Sewer Line Repair/ Replacement Cost and Recommendations (O'Hara Township: sales, house)

[frogslikeflies]

Hello,

We have a growing sink hole in our front yard in the vicinity of our lateral main sewer line (clay). We tried to get a camera inspection but so far no one has successfully gotten the camera all the way into the line to find the problem. Apparently we are missing access to our clean out, and they have tried other ways to go in (through vent, basement drain etc). Anyway, our first estimate is 5500 to dig and replace two sections of pipe and return the dirt. This is from Gillece plumbing. Of course since they havent seen the problem, it is hard to give an estimate. Any recommendations of people to do this job? Any idea on range of estimates? Anyone worked with Gillece for a job like this? Any other advice?

Thank you!!

[Hopes]

When our sewer line needed to be replaced, we did our own digging. It took an entire weekend. All of our neighbors were in the trenches with us. My husband laid the pvc himself. We had a plumber come in to do the connection (since a certified plumber is needed according to the township). It only cost us a few hundred dollars.

[ditchdigger]

Anyway, our first estimate is 5500 to dig and replace two sections of pipe and return the dirt. This is from Gillece plumbing. Of course since they havent seen the problem, it is hard to give an estimate. Any recommendations of people to do this job? Any idea on range of estimates? Anyone worked with Gillece for a job like this? Any other advice?

A plumber friend of mine says that any of the camera oufits (especially the ones that do it for free or cheap), would be able to show any homeowner a reason to dig up their lateral. It's a good diagnostic tool for a plumber, but it's a great sales tool. (Read between the lines of that, whatever you will.) That having been said, the sinkhole does make it sound like you need to dig.

Call me cynical, but I'll be willing to bet that any inital estimate you get, from anyone, will be much less than the final bill.

If you have two sections of pipe that are that badly compromised, chances are that the rest of the line isn't in such great shape either. (I don't know whether they explained to you either, that the old clay pipe "sections" are generally between 18" and 3' long. They're not a 10' piece of pipe like you're used to seeing on the rack at Home Depot.)

There are lots of other factors that can play into the price, such as depth, and ease or difficulty of access to the site. You don't mention anything about restoring the yard either.

When our sewer line needed to be replaced, we did our own digging. It took an entire weekend. All of our neighbors were in the trenches with us.

Congratulations on having some really great neighbors!

I'll bet though, that your line wasn't much more than four feet deep, or very long, was it?

[Johnny C]

Mr. Rooter did my sewer line - it was a huge job bc the line was 8 feet deep and 40 feet long. They had it all done in two days and guaranteed it all for life.

I kid myself for a while on this (thinking there was a cheap and easy fix) but in the end, the whole line was clay junk and needed replaced. Chemicals and cleaning only prolonged the problem.

[frogslikeflies]

We had thought about digging ourselves, but our line is probably at least 6-8' deep and we were told that the ditch would require shoring (sp?) before any plumber should get in (or really ourselves). While I am sure that jobs have been done without this it made it seem like too much.. not to mentuion that would be a lot of digging.

The biggest problem is that because they cant see the problem, we dont really know exactly what needs to be replaced. The estimate that we received included replacing 2' of about 3' clay pipe with PVC. We are not having any sewer problems, so I dont think the line is collapsed, but we are definately getting soil washing away, which makes me think that the connection is leaking.

Ditchdigger, I completely agree_ which is why I am so concerned, but what can we do about it. The estimate includes restoring to construction grade- basically just putting the dirt back in.

[ditchdigger]

Generally, anything over 5 feet deep will require shoring, according to OSHA. That doesn't mean you'll see shoring on any job over that depth, just that that's the regulation.

These jobs are always sort of nebulous, until you actually dig and see what is involved. Especially if it's still working, I'd talk to three or even four plumbers, or more, and see who seems to be being the most straightforward with you. It is good to address the problem now though, since waiting till your basement is full of water is a baaad idea....

[robrobrob]

We got the name of our guy from the municipality. I am sorry but I forgot his full name. I know his first name was Ken. I see that you are in the city so that probably isn't much help to you. Try calling O'Hara Township, where I live, and say you need the name of a "digger" to do a sewer lateral replacement. Good luck it isn't cheap. Ours was about 8000.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

Congratulations on having some really great neighbors!

I'll bet though, that your line wasn't much more than four feet deep, or very long, was it?

It wasn't a 40 foot line, but it was deep. Our property is above street level with a retaining wall so it was approximately 6 feet deep on one side and eight to ten feet deep on the other side. It's about 16 feet from the house to the property line.

We do have great neighbors. We didn't even ask them. I left for the store while my husband was digging in the yard. When I returned, most of the men on my street were digging too. They stopped to see what my husband was doing and started to help.

The total cost was mostly materials. If our property had been long, we would have rented a backhoe, etc. Just make sure that you know where your gas and water lines are on the property before you even beging to think about doing this type of work yourself.

[Johnny C]

Originally Posted by frogslikeflies

The biggest problem is that because they cant see the problem, we dont really know exactly what needs to be replaced. The estimate that we received included replacing 2' of about 3' clay pipe with PVC. We are not having any sewer problems, so I dont think the line is collapsed, but we are definately getting soil washing away, which makes me think that the connection is leaking.

A bit of advice-don't try to go cheap here and just replace a section of the pipe. The pipe is old clay, and eventually all of it will become a problem. If you are going to the trouble of digging up your front yard, then just replace the entire line. Otherwise, you may be revisiting this problem again in a couple years ( and I'll try not to say "I told you so").

[frogslikeflies]

Originally Posted by Johnny C

A bit of advice-don't try to go cheap here and just replace a section of the pipe. The pipe is old clay, and eventually all of it will become a problem. If you are going to the trouble of digging up your front yard, then just replace the entire line. Otherwise, you may be revisiting this problem again in a couple years ( and I'll try not to say "I told you so").

This is good advice! BUT we are probably moving in about 1.5- 2.5 years and although we generally try to do what is best for the property, we dont want to put a TON more money into the house than needed. Plus replacing the entire line would involve digging up the street to the main sewer... I have heard nothing but that this would add many thousands to the price?