Two Bellies, One Sewer Line: Our Camera Assessment of a Maple Grove Townhome
Part two on a Maple Grove HOA sewer line: our own camera found a back-pitched belly in the townhome's line and a second belly in the shared main.
Earlier this fall, a property manager for a townhome association in Maple Grove sent us another company's sewer video and asked whether they should hydro jet one homeowner's line. We gave a second opinion based on that video, and wrote about it in Should You Hydro Jet Your Sewer Line or Replace It? The short version: jetting would clean out the back-pitched section, but it couldn't fix it.
That second opinion had a limit. The video was incomplete, so it couldn't show us the full line. When the association asked for a jetting estimate, we told them we needed to run our own camera first. This is that assessment, from inside the home all the way to the city connection.
Our camera confirmed the back pitch, showed exactly where it is and how bad it is, and found a second belly farther out, in the shared community line that the neighboring townhomes drain into.
Why we ran our own camera first
A jetting quote is only as good as the video behind it. A partial video can show a problem without showing how big it is, whether there's a second one farther out, or whether jetting is even the right tool. Running the camera end to end answers those questions before anyone spends money on a cleaning, and it gives us our own footage to stand behind.
This unit has a 3-inch PVC main line cleanout inside the home, near the door to the garage. We set up there, ran the camera 92 feet out to the city connection, and recorded the video on the way back, so the association has footage of the full line.
What the camera found
- A severe belly in the homeowner's line, 35 to 40 feet out. A section of PVC has separated at the joint and is back-pitched, meaning it slopes back toward the house instead of away from it. That section of pipe was completely underwater, which makes it a serious drainage problem.
- A second belly in the community line, 75 to 90 feet out. This is the shared line the townhomes drain into before it reaches the city connection. A 15-foot low spot there holds water and debris for every unit that drains through it, not just this one.
What a belly does to a sewer line
Sewer lines drain by gravity, so the pipe needs to slope steadily toward the street. A belly is a low spot where that slope breaks down and wastewater sits instead of flowing through. Grease cools and sticks to the pipe walls, toilet paper and debris settle out, and the standing water holds on to all of it.
That's what we saw here. The belly in the homeowner's line had been collecting grease chunks and other debris over the past three years, coating the pipe and narrowing the space left for water to get through. Left alone, a belly like this keeps collecting until the line backs up.
Our recommendation: jet both lines, then camera again
With a belly this severe, we recommended hydro jetting. Jetting uses high-pressure water to flush out what has built up and clean the pipe thoroughly. Our recommendation covers both problem areas: the homeowner's line and the community line, all the way to the city connection. Cleaning only one would leave the other low spot holding debris.
After jetting, we run the camera through the line again. With the debris gone, the second video confirms the pipe is clean and gives a clear look at both bellies.
Why jetting alone won't fix it
Jetting is a preventive measure, not a repair. It cleans the line, but it can't change the slope of the pipe or pull a separated joint back together. Once the line is clean, the low spot at 35 to 40 feet will start collecting grease and debris again, and without maintenance, it will back up again.
The only permanent fix for that section is a sewer line repair: the separated, back-pitched pipe has to be dug up and reset at the correct pitch. Until that happens, the line needs to be cleaned on a regular schedule so the buildup never gets the chance to cause a backup. We walked through the cost math of jetting versus repair for this same line in our earlier post.
What this means for HOAs and townhome owners
In a townhome community, a sewer problem isn't always one owner's problem. Units often drain into a shared line on the way to the city sewer, and trouble in that line affects every home that drains through it. A few things we'd suggest to boards and property managers:
- Camera the full run, to the city connection. A video that stops short can miss the problem, or miss a second one. This inspection found two.
- Confirm which sections are shared. Check your governing documents, or ask your property manager, to confirm who maintains each owner's line and who maintains the shared line. Settle it before work is scheduled, so the right sections get cleaned and the right party is billed.
- Keep the footage. Camera findings measured in feet show exactly where each belly is and how long it is, which is what a repair contractor needs to scope and price the work.
- Plan the repair instead of waiting for a backup. A blockage in a shared line can affect several homes at once. Fixing a known belly on the association's schedule beats doing the same repair after a backup.
Shared sewer line problems in your community?
Lucky Dog Sewer & Drain works with HOA boards and property managers on shared sewer lines in townhome and condo communities. We camera before we quote, record what we find so you can share it with the board, and lay out the options in plain language, from a cleaning schedule to a repair. Learn more about our commercial and property management services, or contact us to schedule a camera inspection.
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