Recently in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn a homeowner had been working with a local plumber on sewer repair. She had been on an annual maintenance plan for the previous 3 years and had not experienced any major issues until one morning in early December. Her plumber determined that he was hitting an obstruction when running his sewer snake and could not clear the line.
Harris Water & Sewer began excavating per her plumbers findings, to repair the sewer line. After digging almost 11’ deep in the street, the on-site crew finally reached the sewer line and prepared to remove the old section of clay pipe. The crew was shocked when they found a fiberglass liner inside of the clay pipe.
The first issue is that liners are completely illegal in NYC per the NYC Department of Buildings. The liner is not an approved sewer repair method because a sewer liner will not resolve a sewer pipe that is back pitched, suffering from root intrusion, will cut off pipes with branch lines etc. A sewer liner is a temporary fix which will not last any extended period of time.
It is common for a non-licensed plumber or a plumber that does not hold a bond with the NYC DOT to offer a sewer liner. It is most common to offer a liner if your sewer problem extends outside of the property line. Most plumbers cannot open the public sidewalk and roadways which will lead them to offer this quick fix, to make a quick buck. Rely on Harris Water Main for expert sewer line repairs.
Due to the sewer liner, Harris suggested that the homeowner replace the entire sewer line form the house, to the city sewer, to avoid any future issues. Lucky for this homeowner there was only an additional 15’ of pipe to install a full replacement, which kept the additional cost to a minimum.
Opening Roadway |
Opening roadway |
Harris completed the sewer line repair in two days leaving this Brooklyn homeowner with a full functional sewer line for many years to come!
Shortly after the sewer line was installed, Harris’ in-house restoration team completed the final restoration of the roadway and concrete under DOT regulations.
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