Plumber for sewer line replacement?

[Pete]

I've been dealing with a bad sewer line problem in one of my bathrooms.

I've had a plumber come out and they can't even get a camera through the line due to clogging from tree roots. Same with protracted attempts to clear the line.

The sewer runs under the concrete slab in my bedroom and then it's unclear how it ties into the line that leads to the street.


I need someone I can trust to dive into this. They will have to jackhammer the concrete slab in my master bedroom (nightmare) and go from there.

I have a plumber I like for small jobs but would greatly appreciate recommendations of a company that can do this right without screwing me over on price. I know it won't be cheap but I'm very uncomfortable with the open-ended nature of this.

TIA.

[T. Jamison]

As a non-homeowner, you can take my recommendation with a grain of salt. But when I was renting a house in The Village, our landlord always used Reddy Rooter. They repaired fixtures, cleared drains, and also repaired the water service line at the meter. They dug up the front yard and leveled it better than before. Just good people to work with, I thought. But I wasn't footing the bill, so I don't know if the pricing was fair.

[TheTravellers]

I've been dealing with a bad sewer line problem in one of my bathrooms.

I've had a plumber come out and they can't even get a camera through the line due to clogging from tree roots. Same with protracted attempts to clear the line.

The sewer runs under the concrete slab in my bedroom and then it's unclear how it ties into the line that leads to the street.


I need someone I can trust to dive into this. They will have to jackhammer the concrete slab in my master bedroom (nightmare) and go from there.

I have a plumber I like for small jobs but would greatly appreciate recommendations of a company that can do this right without screwing me over on price. I know it won't be cheap but I'm very uncomfortable with the open-ended nature of this.

TIA.

Try Don's Plumbing. My plumber, who I trust wholeheartedly since he's worked on our 70+ year old house many times, recommended them to unclog our kitchen drain (he doesn't do drain clearing). They were responsive, came out the next day, and the guy that did it has been doing it for decades, he knew what he was doing quite well...

http://www.okcplumbing.co/

[Pete]

Try Don's Plumbing. My plumber, who I trust wholeheartedly since he's worked on our 70+ year old house many times, recommended them to unclog our kitchen drain (he doesn't do drain clearing). They were responsive, came out the next day, and the guy that did it has been doing it for decades, he knew what he was doing quite well...

http://www.okcplumbing.co/

Thanks very much.

I left word for Don to give me a call and will see how things go from there.

[KTB]

Have you had it snaked (roto rooter)? They can pull your toilet and go from there. The newest method is hydro jetting. They use a high pressure pump with a cutting jet at the end of the hose to cut through roots.

[Pete]

Have you had it snaked (roto rooter)? They can pull your toilet and go from there. The newest method is hydro jetting. They use a high pressure pump with a cutting jet at the end of the hose to cut through roots.

Yes, have gone through this several times.

Nobody can get through the blockage. I suspect part of the line is collapsed.

[Bill Robertson]

Yes, have gone through this several times.

Nobody can get through the blockage. I suspect part of the line is collapsed.

Judging from the age of the houses around where you've said you take walks I bet the sewer pipe is Orangeburg. Of so it probably has collapsed. Only fix is to replace. I did this a couple times myself when I was a lot younger and had friends that would work for beer. It's possible that it's cast iron under the slab to the outside of the home give or take a couple feet. If so at least you won't have to jackhammer anything.

[Dob Hooligan]

Village area we have had good luck with Tuel's Plumbing (TJ) 405-751-6233. Replaced a water line via Dad's Plumbing. I don't have a number at hand.

Brother had sewer lines on rentals replaced by Mr. Rooter. NOT Rotor Rooter- Mr. Rooter. Said they were as cheap as he found with good service

[okatty]

We used High Tech Plumbing and Leak Detect for a slab leak just before Christmas and they did a great job on a pretty complicated issue. We were in big trouble and they saved the day. They are not a discount plumbing company but did a fantastic job for us and I suspect they do sewer lines as well.

[Richard at Remax]

I second high tech.

[Pete]

We used High Tech Plumbing and Leak Detect for a slab leak just before Christmas and they did a great job on a pretty complicated issue. We were in big trouble and they saved the day. They are not a discount plumbing company but did a fantastic job for us and I suspect they do sewer lines as well.

Thank you, I've reached out to them.

Fortunately, it's not an emergency as I have another bathroom. But I've needed to get this fixed for some time and I'm finally just going to bite the bullet and pay whatever it takes.

[Pete]

Thanks to all who provided recommendations.

I actually used a company that was mentioned through a private message.

The good news was they didn't have to jackhammer my slab. But I'm not going to name them because I didn't have the best experience and it's my policy to not mention a business unless I would recommend it, and I'm not sure I would in this case.

[barrettd]

That's unfortunate. Hopefully, you at least got the repairs you needed.

[Pete]

That's unfortunate. Hopefully, you at least got the repairs you needed.

It's all fixed and I'm very grateful for that.

There is a much bigger story which is why I have mixed feelings about the company I used.

[gjl]

I used a plumber I found on Craigslist to replace my sewer line about 10 years ago. It was about a 210 foot run from the back of the house to the main. ( I live on an acre property.) He replaced a 3" line that kept stopping up that had developed bellies in a couple places with a 4" all new line. He did an excellent job on the line. When the city inspector came out to OK it before they filled in the trench he said it was one of the best installs he had seen especially for a line that long. The pitch was perfect. But the plumber and his brother pretty much destroyed my yard about 15 ft on both sides of the trench with a skid steer they rented to put the dirt back in to cover the line. I spent another $1000 on dirt and a landscaper to fix the yard. In the plumbers contract it stated that they would return the yard to what it was before the work started but when they left they said that was as good as they were going to get it. I haven't had a sewer problem since it's been replaced where before that I was having to get it roto rooted at least once a year. I paid the plumber $4000 and then the extra $1000 fixing the yard.

[bombermwc]

I used Brandon's for this exact thing at my old house. Builder has used landscaping pvc for the sewer line back in '95. We paid the price for it in 2018. The line had been snaked about once a year until we had the camera done and discovered this mess. 3k later, we had a new line through the back yard. And a few years later, and the house had been sold, so i can't give any long-term evaluation. But i can say that we didn't have any issues and didn't have to have anything snaked the remainder of our time in that home. Honest folks, worked very easily with me, prompt, and clean.

[GoGators]

Judging from the age of the houses around where you've said you take walks I bet the sewer pipe is Orangeburg. Of so it probably has collapsed. Only fix is to replace. I did this a couple times myself when I was a lot younger and had friends that would work for beer. It's possible that it's cast iron under the slab to the outside of the home give or take a couple feet. If so at least you won't have to jackhammer anything.

I assume the vast majority of Orangeburg has been replaced by now. They stopped using Orangeburg in the early 70s so the newest Orangeburg pipe installed has been in the ground for over 50 years now. You would be lucky to get 30 years out of that stuff. We would run into Orangeburg lines frequently in the early 2000's that had failed and needed replaced. I would be shocked to see any houses still working off Orangeburg at this point.