Sewer Bellies: Essential repair or nothing to worry about?
Among all the issues we’ve seen, sewer bellies are one of the most common. When buying a new home, most inspectors will often point these out as “required” to be repaired.
But not all sewer bellies are the same.
So before you feel pressured into spending thousands of dollars to restore the grade of the line (proper slope to allow drainage), or negotiating to get it repaired, let’s make sure it is actually warranted.
Here is what to look for to determine whether a belly is a major concern, or if it can just be left alone.
- Distance from the home.
A belly 3 feet from the house is very different from one that is 50+ feet from the house, for example.
The further away a belly is from the house, the less likely it is to be an issue. This is because the weight of the water moving along the pipe, should it start to accumulate, is more likely to be able to ‘push’ through the belly, taking solids with it. A section that holds water but eventually allows solids to be pushed through, we call a ‘self-flushing belly’. These are normally less of a concern.
Bottom line, closer to the home = bigger potential risk. Further from the house = possibly less of a concern.
- Depth of the deviation
Also referred to as ‘saturation’. How much water is being held in the line?
There is a big difference between a line that holds 10-15% full (or about ½” deep in a standard 4” pipe) compared to 50-75% full.
If there is less than ½” of water held, it might not be a significant concern. If the inspection video goes completely under water, or if you see that the line dives down noticeably, that could be an issue that you will want to get addressed.
- Length of the belly
The longer the length of the sewer belly, the bigger concern it may be.
This gives more opportunity for debris to ‘stick’ and build up, which could lead to a backup if not fixed or cleaned regularly. But regular cleanings come with their own hazards, which you can read about HERE.
- Preceding Grade
This is one you won’t hear often, but it IS important. If the pipe BEFORE the belly has a LOT of grade (downward slope), that could be a good sign for 2 reasons.
First, the steeper the grade, the faster the water is moving when it hits the belly. This can allow the water to clear out the belly of any solids or debris each time you flush. Helping prevent a backup.
Second, if a repair is needed, having a lot of slope in the line before the sewer belly makes a repair much easier since the contractor won’t have to dig as far to restore proper grade in the line.
Here is where the knowledge we just covered allowed us to save homeowners THOUSANDS of dollars…
A perfect example is a repair we did on a line that had 2 bellies in it. And we only repaired one…
Why?
One was right at the bottom of a joint and was 75% saturated (really bad).
The pipe right before that joint that had a LOT of grade before it (40˚ angle downward).
And the belly was located in the front yard.
The second belly was several feet past the first belly and only held about ½ inch of water. But this one was located under the sidewalk and street.
So why not repair both?
- Distance: The second belly was further from the home, out under the street
- Saturation: there was very minimal standing water (I’d barely call it a belly)
- Length: the “belly” was only about 4’ long
- Preceding Grade: the line before the belly was super steep, so that water was coming through FAST!
Combining the above information, we knew that the speed and weight of the water coming through the pipe would easily clear out that section each time they ran water. Which means there is almost no chance of that ever being the cause of a backup.
So, we discussed with the homeowner and performed only the repair within the property line, saving them $8,000-10,000 compared to digging out in the street when it wasn’t really necessary.
If you need an honest second opinion on your sewer repairs, give us a call and we are happy to help!
719-447-1114