In House Plumbing Company

In the last post, I talked about trenchless repair methods for fresh water pipes and why it’s not a good option at this time if you have fresh water leaks.

Today, I’m going to continue the discussion as it applies to sewer lines.

Directional Boring

I ended the last time explaining a bit about directional boring so let’s start there.

While directional boring is something I might recommend for water pipes in a yard, I would not recommend it ever for sewer pipes — outside or inside.

If you recall, with directional boring a bore pit is dug at both the entrance and receiving ends while a machine drills a line into the ground sideways.

There are still the problems that could occur with directional boring under a slab — blind drilling making it nearly impossible to see potential obstacles like concrete beams, roots, rocks, construction trash pits, etc. But there’s also no way to ensure sewer pipes will have the fall required for the pipes to work properly.

Sewer pipes are designed and installed to work with the power of gravity allowing water and refuse to flow downhill out to the city’s lines. And if the lines don’t have a proper fall, you’re going to get stoppages.

Sure you fixed the leak but now you have constant stoppages, so what did you really accomplish? The lines still need replacing.

Pipe Bursting

Along the same line as directional boring is pipe bursting. Again a large machine is brought in and pits are dug at an entrance point and an exit point.

A bursting head that looks like a missile has the new pipe attached to its back end, fed into the entrance hole, and then pulled through the existing sewer line. The back end of the bursting head is larger than the existing pipe so it breaks the original line leaving the new pipe in its place.

Sounds good, right?

Here’s the problem with pipe bursting. First of all, while it’s technically trenchless there is some excavation that still needs to be done to create the two pits.

And next, whatever the host pipe is doing, the new pipe will do. What if the host pipe is bellied, dipping, or back-falling — falling the wrong direction — or there’s a break in it so it’s not joined the right way?

There’s also the same issue with debris, roots, or anything underground that will throw off the pipe causing it to not have the proper fall.

Another thing to consider is if there are any utility lines near the sewer line. With the bursting process, the old pipe is forced out and pieces could hit and possibly damage nearby utility lines like gas or water.

Additionally, the new pipe comes on a roll and flexible so it has some give, much more than PVC. And because of that give there’s still the question if it’s going to have the right fall.

In the end, pipe bursting is a horrible plan. I was involved in a few pipe bursting jobs at other companies before I started In-House, and they were nightmare jobs. And I’ve heard from other companies who have pipe bursting machines, they very rarely do any pipe bursting repair jobs.

CIPP – Cured In Place Pipe

Next up we have sewer pipe lining aka CIPP aka cured-in-place-pipe.

This is similar to the epoxy lining with fresh water pipes. There are a couple different methods to do this type of repair but basically a sock-like tube is filled with an epoxy resin and is shot into the damaged pipe. The resin is then cured in place with warm water or air, hence the name, and a new “pipe” is created inside the existing pipe.

But we run into a similar problem here as we do with pipe bursting. If the process works as it is meant, whatever the host pipe is doing the new “pipe” will as well.

However, the process doesn’t always work as it is meant to. Sometimes the new pipe doesn’t adhere to the old pipe so it ends up still leaking. We’ve also had to go in and pull out the liner because it was actually crinkled up in the line.

Back in 2005, we subcontracted to one company in town to do 10 jobs to see if this method worked — because we wanted to if it did.

Five of the jobs they couldn’t do because they couldn’t even get the liner into the pipe. And the remaining five, we had to redo because it didn’t work. Either it didn’t adhere to the inside of the pipe, so it didn’t stop the leak. Or it caused stoppage problems. Different jobs had different problems. There were just so many different and potential problems with this method that we don’t recommend it.

Everybody thinks CIPP sounds fantastic, including me. But in reality, it just doesn’t work.

Most Promising – Flood Grouting

Flood grouting is currently used for pool repair, but I have high hopes for it as a possible trenchless option for residential sewer leaks.

The process involves two different liquid chemicals, both environmentally friendly. After the lines are cleaned with high pressure water and plugged, it’s filled with the first liquid. The liquid seeps into the surrounding ground through the existing leak.

The liquid is continually pumped into the line until the levels stabilize when it’s then pumped out of the line. Then the second liquid is pumped into the line which exits the pipe through the leak. It hardens and creates a sandstone-like material outside of the pipe that plugs the hole or crack causing the leak.

The nature of the sandstone-like material means it won’t shrink or expand after it hardens. And because the leak is repaired from the outside, there is no restriction for water and debris flowing through the pipes.

The biggest problem with this that I foresee is if the liquid doesn’t exit the line properly. And to get the liquid out of the line requires a lot of head pressure.

Currently we can’t get the right head pressure to make that happen in a residential home. We’d have to fill the sewer lines up to the roof to get the kind of head pressure in order to force the liquid out of the lines.

And we just can’t do that in a residential situation. It would flood out of the sinks, tubs, and toilets.

We could potentially block them with test balls but test balls blows up. And if you have a system full to the roof and a test ball blows, all that is going all over the house. It’s too risky.

I was really excited when I found out about this process. Especially when it comes to cast iron. This could provide a viable temporary option to buy homeowners some time until they can replace the whole system.

I repeatedly contacted the only company doing this in Texas at this time, and it took them four months to reply. That’s when and how we found out about the required head pressure.

Also until we can test it, we don’t know if it will work and if it will stay repaired.

So while this seems like it has the most potential for trenchless sewer leak repair, it is not something I can recommend at this time. But there is some promising technology that may work in the future.

Why Are There Trenchless Repair Companies in DFW?

So what about all the companies in Dallas/Fort Worth claiming they can do trenchless repair? In some cases, it’s a tactic to get your business.

I know of several companies in the area who bought pipe bursting machines at a low cost so they can call themselves trenchless. Then once you’re in the door, so to speak, they explain why it’s not the best option for you.

Similarly for CIPP. I have first hand knowledge of a company in DFW that spent more than $200,000 to do it — training and equipment, etc. Within six months of starting it, they scraped the whole project.

