Call (330) 302-2992 Sewer Lines and Sump Pumps in Youngstown
The sewer lateral is the pipe that carries everything a house drains out under the yard to the main. In the older parts of Youngstown many laterals are still the original vitrified clay, whose joints let in the roots of the trees overhead.
We inspect sewer lines with a camera, repair or replace failed laterals, and install the sump pumps and backwater valves that keep a basement dry.
Warning Signs in the Basement and the Yard
A failing lateral shows itself at the lowest drain in the house and along its route outside:
- Water or sewage rising through the basement floor drain when the washer empties or a toilet is flushed upstairs.
- A sewer smell that returns even after water has been poured into the floor drain to refill its trap.
- Soggy, sunken or unusually green strips of lawn between the house and the street.
- Main-line clogs that come back after clearing, the mark of roots, a sag or a broken pipe.
A camera inspection shows what lies behind these signs. The camera goes in through the cleanout on a push cable and records roots, cracked or offset pipe and sags that hold water, with each defect’s distance from the house; a locator on the surface marks its position and depth. A sound pipe that is only blocked needs drain cleaning, not a repair.
Does a sewer camera inspection involve any digging?
No. The camera goes in through a cleanout, or through the toilet’s floor opening where a house has none. Digging comes into it only for a repair that calls for it.
Is a camera inspection worth having before buying an older house?
In a house with a clay or cast iron lateral and mature trees, it is a sensible step, since a standard home inspection does not look inside the sewer line.
Who is responsible for the sewer lateral, the owner or the city?
In most places the property owner is responsible for the lateral from the house to the main or the connection point, sometimes including the stretch under the tree lawn or the street. Rules differ by city, and the local sewer authority decides where the owner’s part ends, so check with the city or the sewer authority before any work near the street.
Lining the Old Pipe or Digging It Up
A failed lateral is either rebuilt from inside or dug up and replaced. The camera recording shows which methods the pipe allows; the yard decides which makes sense.
Trenchless Repair
A resin-soaked liner is cured inside the old pipe, or a bursting head splits the old pipe while pulling new pipe in behind it.
- Fits pipe that is cracked, root-filled or leaking at the joints but still holds its slope.
- Needs one or two small pits, sometimes only the cleanout.
- Cannot correct a sag; a liner cannot bridge a collapse and slightly narrows the pipe.
Open Excavation
The ground is opened over the failed section or the whole run, and new pipe goes in at the correct slope.
- Fits a collapsed pipe, a sag that holds water, or a short failed section near the house.
- Leaves a trench across the lawn, with paving, plantings or a walk to put back.
- The work grows with the depth, the trees and any structure over the line.
Either way, buried utilities are marked through the 811 call-before-you-dig service before any ground is broken, and a camera run afterward is the usual check that the new pipe is clear.
What Makes a Sewer Repair Larger
The same failed pipe can mean a small repair under open lawn or a far larger job under a driveway. Five factors set the scope, and the scope sets the estimate, as explained under How We Work.
Sewer Repair Scope Explainer
Tick what you know about your line to see how each factor changes the work.
Tick the factors that apply, then press Explain the Factors.
Groundwater and Sewage Need Different Defenses
Groundwater rises through the floor and walls when the soil is saturated; sewage comes up the floor drain when the main cannot carry the flow, as in older systems where storm water and sewage share one pipe. Each needs its own device.
| Device | What it does | Basement problem it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| Sump pump | Pumps out the water the drain tile collects in the pit and sends it away from the foundation. | Groundwater seeping in at the floor and walls after rain or a thaw. |
| Battery backup pump | Runs on a battery when the power fails or the main pump falls behind. | A pit that overflows in the storm that cuts the power. |
| Backwater valve | Closes a flap in the main drain when flow runs backward from the sewer. | Sewage pushed up the floor drain when the city main overloads in heavy rain. |
A sump pump sits in a lined pit at the low point of the floor, with a check valve on its discharge line. A backwater valve is set into the main drain under the floor, with an access cover for cleaning. While it is closed, water used upstairs has nowhere to go, so nobody should run water or flush; what to do while sewage is rising is covered under emergency plumbing.
See the Line Before Any Digging
A camera inspection shows where the lateral has failed and which repair fits it, before any ground is opened.