Sewer Repair

[fried1765]

a sewer is owned by a local jurisdiction, city, town, or county. it runs to the sewer pipe in the road. they should fix it for free.. it's theirs..

NOT TRUE!
Not even close!
The sewer line from a residence to the street side stub, is the sole responsibility of the homeowner.
Local jurisdictions do not replace/repair sewer or water lines on private property.

 

[MossRoad]

Anything deeper then 5 feet you need trench box or shoring OSHA law .... And you have to call dig safe for them to mark out all the utilities........

OSHA doesn't apply to home owners. But common sense should. Don't get in a hole.

 

[Bigb56]

Instead of hiring the plumber to do a job where the excavation is by far the hardest part why don't you hire a professional excavator to dig it up then hire the plumber to fix it or you fix it, replacing the whole line with ABS is a cake walk. The professional excavator will get the blue stake or whatever they go by in your area which will relieve responsibility if any public utilities are hit if he stays away from the marked areas. If it's your own utilities that get hit it will be up to you to repair. I use a professional excavator all the time for underground electrical mains, makes my job very easy and stress free.

 

[Dwellonroof]

Instead of hiring the plumber to do a job where the excavation is by far the hardest part why don't you hire a professional excavator to dig it up then hire the plumber to fix it or you fix it, replacing the whole line with ABS is a cake walk. The professional excavator will get the blue stake or whatever they go by in your area which will relieve responsibility if any public utilities are hit if he stays away from the marked areas. If it's your own utilities that get hit it will be up to you to repair. I use a professional excavator all the time for underground electrical mains, makes my job very easy and stress free.

That's an idea, I can rent a trench box for $400 per week.

 

[Peter 315]

If you hire a company to dig the trench they should have a trench box....

 

[dougtrr2]

... When I removed the hose it had clay marks on it telling me I have a bigger problem so I called The Underground Detective Company and had them run a camera to view the problem but he could not get through the break/root/or??
to see what is going on so I'm at the point of digging and here is my thinking.
1. The plumber wants minimum $2000 to dig 8' down and repair maybe a break.
2. The grade goes uphill and sewer goes down so if we o further we go deeper which is more money $$$.
3. Should I stick with the plumber or rent/purchase a used backhoe and do it myself. BTW it crosses a gas line and a water main.
4. It does flow but backs up a little at the floor drain in the basement so should I wait and see if it gets worse and maybe use the jetter again ?
Any other thoughts?

What did the camera see?? If he can't get past it, that is probably your problem. Could they run the camera from the street side?
I can almost guarantee it will get worse. But it will wait for the most inopportune time to rear its ugly head.

I am too old to mess with that stuff, I would just hire the plumber. But I would also get an estimate before he starts to replace the entire line. You mentioned clay marks. Is there any chance the line is still some of that orangeburg stuff that was put in years ago? When it starts failing you are pretty well doomed. But there are companies that can pull a new line inside the old one without digging it all up.

Good luck.

Doug in SW IA

 

[fried1765]

What did the camera see?? If he can't get past it, that is probably your problem. Could they run the camera from the street side?
I can almost guarantee it will get worse. But it will wait for the most inopportune time to rear its ugly head.

I am too old to mess with that stuff, I would just hire the plumber. But I would also get an estimate before he starts to replace the entire line. You mentioned clay marks. Is there any chance the line is still some of that orangeburg stuff that was put in years ago? When it starts failing you are pretty well doomed. But there are companies that can pull a new line inside the old one without digging it all up.

Good luck.

Doug in SW IA

"clay marks" would not be an indication of Orangeburg.
Orangeburg is not orange, it is black, and is in fact made from compressed paper and asphalt.

 

[Praff990]

You would need a decent sized excavator to dig that deep and set a trench box, something Iike a Cat 308 or Komatsu PC88. A good sized extendable boom backhoe would work as well. If you do it yourself get reinforced ferncos and plenty of gravel to put around the repair. Hiring the plumber would probably be cheaper than a weeks worth of equipment and trench box rental.

Definitely call 811 before you dig, and remember they get 18 inches on each side of the mark where if you break it you are at fault and not them. I don稚 recommend digging around any utilities without some experience. There is a difference between digging and digging around live utilities.

 

[fried1765]

You would need a decent sized excavator to dig that deep and set a trench box, something Iike a Cat 308 or Komatsu PC88. A good sized extendable boom backhoe would work as well. If you do it yourself get reinforced ferncos and plenty of gravel to put around the repair. Hiring the plumber would probably be cheaper than a weeks worth of equipment and trench box rental.

Definitely call 811 before you dig, and remember they get 18 inches on each side of the mark where if you break it you are at fault and not them. I don稚 recommend digging around any utilities without some experience. There is a difference between digging and digging around live utilities.

I would guess that the only thing likely to be "live" around a sewer pipe is the bacteria, inside the pipe.
The "Dig Safe" markings should indicate where "live" electricity is.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have no choice but to replace private laterals upon sale if clay, Orangeburg, cement asbestos, cast iron, etc.

Digging rarely happens as Burst Pipe method is used 99% of the time... do it once with continuous seamless pipe,