Turns out around here at leaste, probably everywhere, drain pipe relining isn't cheaper than replacing the drain pipe. In fact I think it's more expecnsive. However it is done in one day, and doesn't require digging up more than about 3'x2' of the front lawn. They advertise that you can keep your business open while they do the job.
Perhaps they can do it from the clean-out in the basement. The webpage didn't say this but the secretary thought she had heard of it. That would mean no digging, no filling, cheaper and quicker, if it's possible.
I finally reached a plumbing company which does this, and the company charges 100 to 125 dollar per foot, at least for a 4" drain pipe, and that includes everything including video before and after. If they video it and it can't be repaired this way, they charge 300 to 350 for the trip out and the video. (At that point I didn't have nerve enough to ask her what the odds were that they would video it and say it didn't need relining OR a new pipe. Because the thing is already working now.)
She said the travel time, I think from Virginia to Baltimore County would cost 125 for what they know takes 3 hours. I think that was part of the 350 for the trip out and the video, if the person didn't go farther with them after the video.
Maybe there is a company in Baltimore that does relining, but when I googled Baltimore "Pipe relining", the only one I found and looked at was this one in Virginia. The webpages make it look good and one person here months ago recommended it, so I don't know why my look at google didn't find anyone around here promoting it.
My friend didn't need a new drain pipe after the county snaked out his drain through the cleanout in the yard.
But he's still perturbed that the plumber removed his basement toilet to snake/rotoroot the drain since there was a cleanout obvious in the next room, and only 4 feet from where the same plumber had reconnected the dishwasher.
He's also very perturbed that the plumber rotoed the drain twice, the second time with a larger blade, and still didn't unclog it. The plumber said he used all his cable, which was 100 feet, which the distance to the public sewer is no more than 70 or 80 feet, and still didn't succeed.
I'm annoyed by those two things and even more because he told him to hire another guy to dig up and replace the whole drain line, for more than 3000 dollars.
It's only because I nagged him