how much does it cost to repair a break to the main line (sewer lateral)

[Steve]

i live in the san francisco bay area. i found out today that there are roots in the main sewer line to my house. the city can locate the exact location of the blockage with a camera free of charge. however, we will be given a 30 day notice to repair it. what has to happen is that the front yard has to be dug up to expose the pipe, and that section will have to be replaced. luckily, our sewer line/lateral here is broken up into 4 foot sections. hopefully, there is only a crack to one section of the pipe so we can just replace the section that has the crack allowing roots to get into. i was wondering if anyone had this done? and how much will it cost? thanks!!

[Joseph Meehan]

In most cases "rod out roots" is just a temporary fix and they just keep growing back until the leak is fixed. Roots find even a small leak. The city does not want the leaks because it also allows water to enter the system causing large increases in the amount of fluid they must treat after a rain (about one month per year for Steve ;-).

[Joseph Meehan]

A lot will depend on how deep it may be, and any obstructions like driveways, or trees in the way.

[RikC]

You need to call a couple of plumbing companies to get an estimate.

rik

[Steve]

yeah, i know it will depend on that stuff. the pipe is under the front yard, so at least its under soil, and not concrete. and there are no obstructions, my front yard is about 20x20 patch of grass. just wanted to see if other people had this done, and what they paid for it.

[ameijers]

(snip)

Listen to the voice of experience- if one section of the 'flower pot' sewer pipe has cracked or collapsed, likely that other sections are not far behind. Bite the bullet and switch out the entire run with glued long lengths of PVC, and never have to worry about it again.

aem sends...

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