Before You Buy
A standard home inspection does not put a camera in the sewer lateral. That line is among the most expensive things on a property and the least visible.
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OUR SERVICES
Sewer camera and whole-property plumbing inspections in Urbandale. Recorded footage, a written summary, and no pressure to buy anything afterward.
OVERVIEW
A plumbing inspection tells you what condition a property is genuinely in, before it becomes an emergency or a negotiation. For buyers in Urbandale that means knowing whether the sewer lateral has years left or months. For owners it means catching a failing line while it is still a repair rather than a replacement.
Drinking water comes through the Urbandale Water Utility, its own board serving about 18,500 accounts across 225 miles of main, purchased from the regional producer. The private lateral from your building out to the district system remains the property owner responsibility.
All work is performed in compliance with the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code as adopted by the State of Iowa.

WHEN AN INSPECTION IS WORTH IT
An inspection is cheapest at the moment it is easiest to act on what it finds.
A standard home inspection does not put a camera in the sewer lateral. That line is among the most expensive things on a property and the least visible.
Two or three calls on the same line is the point to stop clearing it and start finding out why it keeps happening.
Opening walls and floors is the cheapest opportunity you will ever get to see and fix what is behind them.
Plenty of properties have never had a camera in the lateral. Age alone justifies one look, and it costs far less than a surprise.
Early 1990s pipe is generally sound. What changes is how much has built up on the wall over three decades of daily use.
Sewer here belongs to two sanitary sewer districts rather than the city, and people lose days phoning the wrong desk.
INSPECTION SERVICES
For buyers, owners, landlords, and anyone about to open a wall.
The most valuable inspection on an older property, and the one a general home inspection leaves out entirely.
Fixtures, supply, drainage, water heater, and shutoffs, documented so you have a baseline rather than an opinion.
Recorded footage of the full run, with the position and depth of any fault marked from the surface.
For a line that keeps failing, an inspection that answers why instead of simply clearing it one more time.
Knowing what is behind the wall before the wall opens, so the budget does not move halfway through the project.
Landlords and buyers documenting condition across units before it turns into a dispute.
WHY CLOG BUSTERS
Look at everything, record it, and hand you the evidence.
Every fixture run and checked for flow, drainage, leaks, and shutoff function, including the ones nobody in the house ever uses.
The full run from building to connection, recorded, with any fault located and marked from the surface.
Urbandale permits this work through Building Services in Community Development at 3600 86th Street, with water heater and sewer service line permits both named on the city fee schedule.
Pressure, visible supply lines, shutoffs, the water heater and its venting, the relief valve, and expansion control.
You get the recording and a plain summary of what is fine, what to watch, and what needs doing, with no obligation to have us do any of it.
FAQ
Still stuck? Call the Des Moines shop at (515) 259-1991.
Almost never. A standard home inspection is visual and does not put a camera in the lateral, which is exactly where the most expensive surprises are. It is a separate service.
A sewer camera inspection on its own is usually under an hour. A full property inspection takes longer, depending on the number of fixtures and how accessible the water heater and shutoffs are.
Yes, a written summary plus the recorded camera footage. Both are yours to keep and to share with whoever you like.
That is one of the main reasons people book one. Recorded footage of a failing lateral is a great deal more persuasive than a verbal opinion.
Then that is what the report says. A clean result on an older property is genuinely useful information, and it is a common outcome.
About a five mile run for us and we operate 24 hours a day, so same-day is normal and an active leak or backup is prioritized.
Not the city directly. The Urbandale Sanitary Sewer District and the Urbandale-Windsor Heights Sanitary Sewer District maintain the public laterals, trunk lines, and interceptors. Your private lateral from the building to that system is still your responsibility.
For installation and repair, yes, through Building Services in Community Development at 3600 86th Street. The city fee schedule names water heater and sewer service line permits specifically. Routine drain cleaning does not require one.
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