San Francisco guidelines

Upper and Lower Laterals

Upper Laterals

  • From the foundation to the curb / P-trap, cleanout

    “The upper sewer lateral is an extension of your home, even if you can’t see it, which means you're fully responsible for it. That’s why the City encourages property owners to inspect and keep their lateral clear of trash, grease and other materials (anything not human waste or toilet paper) that can clog and damage pipes.

    Property owners are responsible for maintenance, including clearing and jetting the pipe to keep the pipe clear and in good working order.

    If the pipe is found in bad conditions, property owners must also repair and replace according to latest San Francisco Plumbing Codes.” - SFPUC.ORG

    Call for more info

  • Inspection is the 1st step in maintenance

    Sewer repairs can be costly, and may not be required. But, beyond the standard issues of roots, offsets, and breaks in the pipe, there can also be other unknown issues that can affect your sewer and plumbing system.

    Find out more

  • Interior Cleanout

    While we typically will perform an inspection from the cleanout at the P-trap, we also encourage owners and Real Estate agents to send us any pictures of interior access points as well as their location. We can also walk the lower level / garage to inspect for access points to note in our report. These access points are often better suited for snaking / maintenance. It should be noted that this specific example in the picture was chosen to highlight the fact that not all cleanouts inside a residence will be suitable for maintenance via snaking. This cleanout is above eye level and wouldn’t be accessible for snaking. We remarked upon this for the customer and provided an alternative option that would allow for future access to keep the pipe free from issues.

    Schedule Inspection

Lower Laterals

Lower Lateral Responsibility (from the curb to the main in the street or public right of way) is still the homeowners. You are responsible for maintaining it, including clearing and jetting the pipe to keep the pipe clear and in good working order. Property owners are responsible for keeping the pipe in good working order by regularly clearing it or inspecting it using Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) to identify any defects.

However, the City of San Francisco will currently take responsibility for major repairs to the pipe if needed in the street (if snaking and jetting cannot keep the pipe maintained).**

** Be sure to check with the City of San Francisco for any changes to the current policies and Sewer Lateral Standards.

No need for a Psychic…

We also offer interior pipe inspections.

And the good news is that in San Francisco, we can often inspect the interior horizontal pipe on the main floor as an add on inspection for a small additional fee (when you schedule a sewer lateral inspection).

Choose this option as an “add-on” to your sewer lateral inspection in the scheduling / booking link.