Sewer Scope Inspection for Home and Condo Buyers in Myrtle Beach
Know what is under the house or condo before you buy: video of the sewer line and a written summary.
- Camera inspection first
- Written, itemized quotes
- Licensed and insured
Photo: Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A sewer scope inspection runs a camera through the buried sewer line of a home you plan to buy, from the house toward the property line or main where access allows, and records the pipe and any defects on video. Myrtle Beach Sewer Line Repair scopes houses, townhomes and condos for buyers in Myrtle Beach, Conway and across Horry County, and the video and written summary are yours for the negotiation.
Call (843) 429-6659 to book a sewer scope early in your inspection period.
Call nowIf the house is already yours, book a sewer camera inspection for a problem you already have.
Choose your area
Who owns the line, which utility to call and which permits apply differ by town. Pick yours:
What does a sewer scope inspection cover?
A scope covers the building sewer, the underground pipe between the house and the public sewer. We run the camera from a cleanout or toilet opening to the property-line cleanout or main, as far as access and the pipe allow, and note where and why it stopped if it falls short.
That pipe usually becomes yours at closing. In most areas served by Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority (GSWSA), its standards run house sewers “to a point located at property line,” with a cleanout at that point, so the owner’s part generally runs from there to the house. In Murrells Inlet, the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District (GCWSD) assigns owners the line from the home to the property line. Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway and Loris each set their own boundary; ask the city.
Home inspections usually stop at the fixtures and skip the inside of this line, and a scope does not test pipes inside the walls or the water line. On a septic home, such as most homes in Briarcliffe Acres according to the town’s 2025 plan update, we can camera the pipe from the house to the tank inlet, but we don’t inspect or pump tanks or drain fields.
Sewer scope findings: what you notice, likely cause and what we do
| What you notice or the video shows | Likely cause | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Slow drains or gurgling at the showing | A partial blockage, roots or a sag | Scope from the nearest cleanout |
| Past backups or sewer work on the disclosure | A recurring defect or a patched section | Record every change of pipe material |
| Roots, or sand and silt on the pipe floor | Open joints or cracks letting roots, groundwater and sand in | Measure each spot from the access point |
| A stretch of standing water | A belly where the pipe settled | Measure its length and mark it on the ground |
| Oval, blistered black pipe, or rough scaled metal | Orangeburg fiber pipe deforming, or cast iron corroding | Show where it starts and how far the damage runs |
| The camera cannot pass | Heavy roots, a collapse or a blockage | Mark the spot and depth; explain what clearing takes |
For how each older material fails, read Orangeburg pipe and cast iron sewer pipe.
When to book a sewer scope, and what happens
Book it as soon as your offer is accepted, early in the inspection or due diligence period your contract sets, so a repair quote and negotiation fit before the deadline.
- Send the address, your inspection deadline and the utility named on the water bill: GSWSA, a city or GCWSD.
- We arrange access through the agents. Pulling a toilet or clearing a line in a house you don’t own yet needs the seller’s okay.
- We enter at a cleanout, or through a toilet if there is none.
- We record and locate the line, marking problem spots and depths with the camera head’s transmitter, since SC811 marks only public lines.
- We send the video and written summary to you and anyone you name: pipe material, each defect’s distance and urgency, where the camera stopped and why, and in most GSWSA areas which side of the property-line cleanout each defect is on.
You can pass the video to your agent, the seller or another plumbing company. Every job is done by licensed plumbers and covered by liability insurance.
Many older homes lack an outdoor cleanout; GSWSA’s standards call for one 5 feet from the building and one at the property line on new house sewers, so a sewer cleanout is worth pricing into any repair.
How much does a sewer scope inspection cost?
We quote the scope before we start; access, line length and any clearing set the price. We found no published national price for a pre-purchase scope by itself, but a scope is a camera inspection, and Angi’s sewer line camera inspection cost guide (updated July 9, 2026) lists $250 to $400 for a 50 to 100 foot line; its $996 national average sits above most of its own table.
These are national estimates, not Grand Strand quotes. For repair prices, see our sewer line replacement cost guide.
If the scope finds damage: what a complete written quote includes
Not every finding is urgent, and the summary says which are. When something needs repair, a complete written quote lists:
- What the camera found, with video and each defect’s distance
- The repair method (spot repair, CIPP lining, pipe bursting or open trench) and why
- Length, depth and pipe, such as the Schedule 40 PVC GSWSA specifies for new laterals past the property line
- The permit and inspection, since South Carolina’s residential code counts replacing concealed pipe as new work
- SC811 locates and a camera locate of your private line
- Restoration, added cleanouts, disposal and utility fees
If the seller repairs before closing, ask for the permit and inspection record and new video of the repaired line. See sewer line replacement for methods, and our guide to sewer scope inspection cost and negotiating a repair.
