Underground plumbing issues to look for in the spring

May 5th, 2021

The signs of growth and renewal are always a welcome sight each spring. But the unseen processes taking place under the ground as the seasons change can cause some issues for plumbing. In this post, the plumbing experts at Plomberie Richard et Fils serving Montreal’s West Island share insights about how movement and growth under your property can affect your piping systems, and cause problems with your indoor plumbing. We’ll also look at what can be done to pinpoint these hard-to-locate issues. 

Pipeline risk factors 

When your home was built, it might have been smooth sailing for your plumbing and sewage lines. Conditions change over time, however, and your piping systems may be negatively impacted by a number of external factors. Here are some of the most common things that affect underground sewage and plumbing pipes in the Montreal climate: 

• Multiple freeze-thaw cycles each year 
• Ground shifting and settling 
• Growth of tree roots 
• Installation of other utility lines 
• Home renovations and additions 

• Landscaping and hardscaping projects 
• Digging and tunneling by wildlife 

As durable and strong as piping systems are, each of these conditions can exert enough force to bend, crack, and block underground sewage and plumbing conduits. If this occurs, it is essential that the lines be professionally inspected in order to assess the damage and decide on the best course of action. Environmental damage to the underground pipes on your property will not repair itself (even if you evict unwanted animals, for example) and delaying the inspection could result in more expensive and invasive remediation. 

Signs of underground pipeline damage 

Of course homeowners are generally unaware of what’s going on underground and don’t need to pay the matter any mind. Signs that things have gone awry with your underground sewage and plumbing lines can include things like: 

• Sewer back ups  
• Toilets that don’t flush or plunge, or that overflow  

• Bubbling toilet bowls when flushed or sink/tub is draining  
• Fouls smelling drains  
• Gas odours  
• Slow draining or stagnant water  

If you are experiencing any of these issues, or other problems with your indoor plumbing that can’t be explained or remedied with typical DIY fixes, you might have a problem with your underground or encased lines. If this is the case, you will need to call a plumber with the right equipment to inspect the lines. 

How we inspect buried or encased plumbing lines 

If a plumber tells you that they need to start knocking holes in your walls or digging up your lawn to try to find the problem, we recommend calling in a different plumber! With today’s technology and training, specialized plumbing teams like ours use a specialized plumbing camera to explore and inspect your underground plumbing, or pipes that are encased in the walls or foundation. Gone are the days of guessing and poking around to find the exact location of your sewer blockage or leak.  

The use of a waterproof, flexible and high definition camera is the only way that a plumber can get an inside look at the pipes which connect your sewer system to your municipal sewer lines running beneath your house and across your property. The team at Plomberie Richard et Fils are highly trained and can not only locate the problem, we can interpret the findings to identify which, if any, of the environmental factors listed above may have caused or exacerbated the problem.  

The West Island Sewer Camera Inspection Experts 

If you suspect that your plumbing problems are being caused by something wrong with your underground, buried, or encased pipes, please contact us for a free quote. We have the experience, specialized know-how and equipment to visually inspect and diagnose your plumbing issue. As an essential service, we continue to provide all of our plumbing services safely and effectively during the COVID-19 restrictions. Give us a call, we’re here to help!