Talk to a sewer plumber about your line

When a call makes sense

• Sewage is coming up through the lowest drain in the house, a floor drain or a basement shower.
• Several fixtures drain slowly at once, or the same main-line clog keeps coming back after it is cleared.
• A camera inspection found something: a break, an offset joint, roots, a collapse, or a sag that holds water.
• You hold a repair or replacement quote and want a second one for the same section of pipe.
• You are deciding between trenchless and digging and want a company to look at what sits above the pipe.
• The water utility says the leak is on your service line, the private pipe between the meter or curb stop and the house. How to tell a main break from a service-line leak.

When to start somewhere else

• You are buying a house and only need the line checked. Ask your home inspector whether they offer a sewer scope, and read what a scope should hand over.
• Your city runs a lateral program. Check its rules first; in some cities the repair is approved before you hire anyone. Programs by region.
• You are not sure the broken section is yours. In some cities the street section belongs to the city. Who pays, city by city.
• The house is on a septic system. That is a different trade and a different inspection.

What to have ready before you call

• The property address, so the company can say whether it works there.
• The camera footage and its distance log, if a scope has been done. Findings are located in feet from the cleanout.
• Any written quote, with its method, length and depth lines.
• The age of the house and, if you know it, what the line is made of: clay, cast iron, Orangeburg or plastic.
• Where the cleanout is, if there is one.

What to ask on the call

• Which method, and why that one for this pipe? Lining, bursting, spot repair and full excavation fix different failures. How each one works.
• Will I get the footage, with the distance counter visible? The recording is what a second company would need to quote the same job.
• How many feet, and how deep? Length and depth drive most of the price.
• Does the job need a permit, who pulls it, and is it in the quote?
• What does restoration include? Concrete, sidewalk and landscaping after an open trench should be a written line in the quote.
• What is the warranty, and is it in writing? Ask for the rated life of a liner product as well as the workmanship warranty.
• What license and insurance do you carry for this work? Checking them is the homeowner's job, and worth doing before you sign.

When the quote arrives, divide it by the measured length and compare it with the published per-foot ranges on our sewer line replacement cost page.

Common questions

Sewer Line Record is an independent reference built on public records and published sources. It is not an inspection, and nothing here states that a specific sewer line is failing, safe or code-compliant.