Sewer camera inspection in Burke.
A sewer camera inspection in Burke is $89 added to a visit, or $500 to $1,700 on its own. More than 8 in 10 Burke homes date from the 1970s or 1980s.
- Camera before any dig
- Priced in writing first
- Dedicated plumbing team
Book a sewer camera inspection
Burke’s 1970s sewer lines could be cast iron, clay or early plastic.
Burke went up mostly in two decades. In the Burke Census place close to half of today’s homes were built in the 1970s and a third in the 1980s; in Burke Centre more than half are from the 1980s. Fewer than 1 in 10 across the two predate 1970. That matters underground, because the 1970s are when the pipe from a new house to the street was changing over from cast iron and clay to plastic. A 1975 Burke house could have any of the three, and the camera settles which.
Off Burke Lake Road and around Lake Braddock, the trees have had fifty years to grow over lines just as old. Roots work into open joints and cracks, Fairfax County’s wastewater office says, and in time can break the pipe. After a plumber cuts roots out of your line, the county wants a call at 703-323-1211 so its crew can clean the main in the street too.
Burke Centre adds its own step. The Conservancy’s covenants put excavation and changes in grade on the list of outside work that needs the Architectural Review Board’s written approval first. In the Commons, the Landings, the Oaks, the Ponds or the Woods, nobody should be digging up a yard on a guess.
Fairfax County’s code makes the lateral yours from the house to the county sewer, connection included. In a townhouse cluster it can pass under ground you don’t own on the way, and under a state road replacing it takes a VDOT permit beside the county’s.
What’s under the yards across Burke.
Census figures for the owner-occupied homes in each place, and the sewer pipe houses that age usually have.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | The sewer line you usually find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke | 1979 | single-family houses, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 6 in 10 | Cast iron or clay to the street, with joints roots can get into. |
| Burke Centre | 1982 | townhouses, about 5 in 10 | electricity, about 7 in 10 | PVC to the street, mostly; a settled trench can leave a sag. |
Burke houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey, owner-occupied homes unless it says otherwise.
Burke
- Built before 1980about 5 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000hardly any Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, about 6 in 10 Census
- Heated withelectricity, about 5 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 1 in 10 Census
- Houses built from the late 1940s into the early 1970s can drain through Orangeburg, tar paper pipe that a snake tears apart, so the camera goes first.
- 1980s and 90s houses mostly run PVC to the street, where a sag in settled backfill is the thing to rule out.
What a sewer camera inspection costs in Burke.
Why we’re at the house decides which price you pay. On its own, the line often has to be cleared before the camera can see anything, and that’s what moves the number.
- Sewer camera inspection, added to a visit$89
- Sewer camera inspection on its own$500 to $1,700
A locator on the camera head marks the spot and its depth on the ground, so if something needs fixing you know where. If the line is fine, nobody talks about digging.
Comfort+ membership is $199 a year for four visits: a dryer vent cleaning, a water heater flush with a sewer camera inspection, a heating maintenance visit and a cooling maintenance visit.
When to put a camera down the line in Burke.
The last plumber’s cable came back with roots on it
Roots on the cutter got in at a joint or a crack, and they grow back. In a 1970s Burke line the camera shows whether it’s one joint by the foundation or several under the tree out front.
A house from the 1950s or 60s
Some houses from that era drain through Orangeburg, a tar paper pipe that a drain snake tears apart. If nobody knows what your line is made of, the camera goes down before the snake does.
Water comes up the floor drain
When the washer empties and water rises in the basement floor drain, or a toilet gurgles while a sink runs, the main line isn’t carrying it all away. The camera shows why.
How to pick the best plumber for a sewer camera inspection in Burke.
Questions to ask anybody who offers to put a camera down your line, us included.
Will they tell you what the pipe is made of?
In a 1970s Burke house the answer changes the repair: cast iron scales and cracks, clay lets roots in at the joints, plastic can sag. A report naming a blockage but not the pipe leaves out what decides the price.
Will they show you what the camera finds?
Ask to see it and to keep a copy. “It’s roots” with nothing to show for it is a guess, and a guess is a bad reason to dig up a yard.
Do they line and dig, or only one?
A company that only digs tends to see a dig, and one that only lines tends to see a liner. We do both, so the footage decides, not the truck.
What our customers say.
Plumbing system test and maintenance, including snaking the sewer line As a follow up, Tyson came out to check the system and gave us some good preventive maintenance tips.
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Sewer camera questions from Burke.
My Burke basement drain backed up. Who do I call first, the county or a plumber?
If sewage comes up while nobody is running water, call Fairfax County first at 703-323-1211: that points at the county main, and the county checks it. If it backs up only when a toilet flushes or the washer drains, your own lateral is the likelier culprit, and that part is ours.
Do I need the Conservancy’s OK to remove a tree whose roots are in my line?
In Burke Centre, often. A tree four inches or more across, measured a foot up, standing more than 15 feet from the house, garage or deck needs an approved application, with photos and the reason. One closer than that which is causing problems for the house can go without prior approval if the stump is ground below grade. Fixing the joint the roots found may cost less.
How much does a sewer camera inspection cost in Burke?
$89 added to a visit we’re already making, $500 to $1,700 booked on its own. The difference is clearing: a visit just for the camera often has to clear the line first.
Should I get a sewer camera inspection before I buy a house?
If the house is older or has big trees out front, yes. A standard home inspection usually doesn’t include one, and in most of Northern Virginia the line from the house toward the street is the owner’s to fix.
More from SwiftPro in Burke.
More from SwiftPro in Burke
See the line before anybody digs.
Call, or book online and pick a window. You get the price in writing first, and if the camera says the line is fine, that’s what we’ll tell you.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Burke and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, 4230 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151, (703) 997-9757. Book online, read our reviews, or see every town we serve.