Several other companies, including the one we use to recommend for fresh water epoxy repair, spent thousands of dollars on equipment for CIPP sewer repair, but ultimately it did not work. The stuff ended up sitting in a warehouse for a long time.

Call In-House For Questions

Trenchless repair sounds like a great idea. But right now it’s just a great idea. At this time, though, the only trenchless repair I would recommend is directional boring for fresh water pipes in a yard.

However, my staff and I will continue to keep an eye on the options and investigate any promising ones.

And until then, we are happy to discuss a repair plan that will work for you if you think you might have a leak.

As always, we’re available by phone and email. You can call us at 972-494-1750 anytime. Or email [email protected], and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Underslab plumbing repair is an intimidating prospect for many homeowners. It can be expensive and might require an involved repair process from punching holes through the floor to digging tunnels under the home.

So it’s no wonder the idea of trenchless repair is such an appealing one, even for us here at In-House Plumbing Company. This is why I keep a close eye on possible trenchless repair options.

So in this two-part series, I’d like to go over the various trenchless processes and if going the trenchless route is a viable one or not.

First up, fresh water pipes.

Epoxy Liners

Repairing a fresh water leak with an epoxy liner is theoretically like creating a pipe within the existing pipe. There are a few different companies/brands offering this type of repair but all essentially work the same way.

How it works

Any scale buildup or corrosion inside of the pipe is first cleaned away with sandblasting — blowing sand through the line at a high pressure. Then a liquid epoxy is pumped into the line to coat the inside of the pipe.

If you look at our homepage, you’ll see honesty and integrity are important tenets we strive to reach everyday.

We do this when it comes to our pricing, how we treat our customers on a daily basis, and by taking responsibility for everything we do.

This is why we offer a leak location guarantee on every repair job we go out on.

What Is a Leak Location Guarantee?

When we go in to repair a sewer leak that was located by us or a fresh water leak located by our partner company and find that the leak is not where we said it would be, you, the customer, will not pay for any unnecessary excavation of any kind.

If we punch a hole in the slab and the leak is about a foot away from where we originally located it, no big deal. We can easily get to it from the original access hole. Because no additional work will be required, there will be no additional charges.

But if we punch a hole in the slab and the leak is say 10 feet away, we will either have to punch another hole in the slab or, if we can, make an access hole from the outside. Any work that was done to get to a leak that we incorrectly located, you will not be charged for.

You will only be charged for the work we did to get to the actual leak. You are only charged for what was necessary to fix the leak. If it didn’t need to be done, we don’t charge for it. (We aren’t responsible for flooring. I explain in detail in this post why this is best for you, the customer, and us in this post.)

Doesn’t Every Plumbing Company Guarantee This?

The short answer: no.

The long answer: not even close. Aside from not offering a guarantee like this, most plumbing companies won’t even admit they messed up.

The problem is a lot of people in the plumbing industry don’t want the headaches and hassles that come with telling people they were wrong. Instead they will “fix” a leak that isn’t there, find the real leak and then charge the homeowner for both.

Or in other cases, they won’t even try to find the real leak and then just charge the homeowner for repairing a leak that isn’t there.

A lot depends on how much work they have to do at the time and how much money they need to make that week. If it’s a slow week, they might fix the real leak. If not, no leaks get fixed but you somehow still get charged.

I know this because I and other people on the In-House team have worked for companies that do this. And this is exactly why I started this company and why honesty and integrity is so important to us.

Why Taking Responsibility For Our Mistakes Matters

Nobody is happy when we make a mistake. We aren’t happy and the homeowner isn’t particularly happy. And on the rare occasion, we’ve even been kicked out of someone’s house for being upfront about our error.

But in the end I believe the long-term success of In-House depends on us owning up to our mistakes. Whether you believe in karma, you reap what you sow, or what comes around goes around, running a dishonest business is not in ours or your best interest.

And ultimately we have customers who will not use anyone else because we have proven that we are honest and take a customer-first approach with our business practices. You can read about some on our testimonials page and with our Google reviews.

As always, we are available to answer you call if you have any questions or want to discuss a plumbing issue, 972-494-1750. You can also email us at [email protected].

Locating fresh water leaks is one of the hardest jobs in the plumbing industry.

It requires specialized skills and equipment. And because fresh water leaks aren’t as common as many of the sewer problems we encounter, most plumbers and plumbing companies don’t get the opportunity to go out on enough leak location jobs.

It’s because of this that we decided around 2010 to start using an outside company to do most of the leak location tests for our customers.

Because tell me this. Would you rather have someone who specializes in and performs these tests all day, everyday? Or a company that does a few a week, at most?

Water Leak Detection and Location

Before I explain why I believe this decision was the best choice for our customers and for our business, let’s briefly cover fresh water leaks. If you want more information, I talk a bit more in depth about fresh water leak detection and location in this post.

A few indicators that you might have a leak are higher than normal water bills, the sound of rushing water, and warm or hot spots on the floor.

If a fresh water leak is suspected, we can determine if there is in fact a leak by looking at the city’s meter or by attaching a pressure gauge to a hose bibb on your house.

Locating the leaks, however, is a much more difficult process.

Once the lines are located air is pumped into them and the technician then uses a specialized listening device to enable him to hear where the leak is. He is listening for the sound of escaping air or sometimes a mixture of escaping air and water.

As you can imagine, listening for something under a slab or under ground in a yard is not easy. And when you bring in any one of the many variables like pockets of air under the slab or the plastic sleeves that are sometimes found on pipes, it’s no wonder this is one of the most difficult jobs in our industry.

So it stands to reason that the more experience you have, the better you are. And because we don’t tunnel to fresh water leaks, it’s important to get as close as possible to the leak area so we know where to punch a hole in the slab.

Why We Started Using An Outside Company

Around 2010 we got a call for a leak location test. At the time one of our team members who had taught himself how to locate fresh water leaks performed these tests for us.

Our guy went out to the house and pinpointed the leak on the floor under some hardwood flooring. The customer then called the insurance company to see what might be covered.

