"BetaB4" wrote in message
...
I have a sewer line that has been clogging up several times over the past 6
weeks or so, and I would like to be able to figure out exactly what's going
on. I know one option is to pay someone to come out and do the video
inspection, but I have heard that can be fairly expensive. Does anyone
know of any less expensive ways that I can do this myself? For example,
are there any tool rental places that rent the equipment to do a video
inspection?

The actual situation with the sewer line is a little complicated and hard
to explain. Basically, the line clogs at around 45 feet past where the
sewer line runs out of the house. I know this from my own efforts at
trying to unclog it and having a 50-foot snake that hits a clog at around
45 feet. I also had a plumber come out and clear the line twice in a
two-week period, and both times it took about 45 feet of drain snake
before they hit and cleared the clog. The town's sewer department came
out and cleared the main line twice in two weeks after that, and they too
agreed that the clog is out there somewhere. But everyone, including
them, is unclear about exactly where my line goes and where the main line
goes.

My property is one of 4 attached 2-family duplexes in a row. My proper is
and end-unit duplex and my line appears to go out to the beginning of a
main sewer line rather than tying into a main line that goes in both
directions from where my line ties into it. My proper -- for some unknown
reason -- does not have a curb vent. It is possible that it used to have
a curb vent but the vent is now located under a roadway after the roadway
was widened a long time ago. The other 3 attached properties have curb
vents and appear to tie into the main line in a T-type fashion. The only
maps the town has of where the main lines are pre-date when these
buildings were built, so no main lines are shown on the map. The maps are
from 1937 and the buildings were built after that.

I am not really posting this part to try to get people to figure out where
the main line is, or even to try to figure out what the problem is. I'm
just including that to give an idea that there is something goofy about
the whole setup. That's why I would like to see if I can do some kind of
low-cost video inspection of the line -- assuming that there is some way
for me to do that.

And, yes, there is one tree about 40-feet down the street in front of
another property and above where the main line goes. So, I suspect that
is where the problem is. There are no other trees or bushes in the area.

So, the bottom line question is, does anyone know of any low-cost ways to
do some kind of video inspection of the sewer line? I doubt that there is
any way other than to pay someone to do it, but I thought I'd ask just in
case.

Whether or not you get to see inside the line, you are likely to need to
locate the line to dig and repair it so I would concentrate on that first.
If it goes under a tree 45 feet out, you do not need a video camera to fix
it.

Don Young