While some drain cleaning and maintenance tasks can be safely performed by a homeowner, drain line repair and replacement tasks should always be performed by a licensed, professional plumber. This is because any error in the repair or replacement could cause clogged lines and the possible leakage or back-up of sewage in to the home.

Drain Line Repair

The repair or replacement of a sewer line or section of line is sometimes the only option, especially if running a sewer camera down the line reveals that you have any of the following problems:

• Broken, cracked or collapsed pipe due to shifting soil, frozen ground, settling, etc.
• Severe grease buildup or a foreign object restricting flow.
• Corrosion of an older pipe that caused the pipe to break or collapse.
• A “bellied” pipe where a section of the pipe has sunk due to ground or soil conditions, creating a low spot in the line where paper and waste collect and cause repeated blockages.
• Leaking joints where the seals between sections of pipe have broken, allowing water and sewage to escape.
• An excessive amount of roots in the line that cannot be cleared using a sewer machine.

Tree roots are one of the most common causes of main line clogging. Roots will search out water through any crack in a sewer pipe. As the roots grow inside the sewer line, they eventually block the flow of water through the line. A professional plumber can safely use drain cleaning equipment to clear small roots, but after roots have grown for many years, the sewer line may need to be replaced. We can run a sewer camera down the line to help you decide whether you need to replace the entire line or just a section of it.

Our specially made fiber optic video camera can also help us find out what is causing other stubborn blockages. It can even help us to determine the condition of the line itself. The images captured by the camera are transmitted to a device operated by the plumber. These images are recorded for further review by you and the plumber. At the same time, a radio transmitter on the camera records the physical location of the line and its depth from the surface so that the appropriate repairs can be properly planned and implemented.

Drain Line Replacement

Once you know that a section of sewer line or the entire sewer line must be replaced, our plumber will talk to you about the various ways of doing it.

• Traditional Sewer Line Repair/Replacements are typically performed using a backhoe to dig up the area surrounding the line so that the plumber can gain access to it. Once the repair is made, the backhoe is used to refill the area.
• Trenchless Repair Methods involve making small access holes where the damaged pipe starts and ends; then, lining the old pipe with an advanced, patented epoxy resin reinforced with layers of fiberglass meshing. You can also think of pipe lining as the placement of a brand new pipe inside of your existing pipe. Trenchless repairs cause less damage to yards and driveways than traditional repair methods because only the dirt at the beginning and end of the line is disturbed.