The insurance company sent out another very reputable plumbing company to verify the leak and location. This company pinpointed the leak to be about 40 feet away from our spot. The customer called us back wondering what to do at this point.

I had known of the owner of the outside leak location company, Ken, so I recommended having him come out to find the leak. He went out to the house and pinpointed the leak 20 feet away from our spot AND 20 feet away from the other company’s spot — right in the middle of our two results.

When went out to do the repair, we found the leak directly under the two inch tape mark Ken used to mark the spot.

That’s when I decided that trying to make a little money on leak location tests didn’t make sense when we could lose a lot of money by being wrong.

Since then Ken has built a team and they are all trained to accurately locate fresh water leaks better than most plumbing companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Why are Ken and his team so good at finding leaks? Because several other companies in the area farm their tests out to him as well and this is all they do.

Our Process When You Call

To better serve our customers, we refer Ken and his team to do location tests and we do repairs. In fact, we will not perform any fresh water leak repairs under a slab unless Ken’s company is the one who located the leak.

So when a customer calls and it’s been determined that there is in fact a fresh water leak, we have the customer call Ken’s company and book a leak location test with him. Even if a homeowner calls asking for a fresh water leak repaired that was located by another company, we still need them to have Ken’s company out before we will agree to do any work.

We don’t call Ken’s company and collect the money for the test. If we did we’d have to mark up the price of the test. I explain why it makes more sense for a customer to take care of certain things rather than us in this post. The post also covers what we do and don’t take responsibility for when performing repairs.

Once Ken’s company locates the leak, they send us a picture or video of the leak location(s) and from there we give an estimate for how much it will cost to make the repair.

There are occasions when we need to go out and do an investigation to verify there is a leak under the slab and not something like a dripping faucet or water leaking through a toilet flapper. But if we find that we do need to send Ken and his team out to the house, we don’t charge for our visit.

I consider Ken and his team a part of our team here at In-House Plumbing Company. And because we offer a leak location guarantee, I need to know you’ve had the best possible leak location test done. I’m not going to guarantee anyone else’s test results.

If you suspect a fresh water leak, give us a call and we can go from there. And as always, if you have any questions about what you’ve read here or anywhere on the site, give us a call at 972-494-1750 or email [email protected].

A sewer problem is a sewer problem is a sewer problem. Right?

Not really.

I’ve talked in depth on the blog about cast iron sewer pipes and whether or not you should repair or replace them. But today I want to talk about the differences between a clog and a leak.

You can have a clog. You can have a leak. You can also have a clog and a leak at the same time. But they are two different problems requiring different testing methods and different ways to fix them.

What Is a Drain Clog?

Clogs are also often called stoppages or backups. But whether you or a plumber call it a clog or a stoppage or a backup, it’s all means the same thing — your sewer system is not working properly. It’s not working as it was designed to work.

Sewer systems are installed at a slight decline. Water and debris then drain through and out of the your home’s system using the power of gravity.

Whether it’s a sink, a toilet, or a washing machine, water and debris are meant to flow through your home’s sewer system out to the city’s line. So if something is preventing that from happening, it’s possible you have a clog.

And you can tell a lot just by what is stopped up to determine to where the stoppage is.

P-traps

Let’s say you have a washing machine on the same side of the house as the kitchen and a bathroom on the opposite side of the house. All of these will have a line — a branch line — that attaches to a main sewer line that drains out of your house to the city’s sewer system at the street.

If water is backing up in a bathroom sink and no other fixtures are affected, I can almost guarantee you it’s just hair in the drain.

If you look under your bathroom or kitchen sink, you’ll find a P-trap which is designed to trap things like hair, food and other debris from draining too far into the sewer system. So you most likely have something stuck in the P-trap preventing that single fixture from draining.

P-traps are also located under tubs, showers and toilets. Another purpose for the P-trap is to prevent potentially dangerous sewer gas from escaping into your home.

However, if water is backing up in the tub and the sink but no other fixtures in the house, the clog is most likely somewhere on the branch line that attaches to the main line and not the P-traps.

Stoppages in the underslab pipes

If everything in the house is stopped up, you run the bathroom sink and it backs up into the tub (which is the lowest spot in the house). And when running the washing machine water backs up into the tub. This means the stoppage is most likely on the main line somewhere after where the other lines tie into it.

We then look at the cleanouts which are located outside of the house. If there’s no water in the cleanouts, we know the stoppage is somewhere in the main line under the house.

If there is water in the cleanouts, the stoppage is between the cleanouts and the city’s line. If you call the city and there’s no problem with their line, then we know the stoppage is somewhere between where your line ends at the street and the cleanouts — somewhere in your yard.

So as you can see, oftentimes we can use the power of elimination to figure out where a stoppage is located. A sewer camera is also something we can use to find a clog or drainage problem.

How To Fix a Drain Clog

To fix a stoppage that is caused by debris stuck in the line, we use a sewer machine.

These come in all kinds of different sizes and shapes. For a P-trap, we would use a small sewer machine. For a stoppage in the main line, a larger one.

Of course, some backups occur because of tree roots or a sagging line which require a more involved repair or possibly a replacement. But for our purposes today, we’ll stick with a regular clog or stoppage that can be cleared with a sewer machine.

What About Sewer Leaks?

A sewer leak is water escaping the pipe into the surrounding soil. Depending on how big the leak is, you can go years without knowing there is a leak in the line.

Finding a sewer leak, though, is a bit more involved than a clog. Despite other plumbing companies claiming they can, a sewer camera inspection CANNOT find or locate leaks.

For sewer leaks, we use inflatable test balls to determine first, if you have a leak and second, to locate them.

A Leak and a Stoppage?

As I mentioned earlier, you can have both a leak and a stoppage on the same line at the same time.

But generally, the water building up from the stoppage will escape out of the leak and you won’t know you have either problem. At least not right away.

Only when enough water has built up outside of the pipes that the soil underneath the slab cannot hold any more water. At that point, water would start to backup and you’ll start seeing signs of a stoppage.

