Hire a Sewer Contractor the Right WayCamera first. License checked. Scope in writing. Then the price.

Three is a sound number, with one condition: every bidder should price the same camera footage. If the first contractor shot the video and gave you the file, the others can bid from it and confirm with their own camera if they wish. Three bids built on three different guesses cannot be compared. Three bids built on one recorded inspection can, item by item, and the differences between them become easy to question.

Start with the symptom. One slow fixture is a plumber's job. Several drains slowing at once, or the lowest drain backing up when something upstairs runs, points to the building drain or the lateral, which is sewer-contractor territory. Sewage surfacing in the street or at a neighbor's cleanout means call the sewer utility first; the blockage may be in the public main. Some plumbing companies do lateral work well. The test is whether they run cameras routinely and can show you comparable jobs.

Almost everywhere, yes. Lateral repair, replacement or lining is permitted plumbing or utility work, and most cities require an inspection before backfill or a video of the finished liner. Anything in the sidewalk or street takes a separate right-of-way permit. Some jurisdictions let a homeowner pull the permit on an owner-occupied house; many require a licensed contractor. Your state guide names the office. A contractor who says no permit is needed is a reason to check.

Usually you do. In most of the country the property owner is responsible for the lateral from the house to its connection with the public main, including the portion under the sidewalk and the pavement. Some cities take over at the property line or the curb, and a few share the cost of the public stretch. The rule is set by the local sewer authority and changes at city limits, so confirm it for your address before any scope is written.

Get a different contractor. The camera is the only way to see the condition, slope and length of the pipe, and every honest method decision depends on those. A contractor who prices without looking is either guessing or planning to sell the one method they prefer regardless of what is down there. The exception is an emergency clearing to restore flow tonight; even then, the camera should go in before any repair is scoped.

You should, and you should ask before the inspection rather than after. The recording is the evidence behind the diagnosis, the document a second bidder prices from, what the city inspector may want to see and what the warranty is measured against later. Most reputable contractors hand over a file or a link as a matter of course. A refusal, or a fee that seems designed to discourage you, says something about how the rest of the job will go.