Sewer Line Repair and Replacement in New York City
Your sewer line runs from the building, under the yard or the sidewalk, to the city main in the street. As with the water service, the length on your side is yours — including the part under public sidewalk, which surprises people every time.
How they tell you
A sewer line fails slowly and then all at once. Recurring backups at the lowest fixture in the building. Slow drainage across several fixtures at once, not just one. Gurgling from a toilet when you run a sink. Odors in the basement or the yard. Wet or sunken soil along the sewer path. Wastewater standing at the cleanout.
By the time most people call us they’ve tried a plunger, a bottle of drain cleaner, and a nephew.
Why they fail here
Much of what’s under these streets is clay tile and cast iron, laid when Brooklyn was a different city. Clay joints open, roots find the opening and follow the water in. Cast iron corrodes from the inside. The ground moves in February and the joints move with it.
The mechanism matters, because it decides the fix.
Repair or replacement
Root intrusion in an otherwise sound line is a repair — camera it, cut the roots, replace the compromised section. A collapsed run of clay tile is a replacement, in extra-heavy cast iron or NYC-approved PVC.
How the work actually goes
Camera the line. Pull the permit and the mark-outs. Open the street or the yard over the defective section only — sectional replacement wherever it’s possible, not a full line because a full line is easier to sell. Verify flow. Backfill and restore the surface.
New installations carry a multi-year workmanship guarantee, transferable to future owners.
When it’s an emergency
Wastewater rising into the basement or fixtures, a collapsed house trap, ground collapse from a failed line, or roots obstructing primary flow. Call (718) 965-3500.
Service You Can Trust