In some cases, mud could get back in the line because of a leak causing a stoppage problem which is a different issue than the line not draining properly. This is the leak causing the draining issues which is a completely different problem than a pipe with a stoppage and a leak.

However, the most important thing to know and the point I want to make today is that even if you have a leak and a stoppage (for whatever reason) at the same time, these are two separate issues and must be addressed two different ways.

If you have any questions about drain clogs and sewer leaks, give us a call at 972-494-1750. You can also email us at [email protected].

As is true with any business in the service industry, there certain things we don’t take responsibility for when doing plumbing repair work.

But there is a very good reason for that, actually several very good reasons. And none of those reasons are because we don’t want to.

It’s actually not just in our best interest but it’s also in yours, the homeowner’s, best interest as well.

Foundation Repair

Let me start with an example, a foundation company. If a leak is found after any foundation repair work, the company is not responsible for any plumbing repairs — even if the damage was done during the foundation repair work.

Now I can understand from a customer’s perspective why you might think the foundation company should be responsible for the plumbing. But let me explain why it’s not good for the business or the homeowner.

First of all, the foundation repair company cannot be held responsible for something that is out of their control. Possibly the builder cut corners and installed the pipes wrong in the first place. The type of soil has an affect on what the pipes can withstand during lifting and leveling. Maybe you have 50-year-old cast iron under the slab that was already bad before they started their work. Not to mention there could already be existing damage before they start the work.

But let’s say you still think the foundation repair company should be responsible for any and all damage incurred during their repair job. In that case, the company has to be ready for every worst case scenario possible. Because they have no idea what’s going on under the house and what problems could arise, they have to account for ALL potential problems.

So if the foundation company is responsible and now has to take on that risk, they will raise the price by the amount that it might cost them to repair any and all leaks and damage. Now a $10,000 estimate becomes $50,000.

But on the flip side, if the homeowner is responsible for any plumbing repair work, they pay for only what needs repairing — if it’s even necessary at all.

Why Do I Still Get Charged If There Aren’t Any Damages?

So if a foundation company gives a worst case scenario estimate and it turns out there are no repairs needed, you might be wondering, “Then shouldn’t I be charged on the back end only for what was done?”

No, and here’s why.

Whoever takes the risk is the one who reaps the rewards. If the company is taking all the risk on every job, there will be jobs where it is as much or more than the original estimate and others where it’s less. A business owner has to consider all the possibilities from a long-term perspective everything, every job, every home.

But if you, the homeowner, take on the responsibility and risk, you pay only for what — if anything — needs to be done. So you reap the rewards.

In-House Plumbing Company Proposal Terms

Now let’s switch back to In-House. In all of our proposals, we clearly state that we aren’t responsible for:

Of course, this isn’t to say we go in, rip everything apart and leave you with a big mess. That’s not good for you or for us. Neighbors in the area would see the mess and our trucks guaranteeing we aren’t the company to call when they need work on their own homes. Our company would also be riddled with bad reviews and terrible testimonials.

So with our customer-first philosophy and desire to stay in business, we do everything we can to leave you in the best shape as possible. That’s why we have a cleanliness guarantee.

But let’s talk about what would happen if we did take responsibility for any and all possible damages incurred while doing plumbing repairs.

For example, post tension cables. Say we’re punching four slabs in the home and there are eight post tension cables. We have to plan on hitting all eight of those cables. Now it’s highly unlikely we’ll hit any. In the history of this company, we’ve only ever hit about 10 total. But since we don’t know, we have to account for that in our estimate.

Same thing with sprinkler wires. We have no idea where they are buried. Every system is different so we can’t plan on one thing for every situation. Again, it’s highly unlikely our work would require getting your entire sprinkler system replaced but we can’t know that and will have to bake that into our estimate.

Flooring, whether that be carpet or hardwood or a finished concrete or tile, also has to be accounted for in cases where we punch an interior access hole. It’s a lot harder for us as plumbers to match a finish or find the right tile or carpet because that’s not what we do.

And there are pavers and landscaping and the foundation and concrete and… you get the point.

General Contractor

So then that brings me back to the topic of taking all the risk and responsibility.

Let’s say we’ve taken responsibility for all the worst case scenarios for EVERYTHING. As I said with the flooring, we are plumbers so we can’t do what someone who specializes in flooring can do. (And you don’t want us to.)

So then should we find someone to do those jobs for you? If we do, we become a general contractor, so to speak. Finding the right companies, overseeing their work, these things take time and labor on our end as well. And what if they mess up? We are responsible for that as well.

And find me a general contractor who doesn’t charge a fee for his work.

So yes, all of this would also be part of the estimate.

Still Want Us to Take Responsibility?

In the grand scheme of things, it’s always going to cost the homeowner more to have a company do something for them like these things.

If you do want us to, we will. Just be aware that we will have to account for every worst case scenario for all of these things. And in this case, it’s going to be much more than if we went in to do what it is we do, plumbing.

It costs a business, any business, a whole lot more money to take responsibility for something that they don’t do — something that is not a part of their actual work.

And I’ve mentioned this in previous posts. It’s easy for someone to say they’ll do something but when it comes down to it, will they? Sadly in many cases, they won’t. Not to mention the companies who don’t say anything at all and when something happens then tell you they aren’t responsible. Or worse, say they will take care of it and then take off when it’s time to do it.

I get it. We all want someone else to do it, to take responsibility for everything. It’s easier. But every time someone does, you’re looking at a lot costs. “Easier” costs money, and A LOT more than if you took responsibility for it yourself.

If you have any questions about this or anything else, feel free to reach out by phone at 972-494-1750. And we’re also available by email [email protected].

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Sometimes a homeowner calls asking how much we charge per linear foot for tunneling. In most of these cases, they have an estimate from another company and are doing a little comparison shopping.

While we could give out a number, it’s not as easy as that. There’s a lot more to it.

The problem is knowing the per linear foot charge does not give an accurate picture of how much a job is going to cost in the end.

