Recently in Queens a homeowner had been paying a sewer cleaning company to clear her sewer line every other week. She was informed that this is the normal course of action when dealing with tree roots and this is the best way to fix her problem. Little did she know that her root problem was beyond the point of “sewer cleaning” and she had to repair the sewer line by excavating from above ground.
The owner had spent almost $3,000 on sewer cleaning when she became aware that she first had to spend thousands of more dollars to permanently fix her sewer backups. It is important for homeowners to understand that if they are cleaning their sewer line more than three times per year, there is a good chance that there is a larger problem that is not going away unless the pipe is repaired.
In most cases it is suggested that a homeowner not waste their time and money performing a repair on a sewer line when suffering from root intrusion. The reason is that roots will never go away once they have entered the pipe and a repair will only serve as a band aid. The band aid may last anywhere from one to five years and at the point of the second failure, they will have to spend thousands of dollars again. For this reason it is always suggested that the entire sewer line is replaced with extra heavy cast iron pipe, this will avoid the need for any additional sewer work for many decades to come.
In this case the owner was selling the home in 8 months. Once sold the home was being demolished for new construction.
Mark out for digging |
The problem section of the sewer line was located on the front lawn and was dug up with a backhoe. First the crew marked out the break with green paint, and then began digging for the sewer line which was located 4.5’ deep on the property.
Digging for sewer |
The new pipe was installed within 4 hours and the homeowner had a functioning sewer once again!
The new pipe is installed! |
Important note to the homeowner
When dealing with a water main or sewer problem, it is always important to contact a licensed plumber to obtain professional feedback on the next best step. There are many “plumbers” who are not licensed and will give direction to a homeowner just to make a buck.
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