Most Brooklyn sewer calls start the same way: water coming up through the lowest drain in the house, usually in the basement. We find out why with a camera, then repair the section that failed, or replace the house sewer out to the city sewer if the whole line has to go.
On the older blocks of Park Slope, Bed-Stuy, Carroll Gardens and Bay Ridge, the house sewer is often the original clay tile or cast iron. Clay joints open up, and the roots of the street tree out front find the gap and follow the water in. Cast iron corrodes from the inside.
Under a brownstone or row house the line usually leaves through the front wall and runs under the areaway and the sidewalk, so even a short repair means opening concrete. We open only what the camera says we need to, and put it back.
One of these is a warning. Two or more, together, usually mean the line itself.
We find out what is wrong before anyone digs. A sewer camera inspection is a paid service: you get the video and a written report, and the repair is priced from what the camera found. Anyone who quotes a sewer repair over the phone is guessing, and you pay for the guess later.
Repairs and replacements are done in extra-heavy cast iron or NYC-approved PVC, with a new house trap and cleanout where they are needed. Where the line allows it, trenchless repair leaves less of the sidewalk or yard open. More on NYC sewer line repair and NYC sewer line replacement.
A snake clears a blockage. It does not fix a broken pipe. If a backup clears and never comes back, you probably did not need us. If it keeps coming back, the line is usually cracked, sagging or full of roots, and the camera will show which.
In New York City the house sewer belongs to the property owner all the way to the connection at the city sewer, including the part under the sidewalk and the street. DEP maintains the city sewer itself, and when it finds a defect on the owner's side it can send a sewer defect notice. We handle those too: see DEP notices and compliance.
The digging is the quick part. The permits set the calendar.
Our customers took these photos on recent sewer jobs in New York City and posted them with their Google reviews.
“We are so grateful to Ed and his professional team for helping us repair the broken sewer line. They were responsive and efficient, securing permits on short notice and completing the work in a single day. They even cleaned the street afterward.”
Luya S., Google review
“Victor from Lady Liberty was so so kindhearted and knowledgeable about how to address my sewer backup issue.”
R M, Google review
Our yard is at 140 50th St in Sunset Park, so south Brooklyn is close: Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Greenwood Heights, Windsor Terrace and Kensington.
We work across Brooklyn: Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Park Slope, Gowanus, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Canarsie, Brownsville, East New York, Cypress Hills, Ocean Hill, Kensington, Midwood, Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Georgetown.
We also work in Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx and Manhattan.
The property owner. In New York City the house sewer is private from the building to the connection at the city sewer, including the part under the sidewalk and the street. DEP maintains the city sewer itself.
Yes. It is a paid inspection, and you keep the video and a written report. If the line needs work, the repair is priced from that footage.
If several buildings on the block back up at the same time, the city sewer may be the problem: report it to 311. If it is only your building, it is usually your line, and the camera will show where.
Sometimes. The city treats recently resurfaced streets as protected: opening one needs DOT approval, comes with stricter restoration rules, and some work has to wait. We check a street's status before we quote, so you know before anything is scheduled.
No. The camera tells us where the failure is, and we excavate over that section only. Where the line allows it, trenchless repair avoids opening the run at all. Whatever we open, we restore.
At 140 50th St in Sunset Park. We work across all of Brooklyn, and south Brooklyn is closest.
Sewer trouble in Brooklyn? Call (718) 965-3500. A person answers, 24/7/365.
Water main trouble instead? See water main repair in Brooklyn.
A broken water main or sewer backup in Brooklyn escalates fast — water surfacing in the roadway, a burst service line under the sidewalk, or wastewater rising into a basement. A person answers the phone after hours and overnight, and a licensed crew is dispatched across Brooklyn for emergency water main break and sewer repair, 24/7.