And there are multiple reasons for this.

No Questions Asked?

First I want to say, be wary of any company who will give you this price over the phone no questions asked. If you do come across a company who does this, be aware that that price is going to go up at some point.

And remember. Anyone can say anything over the phone. You can even get it in writing. But the real test is will they back it up? There are numerous plumbing companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who employ a foot in the door tactic by giving a low bid upfront. Then once they’re there and you’ve got a hole in your slab and several feet of tunnel under the foundation… surprise! It’s going to cost more.

And not only can (and most likely will) the price go up but we’ve come across too many homes where the work promised and paid for wasn’t done.

It’s not unheard of for a company to quote 20 feet of tunnel and plumbing just to get under the slab and either get tired of it or run out of money because they quoted you too low and can’t finish the job. So they don’t.

And they know most, if any, homeowners aren’t crawling up under the slab to check and see if the work was done.

We’ve worked on multiple houses recently where homeowners were told one thing by other companies. Then we go out and find those companies did not do what they said (and took the money for). And then those companies won’t pick up the phone.

No One-Size-Fits-All Plumbing Pricing

So we do have a general per foot charge. But that can change depending on any number of factors. Because every house is different, we can’t know for sure what that will be until we know what we’re dealing with.

First we have access holes. Any tunnel has to start with an access hole whether that be inside the home or outside of the home.

Then there’s the actual tunnel. And don’t forget, there’s plumbing that has to be done as well. It doesn’t matter how much you excavate, we’ve got to actually plumb it in the end. And that involves a labor charge.

We’ve also got to clean up and haul everything off (trash, dirt, etc.). This is labor as well. And in most situations, we need to get a permit for that.

And there are possible obstacles which affect also pricing.

Here’s a short list of potential obstacles:

1. Driveways
2. A/C units
3. Wood decks
4. Rainwater drainage systems
5. Roots (sometimes massive roots)
6. Swimming pools
7. Sheds

Some homes are located in areas that are prone to more rock where others are more sand. There are also major trees around many homes. Sometimes there’s massive amounts of concrete.

Also how far do we need to dig from an access hole? The further away you get from an access hole, the more expensive it gets.

All of these things have to be taken under consideration making the per linear foot price an almost useless number to know.

Unnecessary Tunneling

We worked with a homeowner who had been told he had a sewer leak in the master bathroom. The company told him he needed 25 feet of tunnel and an access hole. So he called us to find out how much we would charge for that amount of work.

Because we always verify another company’s findings — which I talk about in this post — we went out and found a leak on the fittings at the double sinks in the master bath. According to the diagram the other company gave the homeowner, they were proposing 25 feet of tunnel and not a single foot went to where the leak was.

And not only were they not tunneling to the leak but they proposed tunneling under the tub and the toilet where there were no leaks (something we determined in our leak location test). And the tunnel itself was not how you tunnel.

And remember. Anyone can say anything over the phone. You can even get it in writing. But the real test is will they back it up? There are numerous plumbing companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who employ a foot in the door tactic by giving a low bid upfront. Then once they’re there and you’ve got a hole in your slab and several feet of tunnel under the foundation… surprise! It’s going to cost more.

And not only can (and most likely will) the price go up but we’ve come across too many homes where the work promised and paid for wasn’t done.

It’s not unheard of for a company to quote 20 feet of tunnel and plumbing just to get under the slab and either get tired of it or run out of money because they quoted you too low and can’t finish the job. So they don’t.

And they know most, if any, homeowners aren’t crawling up under the slab to check and see if the work was done.

We’ve worked on multiple houses recently where homeowners were told one thing by other companies. Then we go out and find those companies did not do what they said (and took the money for). And then those companies won’t pick up the phone.

No One-Size-Fits-All Plumbing Pricing

So we do have a general per foot charge. But that can change depending on any number of factors. Because every house is different, we can’t know for sure what that will be until we know what we’re dealing with.

First we have access holes. Any tunnel has to start with an access hole whether that be inside the home or outside of the home.

Then there’s the actual tunnel. And don’t forget, there’s plumbing that has to be done as well. It doesn’t matter how much you excavate, we’ve got to actually plumb it in the end. And that involves a labor charge.

We’ve also got to clean up and haul everything off (trash, dirt, etc.). This is labor as well. And in most situations, we need to get a permit for that.

And there are possible obstacles which affect also pricing.

Here’s a short list of potential obstacles:

1. Driveways
2. A/C units
3. Wood decks
4. Rainwater drainage systems
5. Roots (sometimes massive roots)
6. Swimming pools
7. Sheds

Some homes are located in areas that are prone to more rock where others are more sand. There are also major trees around many homes. Sometimes there’s massive amounts of concrete.

Also how far do we need to dig from an access hole? The further away you get from an access hole, the more expensive it gets.

All of these things have to be taken under consideration making the per linear foot price an almost useless number to know.

Unnecessary Tunneling

We worked with a homeowner who had been told he had a sewer leak in the master bathroom. The company told him he needed 25 feet of tunnel and an access hole. So he called us to find out how much we would charge for that amount of work.

Because we always verify another company’s findings — which I talk about in this post — we went out and found a leak on the fittings at the double sinks in the master bath. According to the diagram the other company gave the homeowner, they were proposing 25 feet of tunnel and not a single foot went to where the leak was.

And not only were they not tunneling to the leak but they proposed tunneling under the tub and the toilet where there were no leaks (something we determined in our leak location test). And the tunnel itself was not how you tunnel.

The shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line. So it would make sense to go from the access hole straight to the leak. But instead of going from an access hole straight to the leak, they planned on some ludicrous “f” shaped tunnel.

Having been in this business as long as I have and seeing all the tricks these guys play, I am confident they knew the leak was at the sink. There’s no way they couldn’t know. And that’s why they didn’t draw tunnel there.

They planned on digging to the toilet, “fixing” the leak and then coming back and saying, oh and by the way, there’s another leak under the sink. We need another 10 to 15 feet of tunnel to fix that leak.

