Project Overview & Homeowner Objectives in McCandless & North Park

Homeowners selling a property across McCandless and the North Park corridor, PA—including Ingomar, Peebles Road, and neighborhoods served by the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority (MTSA) and neighboring North Hills authorities—cannot close on a real estate transaction without passing a mandatory municipal point-of-sale sanitary sewer inspection. In this urgent pre-closing project, a 1968 four-bedroom colonial under contract failed its initial municipal review due to two illegal roof downspouts tied into the sanitary trap and severe root intrusion inside the original 4-inch vitrified clay terracotta lateral at 42 feet from the foundation.

Property Profile & Pre-Renovation Challenges

With the real estate closing scheduled in 10 business days, the sellers needed an accredited contractor who could perform the official dye and camera diagnostics, execute the underground sanitary lateral excavation and stormwater rerouting, and restore the front walkway and landscaping under a single turnkey contract.

Scope of Work & Single-Team Turnkey Execution

• Comprehensive sewer dye testing, low-pressure testing, and HD video camera inspection with GPS/sonde depth locating.
• Disconnection of illegal roof downspouts from the sanitary line and installation of a dedicated underground storm dispersal trench.
• Excavation and replacement of the root-damaged terracotta sewer lateral section and installation of an ACHD code-compliant 6-inch sight-tee house trap.
• In-house concrete walkway and lawn restoration prior to closing.

Fluorescent Dye Testing, Sonde Camera Locating & Stormwater Disconnection

Eliminating Illegal Stormwater Inflow & Infiltration (I&I)

Municipalities across Allegheny and southern Butler Counties strictly prohibit roof leaders, driveway trench drains, and foundation sump pumps from discharging into the sanitary sewer system, where heavy rainstorms overwhelm treatment plants. Our licensed plumbing technicians introduced fluorescent tracing dye into all six roof downspouts and the garage floor drain while monitoring the main house trap. Identifying two rear downspouts illegally tied into the sanitary vent stack, we cut and permanently capped the sanitary inlets with solvent-welded Schedule 40 PVC caps and trenched a separate 4-inch solid PVC stormwater leader out to a gravel dry-well dispersal bed in the rear yard.

512Hz Sonde Locating & Spot Lateral Excavation

Running our RIDGID SeeSnake HD camera through the main building drain, we pinpointed a shifted clay hub choked with maple roots 7.5 feet deep beneath the front lawn. Using a 512Hz electronic sonde locator to mark the exact spot and depth within inches after clearing PA One Call (811), our excavation crew dug a targeted trench rather than tearing up the entire yard.

Allegheny County Sight-Tee Trap Installation & Compliance Certification

SDR-26 PVC Replacement & Final Municipal Sign-Off

We removed the broken terracotta tiles and old cast-iron blind trap, bedding new heavy-wall Schedule 40 / SDR-26 PVC pipe in 6 inches of compacted 2B crushed limestone at a strict 1/4-inch-per-foot grade, complete with an Allegheny County code-required 6-inch double-sweep house trap, fresh-air vent, and vertical observation sight-tee risers capped at grade. Following a successful hydrostatic pressure test and witnessed re-inspection with the sanitary authority, the sellers received their official Municipal Dye & Lateral Compliance Certificate—and our crew re-graded, seeded, and restored the walkway four days ahead of closing.

Dependable Home Solutions | PO Box 23, Worthington, PA 16262 | (724) 243-2553 | https://www.dependablehomesolutions.net | PA HIC #PA212478 | EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm | Hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM