Sewer Line Replacement and Repair
When a lateral backs up repeatedly, the problem is usually in the ground between your house and the main. That is an excavation job.
Old clay and tree roots
A lot of housing stock in Shaler, Glenshaw, Ross and McCandless still runs on the original clay lateral. Clay pipe is laid in short sections with joints, and roots find joints. Once roots are in, snaking buys time and the intervals get shorter each year.
The other failure is a belly, where a section has settled and waste no longer runs downhill through it. No amount of snaking fixes a low spot. It has to be dug up and re-laid.
How we do it
Every job runs the same sequence. If something changes it, you hear about it the day we find it.
Camera it first
You should know what is wrong and where before anyone digs. A camera tells you whether it is roots, a belly, a break, or a blockage.
Locate the run
Depth and route confirmed so we open the smallest area that does the job.
Excavate and replace
Old line out, new line in with correct fall and proper bedding. Cleanouts fitted so the next inspection is easy.
Inspection and connection
Coordinated with the licensed trade and the municipality where required.
Backfill and restore
Compacted in lifts, topsoil, seed. Paving restored where we cut it.
What it costs
What moves the number
Sewer work is priced by length, depth, and what has to be cut and put back.
| Work | What changes the price |
|---|---|
| Full lateral replacement, lawn only | Length and depth |
| Lateral crossing driveway or sidewalk | Cutting and restoring paving |
| Spot repair, single failed section | Depth and access |
| Cleanout installation | Depth and location |
Depth drives cost more than length. A lateral at ten feet is a different job from one at four, because of shoring and spoil volume.
We price off a site visit, not off a photograph, so you will not find a number on this page. You will get a written scope with a fixed price in it, and it will say what is included and what is not before you are asked for anything.
The work
Photographs from our own jobs.
Questions
Before you call anyone
Worth reading first
How do I know it is the lateral and not a blockage inside?
A camera. If multiple fixtures back up at once and the problem returns after snaking, the lateral is the likely cause. Guessing is expensive here.
Do you do trenchless?
We do open cut excavation. Trenchless lining and bursting are specialist methods with their own equipment, and where that is genuinely the better answer for your run we will tell you rather than sell you the job we happen to do.
Who is responsible, me or the municipality?
Usually the property owner owns the lateral from the house to the main, sometimes to the property line. It varies by municipality and it is worth confirming before work starts.
Will my driveway be destroyed?
If the line runs under it, we cut the smallest section that works and restoration is quoted as its own line so you can see exactly what it costs.
Need sewer line replacement in the North Hills?
Send a few photos and what you have in mind. You get a straight answer about scope and what the job involves before anyone asks you for money.