We went in, made an access hole and three feet of tunnel to the actual leak and fixed it. That’s right. Instead of 25 feet of tunnel, only three were needed.

So what would have happened if we just gave a price over the phone and asked no questions? The homeowner would have ended up paying FAR more than was necessary and possibly still have a leak.

Considering All the Factors With Underslab Tunneling

I’ll leave you with this last example. A homeowner called us for a quote on 175 feet of tunnel with 11 access holes. After two days of unanswered calls, she finally got this back from them.

What is that? How is anyone supposed to understand what needs to be done looking at that “diagram”?

Now compare that to what we do.

We came up with two options for this homeowner, neither of which involved 175 feet of tunnel and 11 interior and exterior access holes.

In both options, we propose rerouting much of the line outside of the house instead of tunneling under the house. With rerouting, we dig a trench outside and attach that pipe to the pipes in the house and to main sewer line.

Option #1 involved not replacing the pipe to the wet bar in the house instead removing and capping off the wet bar. This is becoming more common with homeowners as most don’t use wet bars anymore. With this there are two exterior access holes, 57 feet of tunnel and 170 feet of trench outside.

And option #2 keeps the wet bar with 68 feet of tunnel, 3 exterior access holes and 170 feet of trench outside.

With our two options, we saved the homeowner about $25,000 to $30,000.

Rerouting vs. Tunneling

So why didn’t the other company offer rerouting the pipe instead of tunneling?

As I mention in this post, other companies want to tunnel AS MUCH as possible. They want to make more money so they always propose the maximum amount of tunneling. They are 100% looking out for themselves, not their customers.

Our goal is to give the most accurate estimate possible to prevent the need to come back and ask for more money later.

It’s not that it never happens. Nobody can know the exact situation until they get under the slab, but with our customer first motto, we do everything we can to give the most accurate estimate possible.

If you have any question about any of this or have been given an estimate by another company that you’re not sure about, please give us a call at 972-494-1750. Or email [email protected].

We’re happy to help in any way we can.

There is a lot to consider when buying or selling a home. And there is a lot of bad advice out there for both.

While I can’t speak to everything involved in the sale of a home, I can make recommendations when it comes to the plumbing systems for both buyers and sellers.

The Different Perspectives of a Buyer and a Seller

Before I get into what buyers and sellers should do, I want to quickly explain a theory I came up with to make selling and buying a home better for all parties involved.

Anyone who is selling a home wants to get out of the sale doing and spending as little as possible. The goal is to do nothing more than what is absolutely necessary, preferably nothing. Then when that seller goes to buy a new home, as the buyer, they want the seller to do everything.

So the seller wants to do nothing and the buyer wants to do nothing. But it’s rare that either one of those scenarios plays out whether the seller and the buyer are the same person.

It is my belief that if everyone approaches the sale of a house from the buyer’s perspective — which the seller themselves might soon be or already is — theoretically everything works out better for everyone in the long run.

I would love to see this shift in seller mindsets. If everything is paid for on the seller’s side, it will be a better situation for everyone as well as all the houses that are bought will be in better shape.

Underslab Plumbing from the Buyer’s Perspective

OK since we don’t live in that ideal world just yet, this is what I recommend for buyers when it comes to the underslab plumbing of a house they are looking to purchase.

Cast Iron Underslab Sewer Systems

For any homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area built before 1985, it’s likely the sewer pipes are made of cast iron. While it’s possible some homes built around that time have PVC pipes, most were built with cast iron sewer pipes.

As I’ve talked about before on the blog, cast iron pipes were designed to last, at most, 50 years. Since many of the cast iron systems around today are at least 35 years old, it’s likely the pipes will need to be replaced soon, if not immediately.

Because of this, if you are looking to buy a house with a cast iron sewer system, I don’t recommend a sewer leak test. It’s a waste of money at this point, in my opinion.

In fact, not only do I not recommend a test with cast iron sewer pipes but we have changed our policy and will no longer perform these test on cast iron at all. It is such a waste of time and money, we will no longer do any repairs on cast iron, only replace.

With this in mind, I recommend you get an estimate to replace all of the pipes. And you should be able to get a free estimate. (We do free estimates for cast iron replacements.)

If you’re planning on buying a home with a cast iron sewer system under the slab, be prepared to replace that whole system. This is not a question of if, it’s a question of when. So either have the seller replace the system before you buy it, or get the money from the seller to do it.

And if you plan on getting the money from the seller to replace it after you buy it, I recommend getting a significant amount more than the estimate. For example, if the estimate is for $20,000, try and get $30,000.

As the buyer, you are assuming all of the risk and responsibility for the work after the house is sold. So if you don’t get enough from the seller, the additional cost comes out of your pocket.

One quick note, even though I don’t recommend a test in this case, it’s possible you may need to get one to justify this to the seller.

But, I repeat, never buy a house with a cast iron system without preparing for a replacement.

An Example

Several years ago, we worked with a seller in a situation that influenced why I give the advice I give today re: cast iron sewer pipes.

By the time we started working with the seller, there was already a contract on the house. After a leak isolation test, we found five leaks. The estimate to repair the leaks was $7,000 and to replace the system $12,000. (You can read this blog post to see why we no longer do repairs on cast iron systems with three or more leaks.)

The seller being the seller, had no interest in spending the money to replace the system despite our recommendation to do so and opted for the repairs instead. But once we got under the slab to make the repairs, we found there were actually 10 leaks, not five. And after giving the seller multiple discounts, we ended up doing a $15,000 job for $10,000.

But that’s not the end of the story. Because of our one year warranty, the buyer called us about a year later saying the insurance company came out and found 10 more leaks in the system.

We compared that information with ours from the previous year. There were five new leak areas and five that were in the same areas we made repairs earlier.

As I’ve explained in previous posts, when you attach a piece of PVC pipe to cast iron, the deteriorating nature of the cast iron means you will soon end up with two leaks — the spots on each side where the PVC was attached.

While we did get the system to where it wasn’t leaking after the repairs, we had to piece it together. We did what the seller wanted. But the bottom line is the pipe was bad to begin with. And because of that, we recommended to the buyer to replace the system as we did with the seller.

Pay Now or Pay Later

However, by this time, we were in the middle of raising our prices. We hadn’t changed our pricing in a long time so it was a steeper increase than it would have been had we been making incremental changes throughout the years — another very important lesson we learned from this job.

So the $12,000 replacement estimate was now $17,000.

“Technically” the seller did what was required of him, fix the leaks. But he also did a horrible disservice to the buyer and would no doubt not want the same done to him. What could have been $12,000 and taken care of a year before was now $17,000.

And we did a horrible disservice to both the seller and buyer. We should have refused to do the repairs and insist the seller replace the system. And if the seller was determined to only make the repairs, we should have walked away from the job and let him use a different plumbing company.

PVC Underslab Sewer Systems

Always, always, always insist on a test if it’s a PVC system no matter how old the house or the pipes.

We’ve seen houses with zero leaks and houses with 15 leaks in the PVC pipes. We’ve even tested a seven-month-old house and found three leaks.

Now, you might get some resistance from the seller and the seller’s agent. There is a lot of misinformation floating around that hydrostatic testing damages pipes. It does not. It only finds problems if there is a problem. The test itself does not cause damage. In fact, we have an entire blog post about it here.

You must verify the underslab situation, whether it’s cast iron or PVC, BEFORE you buy the house. Don’t just hold your breath and hope everything is OK.

Never Assume with Cast Iron OR PVC

We recently gave an $80,000 estimate to replace a cast iron system. That’s not common but it does happen. We’ve also given estimates for anywhere from $5,500 to $15,000 and $42,000.

What I’m getting at here is don’t try to guess what the cost will be because you did it before or know someone who did it on a house before. This is a common mistake with house flippers.

Every house is different. There are potential obstacles, where the system exits the house is a factor as is where the plumbing is inside of the house. There are so many different scenarios, you have to look at each house on a case-by-case basis. Make sure you know what you’re dealing with rather than going with or accepting a “guesstimate.”

So buyers, get tests and estimates. Finding out a house needs thousands of dollars in repairs after purchase can send someone into bankruptcy and foreclosure. And not only are there the cost of repairs but also the potential for damage to the house’s foundation because of the the leaks.

The cost of a test or a no charge estimate could save you from bankruptcy.

Underslab Plumbing from the Seller’s Perspective

As the seller, you are only responsible for fixing what is leaking at the time — and most sellers usually believe that’s all that’s necessary. But I suggest (again) that you approach this from the buyer’s perspective, or at the very least, consider the buyer.

Take the example from above. What I should have done — and recommend doing now in situations like this — is to get the buyer involved.

The seller from the example insisted on only spending the $7,000 on repairs and not the $12,000 to replace. So instead of wasting $7,000+ on repairs that will soon need to be repaired again — remember one leak on a cast iron system repaired will soon be two leaks — at this point, let the buyer know the situation. Give the buyer the opportunity to pay the additional $5,000 to get the entire system replaced.

Best case scenario, have the system replaced. But if you refuse to do that, DO NOT waste money on spot repairs for a cast iron system. I cannot stress this enough. Any money you spend on repairing cast iron is a waste. Give the buyer some money toward the replacement.

One, you won’t be causing more trouble for the buyer down the road. (Imagine this had been the case for you when you bought the house.)

And two, the buyer gets the replacement at the current prices. Any company you deal with could raise their prices like we did. So it’s better for everyone to pay the current rate rather than chance it a year or two down the road since you know it needs to be done soon anyway.

Fresh Water and Above Slab Plumbing Issues

Fresh water leaks are very rare. If there are any fresh water leaks, you’re looking at a couple thousand dollars at most.

And above slab problems like a leaky faucet or a running toilet aren’t going to break the bank. These typically run a few hundred dollars max.

Sellers consider going ahead and fixing these issues. And buyers if you can, get a seller to cover these but otherwise, it’s highly unlikely finding out about these later will break you financially.

Pressure Reducing Valves and Sewer Camera Testing

I don’t recommend having a pressure reducing valve installed if there isn’t one already. I explain why these valves aren’t necessary in most cases in this post.

So if you’re the seller, see if you can get by without having to pay for it or just give the buyer the money for it. Don’t go through the hassle of having it installed yourself.

If you’re the buyer, I recommend getting the money for the cost of having one installed, about $1,000 to $1,500. Put that money away or be prepared to give that amount to a buyer if you sell the house later if they insist on having one installed.

Some plumbers recommend getting a sewer camera inspection. I do not. I’ve gone in depth about what sewer cameras can and can’t find on the blog here and here.

Sewer cameras are to find stoppage hazards. (They cannot find leaks.) And it’s very rare to buy a home and suddenly discover a stoppage issue. It’s not a bad idea to get a sewer camera inspection but it’s not necessary in my opinion.

A home inspector is going to try and backup the system during the inspection by running all the water in the house and flushing the toilets with a lot of toilet paper. And if that doesn’t cause it to back up, there’s probably no issue. (You can also do this yourself.)

If you can do both a sewer camera inspection and a leak test, that’s fine. But if you can only do one, go for the leak test.

Questions? Concerns?

I strongly believe if every seller approached selling their home from the buyer’s perspective, it would work out better for everyone. Even if a seller isn’t buying a new home, if they bought the house with everything taken care of, they still end up in a better situation and are only repairing the damage that was incurred from their own time in the house.

However, until that happens, if you’re in the process of selling or buying a home now, you should have a better understanding of what is and isn’t important when it comes to the house’s plumbing.

If you have any questions or need a test or an estimate, feel free to give us a call at 972-494-1750. You can also email us at [email protected].

In the last five to 10 years, we started getting calls from customers asking about pressure reducing valves. What wasn’t an issue before suddenly not only became an issue but is also getting worse with each passing year.

Because we’re getting more questions about the valve, I thought it would be helpful for everyone to write a blog post about whether or not you need to install a pressure reducing valve.

