are buying a home instead, see whether to get a sewer scope before buying a home.
HQ is licensed and insured and gives free estimates and upfront pricing on commercial sewer work.
The sewer line is one item on a longer list; see what plumbing to check before buying a commercial building in Phoenix.