Which Grand Strand homes most need a sewer scope?
Older homes, condos and seasonal homes; the mix changes by town. Shares are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey; seasonal homes are held for seasonal or occasional use.
| Place | Built before 1980 | Seasonal homes | In condo or apartment buildings (5+ units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Beach | 61.5% | 22.9% | 46.2% |
| Briarcliffe Acres | 58.9% | 10.0% | 0.0% |
| Loris | 56.1% | 1.6% | 8.9% |
| Surfside Beach | 35.4% | 37.8% | 20.0% |
| Conway | 32.3% | 1.5% | 14.1% |
| Myrtle Beach | 27.8% | 17.3% | 40.0% |
| North Myrtle Beach | 19.3% | 48.3% | 49.2% |
| Forestbrook | 16.8% | 6.6% | 1.5% |
| Socastee | 13.8% | 4.9% | 19.7% |
| Longs (ZIP 29568) | 12.5% | 9.8% | 8.9% |
| Garden City | 11.0% | 37.6% | 27.7% |
| Murrells Inlet | 7.9% | 17.9% | 17.2% |
| Little River | 6.4% | 24.1% | 36.0% |
| Carolina Forest | 1.1% | 3.2% | 23.0% |
| Horry County | 16.0% | 18.8% | 25.1% |
Homes built before 1980 are old enough for vitrified clay, cast iron or Orangeburg building sewers, though some have since been repaired or replaced. Newer homes deserve a look too: plastic pipe on soft ground can settle into a belly, and South Carolina’s disclosure law exempts the first sale of a dwelling never inhabited. The Atlantic Beach and Briarcliffe Acres figures come from small samples.
Sewer scopes for condos, townhomes and shared lines
In a condo building, the line leaving the building usually serves many units, and who owns and maintains it generally depends on the association’s governing documents. Read them, and ask whether the building sewer has had backups, camera inspections or planned repairs.
- GSWSA buildings: its July 2026 Developer Policy Manual says multi-unit buildings whose units share a common sewer service line “will be provided Sewer Service Line Maintenance for a monthly fee.” That program covers lines from the road right-of-way to the outside of the building, not pipes inside.
- Duplexes: GSWSA’s standards assign the common line of a double residential service connection to the owner of the main it joins.
- Inside the unit: we can usually scope from a cleanout or toilet to where the unit’s drain meets the shared line; scoping the shared building line needs the association’s okay.
- The disclosure gap: South Carolina’s disclosure law limits the seller’s statement to the dwelling itself, not common elements the owner is not directly responsible for.
Sewer scopes for seasonal and vacation homes
A seasonal or rental home can look fine at a showing because its drains sit idle for months. Idle lines hide slow problems: roots keep growing, a partial blockage stays quiet, and unused traps can dry out and let sewer gas in.
Rentals see the opposite: full houses on turnover weeks and guests who may flush wipes. Buying from out of town? We work through your agent and send the video anywhere.
Once you own the home, our main page covers sewer line repair in Myrtle Beach.
Sewer scope inspection FAQ
What is a sewer scope inspection?
A video inspection of the buried sewer line, run before you buy, from the house toward the property line or main. The recording shows pipe material, roots, cracks, bellies and offset joints.
How long does a sewer scope take?
Roughly an hour at the house with a usable cleanout. A toilet pull, a long run or a clog to clear first adds time.
Can the sewer scope be done during the home inspection visit?
Often, yes. It is a separate booking, so tell us the home inspection time and we will try to schedule alongside it.
Is a sewer scope worth it on a newer house?
Often, yes. New plastic lines can sag on soft ground or pull apart at joints, and a never-occupied home’s first sale is exempt from South Carolina’s seller disclosure law.
Can you scope a condo’s sewer line?
Usually from a cleanout or toilet in the unit to where it meets the building’s shared line. Who maintains that line depends on the association’s documents.
What if there is no accessible cleanout?
With the seller’s permission, a toilet can usually be pulled to give the camera a way in. If it cannot reach the property line, the summary says where it stopped and why.
Is the seller’s old scope video good enough?
Send it to us and we will check it before quoting a repair. If it is old, blurry or stops short of the property line, book a new scope.
Related services
Sewer or water line trouble?
Call for a camera inspection and a written quote.
Call to book a sewer scope inspection for a home or condo anywhere on the Grand Strand.
Sewer and water line repair for Myrtle Beach, Conway and Horry County. Camera inspection first, written and itemized quotes, licensed plumbers.
Call (843) 429-6659