Something's wrong
with the sewer line.
Several drains backing up at once, a sewage smell in the yard, a toilet that gurgles when the washer runs. That's the main line, not a single clog. Reliable Plumbing puts a camera down the line first, shows you what's actually broken, then gives you repair or replacement options with a price attached. No trench until you've seen the footage.
Sewage backing up into the house right now? Stop running water and call. We take those 24 hours a day.
Sewer line, or just a drain?
These are two very different jobs with two very different prices, and it's worth knowing which one you have before anyone quotes you. Here's the short version.
Something is wrong past the point where every drain in the house joins up.
Annoying, much cheaper to fix, and usually not a sewer job at all.
Not sure which list you're on? A camera inspection settles it in about an hour and you keep the footage. If it turns out to be a single drain, that's a much smaller job and we'll say so: drain cleaning and clog removal.
Sewer line services
Sewer line services for homes and businesses across Salt Lake City, UT, from a first look with a camera through to full sewer line replacement.
A self-leveling camera goes down the line and we watch it together. You see the crack, the root ball, the separated joint, or the belly where water is sitting, at a known depth and distance from the house. Every repair recommendation we make starts here, because the alternative is guessing with a shovel.
Repairs the damaged pipe through one or two small access points instead of a trench running the length of the yard. When the existing line is a good candidate, trenchless sewer repair protects landscaping, driveways, and sidewalks, and it's usually finished faster than a full dig.
When a line has collapsed, dropped badly out of alignment, or failed along most of its length, patching it buys a few months at best. Full sewer line replacement puts in new pipe built to outlast the house. We'll tell you plainly when it's the honest answer, and just as plainly when it isn't.
Targeted repair of the damaged section while the rest of the system stays where it is. If the camera shows one bad joint or a single crushed length under the driveway, there's no reason to dig up forty feet of pipe that's doing its job.
Tree roots find the smallest gap at a joint and grow into the line until it's blocked. We cut the roots out, inspect what they left behind, and talk honestly about whether the joint needs sealing or the section needs replacing, so you're not calling again next spring.
Sewage coming up through a floor drain, tub, or toilet isn't a wait-until-Monday problem. Stop running water anywhere in the house so nothing more gets pushed through the line, then call. We clear it first, then camera it to find out what caused it.
How a sewer job actually goes
Sewer work has a reputation for surprise costs and torn-up yards. Here's the order we do it in, every single time.
The camera goes in through a cleanout and runs the full length of the sewer line. On a typical Salt Lake home it takes about an hour, start to finish.
You see exactly what we see, at the depth and distance where the problem sits. If you can't be there, we send it to you afterward.
Usually more than one: spot repair, trenchless, or full replacement. We explain the trade-offs and what each costs, then you pick. Nothing starts before you approve it.
We do the work, then run the camera through again so you can see the finished line for yourself. (801) 803-0847
Why call Reliable
Sewer repair is one of the easiest places in plumbing to oversell. A line that needs one spot repair can be quoted as a full replacement, and most homeowners have no way to tell the difference. That's exactly why the camera goes in first and why you get the footage.
Owner Brody Gehring has spent more than ten years on Salt Lake City sewer lines, in neighborhoods where clay and cast iron pipe from the 1950s and 60s is still in the ground. We know what fails here, why it fails, and how to fix the section that's actually broken.
What usually fails around here
The most common cause in the valley. Roots find a joint and grow into the line.
Clay, cast iron, and Orangeburg lines in older homes reaching the end of their service life.
Freeze-thaw cycles and settling pull joints apart and create low spots that hold water.
Build up at the low points until the line can no longer clear itself.
Thorough and knowledgeable plumber with fair pricing.
Sewer lines, answered
Reliable Plumbing confirms sewer line damage in Salt Lake City homes with a camera inspection, because symptoms such as several slow drains or a gurgling toilet show that something is wrong but not what or where.
