Sewer main repair vs maintenance

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Layton Checketts

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Hello,

I am looking for some unbiased (non-salesperson) opinions on a sewer issue I am having. My wife and I just recently bought our first home (a 100+ year old home recently remodeled) and two months later we had drainage issues. No overflowing, just bad smells and if we used more that one fixture at once nothing would drain until hours later. Looking in the sewer cleanout in the backyard I could see roots so we called a plumbing company and they said, sure enough, there was roots and we needed to hydro jet it to unclog and then they could put a camera down. Ever since hydrojetting it is working fine.

The camera was put down the line 2 days after hydro jetting and the plumbing company pointed out that it looks like the cleanout in the backyard was a DIY project from the previous owner and the pipe had sagged in that area, creating about a 10' long belly with standing water (see the video). They said the belly, along with some signs of chipping clay pipe, and some pipe section stepping, and potential for roots to grow back made our line a ticking time bomb that we should get fixed asap. They recommended digging up and fixing the belly and replacing the cleanout, then using a trenchless, CIP liner solution for the remaining 65' of pipe to the back alley where it connects to the city line. All told about $8,400.

We don't have a lot of money to spare, already spent a significant amount to hydrojet and inspect the line, and aren't planning on being in this home for more than a few years, so we are just really wanting to make sure this is something that needs to be done. We now have sewer insurance so could just stick it out in maintenance mode as need, but we also don't want to let the pipe get worse where the whole thing would have to be dug up. We are getting free second opinions from some other plumbing companies later this week as well. I've attached the videos from the inspection below. I would love to get some of your opinions on the condition of our piping and whether you think this is an issue that should be fixed soon or if you think we are okay to wait it out and unclog as needed?


Thanks so much!
 

seann

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The belly needs to be fixed. It will cause your pipe to clog very often. Possibly every few months. That is all that really "needs" done. Just have the section where the belly is at replaced. It's going to be longer than 10ft though from what I can see in the video. From what I can see in the video it looks like you would benifit from replacing starting about the 20ft mark on the 1st video comingcback towards the clean out to get rid out a few offsets in the clay before coming into the belly. Also looks like there is another line coming into your line at 16ft mark as shown in 2nd video? And if your starting from the outside clean out and already under water then you needs to replace back towards the house also to get to the start of the belly. Not sure where you are located but I would assume you have cast iron leaving your house and then changing to the clay pipe. So it would seem logical to start there with the replacement (if it is not under water also). Connect onto the cast iron with PVC and replace out to the 20 ft mark in your video. So you might have a 25-30 ft spot repair. And have them install a 2 way clean out at the same time so that you can cable back into the house and out to city sewer all from outside clean out. The rest of the line looks great! Better than most clay tile lines I've seen. Not a ticking time bomb in my opinion. That is a term used as a scare tactic to upsale a customer. I've worked for companies who do that. I do not work for them any more for ethical reasons. The pipe liner solution would protect from roots coming back into those other joints in the clay tile in the future, but will not protect from another belly developing in the line in the future. So option 1) ....let's say you pay an extra $5,000 to line the remaining 60ft of your sewer line beyond the section replacement. Vs option 2)... Just pay the extra $150-$300 every 1.5 - 5years to have your line cabled to remove tree roots. Which option do you prefer? Yes, you will have roots come back and you will have to have it cabled out every once in a while. Every 1.5 years at soonest or it may be every 4-5 years. Just depends on variables. But you can just have it cabled once the belly has been fixed. No need to have it jetted again. Some companies like to sell the jetter instead of a cable on residential sewer lines because they make more money that way, but it is not necessary on your line with roots issues at all, and would provide no real benifit to you except for you pay more. Tons of people have tree roots growing in their clay sewer line, and it just needs periodic cabling. I've been a service plumber for 20 years and this is my professional opinion. Fix the belly area, and call a different company to give you an estimate on replacing that section. I wouldn't personally trust the plumbing company you had out that gave you that first opinion. Not that they couldn't do the work, but because they do not seem to have your best interest in mind and are trying to upsale you in my opinion. This is just my honest opinion from my experience in the field take what you want from it. Good luck.
 
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Sylvan

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The plumber you hired was 100% correct and I think you should listen to his advice

Even if you plan on selling the house in a few years and you do not take care of the sewer properly it can haunt you later as normally when having a closing there is a percentage held back in the selling price (escrow) for possible defects that were not disclosed at the closing

The water jetting is a great idea after snaking to show any defects in the piping and remove years of build up such as grease and although I do not reline piping I replace it so the $8,400 seems more then reasonable for peace of mind

You may find someone cheaper but normally you get what you pay for .

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