Home / Sewer Line Repair
Backups · Root intrusion · Broken lines
Backups in more than one drain, gurgling toilets, a sewage smell outside or a soggy patch in the yard usually mean trouble in the main sewer line. Call (205) 000-0000 and we’ll connect you with a licensed Tuscaloosa plumber who can run a camera down the line and show you what’s wrong before anyone digs.
Say what you’re noticing, like gurgling drains or a sewage smell, and a plumber will call you back.
Step by step
Warning signs
The main sewer line carries everything from your house to the city sewer or septic system. When it’s blocked or broken, the symptoms show up across the house, not at one fixture:
If you see these, use as little water as you can until the line is checked. Every flush adds to whatever is stuck.
It depends on where the blockage is. Inside Tuscaloosa city limits, call the city’s wastewater line at 205-248-5900 to find out whether the city main is involved. Problems in the line on your property are a job for a plumber.
Finding the problem
A plumber feeds a waterproof camera through a cleanout and into the line, watching the video as it goes. It shows roots, cracks, offset joints, sags that hold water, crushed sections and grease buildup, and a locator on the camera head marks where on the property the problem sits and how deep.
That means the repair can be planned for one spot instead of digging up the whole yard. Ask for a copy of the video. It’s useful if you’re buying or selling the house, and for comparing estimates.
Local causes
Roots grow toward water, and a tiny leak at a pipe joint gives off moisture they can find. Once in, they spread inside the pipe and catch everything that flows past. Water oaks and willow oaks are common in Tuscaloosa yards and have aggressive roots. Pines can cause trouble too.
Pipe material matters as much as the trees. Many older homes have clay sewer pipe with joints every few feet that roots can push through, or cast iron that cracks and scales inside over time. Some homes from the mid-1900s may have Orangeburg pipe, a tar-paper pipe that tends to flatten with age. Newer lines are usually PVC, which holds up much better.
Fixing it
Roots and buildup can often be cleared with a cable machine or hydro jetting. That gets water moving, but roots grow back if the joint they came through is still open.
When the pipe itself is damaged, there are two main approaches. Trenchless lining pulls a resin-soaked liner into the old pipe and cures it in place, creating a new pipe inside the old one. Pipe bursting pulls a new pipe through while splitting the old one apart. Both usually need only small access pits. Dig and replace opens a trench along the damaged section, and it’s still the right call for collapsed pipe, severe sags or a line too damaged to line.
The camera footage decides which method fits. Before any digging, Alabama 811 has to be called so buried utility lines get marked.
Before you agree to a repair
The biggest factors are the method, how long and how deep the damaged section is, and what sits on top of it. A spot repair under the lawn is a very different job from a line running under a driveway, a slab or mature trees. Access matters too: a house with a working cleanout is easier to inspect and clear than one where the plumber has to pull a toilet or cut one in.
Ask each plumber to show you the camera footage, explain where the problem is and why they chose their method, and put the scope in writing. Ask whether restoring the yard or driveway is included, and what any warranty covers.
Service area
We take sewer line calls across Tuscaloosa, including Alberta City, Forest Lake, Hillcrest, Taylorville, Glendale Gardens, downtown and the University of Alabama area. We also cover Northport, Cottondale, Coker, Holt and the Lake Tuscaloosa area. Give us your address or ZIP code when you call and we’ll match you with a plumber who works there.
Need a different repair? See all plumbing services in Tuscaloosa.
Stop using water and call. We’ll connect you with a licensed Tuscaloosa plumber who can camera the line and fix it.