The camera runs the full length of the line and shows the fault, its depth, and its distance from the cleanout. That footage separates a line that needs cleaning from one that needs a section repaired, and a spot repair from a full replacement. You watch it with us, or we send it afterward. Every option comes with a price, and nothing starts until you approve one.
Reliable Plumbing finds that most sewer line problems in Salt Lake City come from tree roots, aging pipe, and ground movement, often together in older neighborhoods.
Mature trees send roots toward the moisture at pipe joints, and clay laterals give them the most joints to find. Clay, cast iron, and Orangeburg lines from the middle of the last century are at or past the end of their service life in many homes. Freeze-thaw cycles and settling soil pull joints apart and leave low spots where waste collects. Grease and flushed wipes make every one of those problems worse, faster.
Not always: Reliable Plumbing uses trenchless repair in Salt Lake City when a sewer line is a candidate for it, which works through one or two small access points instead of a trench across the yard.
Whether trenchless fits depends on what the camera shows: the pipe material, how badly it has failed, and whether the line has collapsed or sagged. A single broken section can often be repaired on its own. When digging is the honest answer, you hear why, see the footage that shows it, and get the price for each option first. After the repair, the camera goes back through so you can see the finished line.
Where we work
Based in Salt Lake City, UT and running sewer inspections and repairs throughout the valley and nearby communities. Call with your address and we'll confirm.
All areas we serveSewer line questions
What people ask most when they suspect the sewer line.
(801) 803-0847The sewer line warning signs Reliable Plumbing sees in Salt Lake City homes are several drains slowing or backing up at the same time, water rising in a tub or shower when a toilet is flushed, a sewage smell inside or in the yard, a toilet that gurgles when the washing machine drains, or a soggy, unusually green patch of lawn over the line. Backups that keep returning every few months after being snaked are another strong sign.
Reliable Plumbing finds that tree root intrusion is the most common cause of sewer line failure in Salt Lake City. Aging pipe is next: clay, cast iron, and Orangeburg lines in older homes reach the end of their service life. Shifting soil pulls joints apart and creates low spots that hold water, and grease and flushed wipes build up until the line can no longer clear itself.
Trenchless sewer repair, which Reliable Plumbing offers in Salt Lake City, restores a damaged line using specialized equipment through one or two small access points, without excavating a trench the length of the yard. It protects landscaping, driveways, and sidewalks, and it usually finishes faster. Not every line is a candidate, which is why the camera inspection comes first.
Reliable Plumbing sees many sewer lines in Salt Lake City last 40 to 60 years, depending on the pipe material, the soil, and how the line has been maintained. Clay and cast iron lines in older Salt Lake neighborhoods are often at or past that range, which is why a camera inspection is worth doing before a slow drain turns into an emergency.
Reliable Plumbing inspects sewer lines in Salt Lake City with a sewer camera. A flexible camera is fed into the line through a cleanout and run its full length, showing blockages, cracks, separated joints, root intrusion, and low spots where water sits. The footage tells us where the problem is and how deep it sits, so the repair is planned rather than guessed at.
Reliable Plumbing prices sewer line repair in Salt Lake City by the length of the line, how deep it sits, how easy it is to reach, and whether a spot repair, a trenchless repair, or a full replacement is the right fix. That's too wide a range to quote blind, so we don't. After the camera inspection you get the options with a firm price on each, and nothing starts until you approve one.
For any Salt Lake City home more than about forty years old, Reliable Plumbing recommends a sewer inspection before you buy. The sewer line is one of the few major systems a standard home inspection doesn't cover, and a failed line discovered after closing becomes the buyer's problem. A camera inspection before closing costs very little compared to what it can catch.
Yes, Reliable Plumbing treats a sewer backup in a Salt Lake City home as an emergency if wastewater is coming up into the house. Stop running water anywhere in the home so nothing more is pushed through the line, then call. We take emergency plumbing calls 24 hours a day at (801) 803-0847.
More answers in our plumbing FAQs.
Sewer line repair & replacement in Salt Lake City, UT
Camera first, footage second, price third. Then you decide.
(801) 803-0847