Sewer Line Repair and Replacement Process
Intact water and sewer lines are important to living in a comfortable and clean home. Whether it is an overflowing toilet that spills sewage, a faulty sewer line or backed up tank that causes sewage damage, it can have devastating effects on your home. Besides contaminating different areas of your home, sewage also causes several health problems.
This is where the role of professional sewer drain inspection comes into play. Certified professionals, such as Conejo Valley Home Services Plumbing & Rooter, can help you conduct sewer line cleaning and disinfect your house.
The professional plumbers at Conejo Valley Home Services Plumbing & Rooter, understand that a sewer leak with messy cleanup and unpleasant smell of a sewer pipe can be frustrating. It is challenging for homeowners to pinpoint the underlying causes of sewage problems.
If you want to prevent sewer line clog or sewer line damage, learning what causes them to break is important. Keep on reading to determine what breaks or causes the repair to your sewer line and how you can repair or replace them.
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- How To Know If Your Sewer Line Is Leaking
- What To Expect During A Sewer Line Inspection
- Benefits Of A Sewer Line Inspection
- Sewer Line Repair Vs. Sewer Line Replacement
- Average Cost For A Sewer Line Inspection, Repair, And Replacement
- How To Protect Your Sewer Lines
- Why Choose Our Sewer Line Inspection Services
How to Know if Your Sewer Line is Leaking
To prevent sewer line damage, you must know how to identify or spot the underlying causes that lead to sewer line damage. Look for the following signs to spot a damaged sewer line to call sewer line repair or replacement professionals on time.
- Strange gurgling and bubbling noises from your toilet
- Noticeable/constant sewage backup in toilet or tub
- The slow draining tub or no slow drain
- Water shortage in the toilet(s)
- Significantly greener patches near a sewage pipe
- Sewer odor in the yard, basement, or other areas of the property
- Flooded yard
a. Causes of Sewer and Drain Problems
As mentioned above, when sewage is backed up from sewer main lines into homes through drain pipelines, it causes expensive damage and creates several health hazards. There are plenty of factors that may cause sewer line repair or sewer line replacement. Here are some causes of sewer and drain problems.
Some of them include:
Sewer Main Line
A blockage in a city’s sanitary main can occur due to any reason. If this blockage is not fixed in time, sewage water from the main sanitary backs up into homes through floor drains. Generally, it happens slowly and gives homeowners enough time to seek the help of a plumber to check the damage.
Blockage due to Shrubs and Tree Roots
Trees and shrubs seeking moisture often extend into sewer lines and cracks, and may cause extensive damage. They are small and can quickly get into the tiny cracks in the drain lines. But as shrubs and trees continue to grow, the roots enter the pipes and cause severe blockage.
Standing Waters in Home Basement
Flooding
Even if there is no floodwater in your house, the water may flow into the sewer lines. Note that a sewer backup that flooding causes may contain more than normal waste. If there is a power failure during the flood, the issue may get even worse. Several sewer plants and treatment stations use power to seal return valves. If they fail, waste flows back into pipes.
Remember that sewage comprises wastewater, which is hazardous to health and the environment. If raw sewage somehow gets into the groundwater, it may cause severe health problems. The dirty water, debris, or waste carries potentially harmful microorganisms that make them a health hazard. Moreover, the harmful solids contain toxic chemicals that can damage water bodies supporting wildlife.
b. Causes of Sewer Line Damage
Tree Roots
As mentioned above, tree roots follow water sources when they grow near the sewer lines. As a sewer line carries liquid waste, tree roots are attracted to them naturally. It is especially true if there are small leaks in the pipes. If roots come in contact with the sewer pipes, they wrap around them and may cause breakage.
In addition to that, roots can cause severe weakening, clogging, and structure breakage. Particularly, it is common in homes with older construction as they mostly have clay sewer pipes and are most susceptible to damages from roots.
Corroded Pipes
Clogged Pipes Due to Foreign Objects
The sewage lines of your home can handle soft objects like toilet paper and human waste. However, you should avoid flushing hard wrappers and towels as they can disintegrate and cause blockages. They are hard to fix with drain cleaning agents.
Even items like grease and cooking oil can clog sewer pipes if you pour them into the sink. You should pour the liquids into the containers or dispose of them in the trash can.
Extreme Temperatures
Extreme temperatures such as cold weather can freeze the pipes.
