In El Cajon, roots take years to cause trouble. East County's mature trees, the pines, the pepper trees and the old ficus planted close to the house, spend decades growing toward the most dependable water nearby, the sewer lines. The clay soil swells and shrinks around old pipe with every wet and dry season, loosening the seams year by year. When a root finally gets into a joint, it keeps growing there until it blocks the line.
The backup that follows usually gets the standard treatment. Somebody cuts the roots out and the line flows again. Before long it's back, because roots grow back through the same opening as long as it stays open, and some people here have been through that for years. The camera can show the joint or crack the roots use and how big the problem actually is, so the cause is finally clear.
From there the fix follows the evidence, sealing the joint the roots found, or repairing the section if the section is the problem, sized to what the footage shows. Everything is explained in plain English, every option with its tradeoffs, and the decision is entirely yours, with the work performed by or under a licensed contractor when you say go.
