Sewer Repair
Diagnosed by Camera, Fixed Without Tearing Up Your Yard

Warning Signs of a Sewer Line Problem

A failing sewer line rarely announces itself with one obvious symptom — it shows up as a pattern of smaller ones:

• Multiple drains throughout the house running slow at the same time
• A persistent sewage odor in the yard or near a floor drain
• A soggy, unusually green patch of lawn that doesn't match your watering schedule
• A sinkhole or noticeable dip forming in the yard

Any one of these on its own can have another explanation, but two or more together usually mean the sewer lateral — the pipe running from your house to the city main — has a real problem.

Why Sewer Lines Fail in Utah Homes

Three causes account for most of the sewer repairs we handle across the Salt Lake Valley and Davis County. Age is the biggest one: many homes built before the 1970s still have the original clay pipe, and clay is brittle — it cracks at the joints after decades underground. Tree roots are the second: roots are drawn to the moisture inside a sewer line and will work into even a hairline crack, then expand until they block or fracture the pipe. And ground shift — common where soil is clay-heavy or expansive — can put uneven pressure on a line, cracking or bellying a section so waste no longer drains downhill the way it should.

Camera Inspection: Diagnosing Before Digging

We don't recommend a repair method until we've actually seen the problem. A camera inspection sends a waterproof camera through the line and shows exactly where the damage is, how bad it is, and what's causing it — a root ball at a joint, a collapsed section, a belly holding standing water. That's the difference between guessing at a fix and pricing the right one the first time.

Trenchless Sewer Repair: A Modern Alternative to Full Excavation

Traditional sewer repair means digging a trench the full length of the damaged pipe — expensive, disruptive, and hard on a finished yard, driveway, or landscaping. Trenchless repair (pipe lining) is often a better option: we insert a resin-coated liner into the existing pipe and cure it in place, forming a new, jointless pipe inside the old one. It typically needs only small access points rather than a full trench, and it works well for cracks, root intrusion, and many corrosion issues. It isn't the right fix for every situation — a badly collapsed or misaligned section may still need excavation — but where it applies, it saves both time and yard.

Related Plumbing Work

Recurring clogs are often the first sign of a sewer problem before it gets this far — see our drain cleaning page for what a camera inspection there can catch early. If old pipe throughout the house, not just the sewer lateral, is part of the picture, our repiping page covers whole-home options. Ready for a diagnosis? Book online now.