The frozen pipes may burst if ice expands. It is worth mentioning that it is not only cold weather that may cause the sewer line to rupture, as extreme heat has a similar effect.
What to Expect During a Sewer Line Inspection
If there is a break or leak in the sewer line, it is essential to repair it. Typically, you can choose two options. You can either dig a small trench around the pipe or opt for trenchless sewer line repairs. Put simply, the options given below are two methods you can expect during a sewer line inspection.
Pipelining
Pipe Bursting
It destroys the pipe to replace it with a new one. The process is less time-effective and more expensive but doesn’t require heavy or extensive excavation. When your home’s sewer line is too damaged to apply the pipelining technique or simply clean it out, you can opt for invasive trenchless repairs. This sewer line cleaning technique makes a cone-shaped bit via an existing line.
However, if the sewer lines have damage beyond repairs, you can resort to traditional sewer line replacement techniques. The methods are not only costly but also extremely invasive. Technicians or professional sewer line experts need to dig up the yard to find the broken or damaged lines. Keep in mind that excavation is mandatory if your home’s sewage system has experienced extensive damages.
Benefits of a Sewer Line Inspection
Locates a Water Break or Leak
There are plenty of telltale signs of leaks and water breaks to spot damages that need sewer line repairs or replacement. Several hidden clues can show that something isn’t right with your drainage or plumbing system.
Though the not-so-subtle signs are enough to locate the areas where water is escaping the pipes, a sewer line inspection can help you find the exact location.
Eliminates the Need of Unnecessary Digging
Determines the Exact Condition of Pipes
The entire plumbing inner work of your home is out of sight most of the time. Monitoring the pipes’ condition at all times is important, especially when you need sewer line replacement. The inspection process uses a camera which is typically non-intrusive and helps determine the exact condition of the pipes.
It is essential, especially when you buy a new property and want to know ahead if pipes are at risk of corrosion or collapse. It can prevent costly repairs and impending emergencies.
Sewer Line Repair vs. Sewer Line Replacement
Trenchless Sewer Repair
Trenchless sewer repairing is the modern method with its easy-to-handle and cost-effective procedure, which has replaced the conventional trench replacement option.
It saves you from having to dig long trenches. Also, you don’t have to wait for months to get approval to reroute the water lines.
In fact, it is a convenient way of subsurface construction and requires merely a few trenches. Advanced technology in plumbing is trending these days. It is defined as a family of materials, methods, and equipment to be used for installation, rehabilitation, or underground replacement purposes to build new infrastructure.
If you are looking for minimal excavation in your yard, these are some trenchless construction methods to choose from according to your requirements:
- Microtunneling
- Tunneling
- Directional Boring
- Pipe Jacking
- Pipe Ramming
- Directional Drilling
- Moiling
Sewer Line Replacement
Average Cost for a Sewer Line Inspection, Repair, and Replacement
The average cost homeowners need to pay for sewer line repair is $2,556. However, it may increase or decrease from $1,073 to $4,055, depending on the severity of the damage. Homeowners who choose a full replacement may have to spend $3,000-$25,000.
How to Protect Your Sewer Lines
Note that not all types of sewer damages are preventable. However, there are steps to slow down the rate of damage.
Conduct a Sewer Line Inspection Once A Year
Seek the assistance of professionals to get a sewer line inspection of your sewage system once a year. It helps ensure that your sewage system is working well. You can opt for a camera inspection that goes inside of the sewer pipe to check for blockages or corrosion.
Remove Trees or Shrubs That Are Damaging the Sewer Line
Though an already-existing leak or crack in the pipe often causes a root invasion in the sewer lines, removing the trees from the surrounding area after replacing or repairing the pipe is always beneficial. It ensures that the same problem will not arise in the future.
Use Sewage System Properly
As described above, disposing of toilet paper and human waste in the sewer lines causes blockages. Therefore, you need to be careful and use the sewage system properly.
Why Choose Our Sewer Line Inspection Services
Conejo Valley Home Services Plumbing & Rooter only provides state-of-the-art and professional plumbing services. The exceptional sewer drain inspection, sewer line repair, and replacement services are a matter of record with all the major accredited plumbing associations.
Our professionals inspect the sewer lines or health of drains to help you make an informed decision if you should replace or repair them. Choosing us for routine maintenance helps you avoid costly repairs and replacements.
Call us today or visit us online to have your blocked or clogged sewer lines problems handled by our professionals.
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