Your Sewer Line: Does Replacement Make More Sense Than Repair?

When something goes wrong though, you and your family is the one who suffer. From wet spots on the lawn to funky smells, a sewer line problem is nothing to take lightly. Your first instinct in this case will likely be to just have the affected area of pipe repaired. Unfortunately, though,  sewer line repair isn’t always enough—you may need sewer line replacement.

Watch Out for Those Tree Roots

This is one of the biggest threats to your sewer line. Naturally, tree roots look for sources of water—and whether you sewer line is leaking or not, it’s still a very big source of water! Unfortunately, roots may infiltrate your line, causing damage in multiple areas.

Although repair may be sufficient, you’ll want to investigate what type of piping you have and see if it would make more sense to replace. Whatever your decision, it’s important to take a close look at your landscaping and asses if you can and should plant trees farther away.

Other Sewer Line Considerations

As we mentioned above, looking at the type of piping you have is important. Even if you are only experiencing a small leak, if you have an existing sewer line made of clay, you probably want to seriously consider sewer line replacement.

The reason for this is because old clay piping becomes very brittle over time, almost guaranteeing that your remaining section of clay piping will eventually need to be repaired or replaced anyway. To avoid multiple service calls with numerous repairs, it could very well be more cost effective for you to replace the line.

A Closer Look at Cost

It’s no secret that repairing a small section of your sewer line is going to cost a lot less than replacing the whole line. It’s also going to be more convenient and less disruptive to your property. However, if it’s within your budget to replace the whole line, you may want to consider just tackling it all at once.

In addition to accumulating the right permits and disrupting your property every time a sewer line repair is needed, the overall cost of replacing your pipe at a later date, or making repairs one at a time, is going to cost more than if you replaced the entire sewer line from the beginning.

When Repair Makes More Sense

There are, naturally, times when repair does make more sense. For example, if you plan on selling your home soon, it may not make much sense to pay for an entire sewer line replacement. Also, if your sewer line is made from newer material and just has one small, localized problem, repair could suffice.

Lastly, if the section of pipe you’re having repaired is newer, our plumbers will have an easier time finding the right connections and methods to effectively repair the pipe, or at least only replace a very small section of it.

Whatever sewer line service you decide on, you need Doug Turner Plumbing CO. to get the job done right.  Contact us today for service you can depend on!

Call (281) 201-6065