(Hint: you probably don’t.)

What Is a Pressure Reducing Valve

A pressure reducing valve is exactly what it sounds like, a valve that reduces the water pressure in your home. And water pressure, as you probably already know, is the force with which water flows through your pipes and out of different fixtures like faucets, toilets, and water heaters. High pressure is strong and low is weak.

Residential water pressure typically falls within the 45 to 80 psi (pounds per square inch) range. Anything higher than 80 psi is considered high pressure and that is what we will be discussing.

Do I Need a Pressure Reducing Valve?

That is the question we started getting and are getting more and more often. And it’s usually from someone involved in a the sale of a house.

In these cases, typically the home inspector for a buyer comes in and does a pressure check. If it’s higher than 80 psi, the inspector recommends the buyer get the valve.

However, there are also times when a plumber comes out to do any kind of work, like a leaky faucet, and independently decides to run a pressure check. If the pressure is 80 psi or higher, he goes to the homeowner and recommends having the valve installed (which he, of course, is happy to do).

For the home inspector, this is an issue of liability. The city code for new home construction states the psi cannot be higher than 80. So any new home will have one of these valves installed. So the home inspector will always recommend getting the valve installed in any home, new or old, with a psi of 80 or higher.

However, for the plumber, it’s just another revenue stream. He can easily show the homeowner the code and say that if this valve is not installed, there’s a risk of damage to the plumbing fixtures and even flooding.

Why This Valve is Unnecessary

Most of the calls we get asking about this valve are for houses 10 to 25 years old and sometimes older.

Our stance: If a home that is 10, 15, or 20+ years old didn’t need the valve before, why is it suddenly a problem? There haven’t been any part failures or flooding because of the water pressure so it’s extremely unlikely the valve is now a necessity. Of course, there are always exceptions but for the majority of the cases, the valve is unnecessary.

But we didn’t stop there. My master plumber, Bill Hoyle, and I went to a trade show a few years ago to talk to plumbing fixture manufacturers. We wanted to know if this was an issue we weren’t understanding, and if so, should we change our stance on it?

We learned two things. One, most of the manufacturers had no idea what we were even talking about when we asked about the the pressure reducing valve. So how can these valves be that important if the manufacturers have never even heard of it?

And two, all the manufacturers test their fixtures from 150 to 200 psi. Meaning, these devices — faucets, toilets, water heaters, etc. — are made to handle a psi from 150 to 200, and homeowners are being made to worry about 80 psi.

Another Reason Not to Install a Pressure Reducing Valve

The valve is a mechanical part. And anything mechanical can and will fail. When the valve fails, the water pressure in your home will be next to nothing or extremely high. So you paid to have this unnecessary part installed and now you have to pay to have it fixed and deal with poor water pressure until you do.

Not to mention there is no industry standard when it comes to where the valve is installed. Usually it’s installed in one of two places, buried in the ground on the main water line either near the area the water line goes into your home or at the water meter. But again, because there is no standard, the valve can be anywhere buried under the ground on the line.

We went out to a house once where the valve had failed and there was very little water pressure in the house. It wasn’t at either one of the two place I mentioned and nobody knew where it was buried along the line.

So what seems like it should be an easy fix is not because then it becomes about searching for the valve.

Fluctuating Water Pressure

We learned two things. One, most of the manufacturers had no idea what we were even talking about when we asked about the the pressure reducing valve. So how can these valves be that important if the manufacturers have never even heard of it?

And two, all the manufacturers test their fixtures from 150 to 200 psi. Meaning, these devices — faucets, toilets, water heaters, etc. — are made to handle a psi from 150 to 200, and homeowners are being made to worry about 80 psi.

Another Reason Not to Install a Pressure Reducing Valve

The valve is a mechanical part. And anything mechanical can and will fail. When the valve fails, the water pressure in your home will be next to nothing or extremely high. So you paid to have this unnecessary part installed and now you have to pay to have it fixed and deal with poor water pressure until you do.

Not to mention there is no industry standard when it comes to where the valve is installed. Usually it’s installed in one of two places, buried in the ground on the main water line either near the area the water line goes into your home or at the water meter. But again, because there is no standard, the valve can be anywhere buried under the ground on the line.

We went out to a house once where the valve had failed and there was very little water pressure in the house. It wasn’t at either one of the two place I mentioned and nobody knew where it was buried along the line.

So what seems like it should be an easy fix is not because then it becomes about searching for the valve.

Fluctuating Water Pressure

One more important thing to note, the water pressure in any neighborhood can fluctuate. You can see 100 psi at one point and then 80 at another. One system in the neighborhood can show 150 psi and another show 75.

Water pressure changes. It’s the nature of the system. So unless the water pressure is constantly at a higher psi, we don’t recommend installing the valve.

Of course, I’m not saying you should never worry about your water pressure being too high period. But here at In-House Plumbing Company, we do believe it’s a very rare situation where it’s necessary. And if you think you might be one of those rare cases, we are happy to talk about it with you.

The Ongoing Talk About Pressure Reducing Valves

Unscrupulous plumbers looking for an easy way to make more money are going to continue to use scare tactics to convince homeowners they need this valve.

“Get this valve or the pressure will ruin your fixtures and your house will flood!” ← Not going to happen in most cases.

And home inspectors are going to continue to recommend the valves. Like I said, it’s a liability issue because of the current codes. So my recommendation for buyers and sellers is this.

It costs about $1,000 to $1,500 to have the valve installed. For buyers I recommend not having it installed but to get the money from the seller for the valve installation. Then put it in the bank or be prepared to give that amount to the next buyer if they insist on having the valve installed or getting the money to do it themselves.

For sellers, I recommend not agreeing to install the valve and to just give the buyer the money so they can have it in case they decide to sell in the future or install it themselves.

How We Can Help

There are a lot of dishonest companies looking out for their own best interest. It is important to us here at In-House to always be transparent and to tell everyone the truth about the industry. If you think you might be getting scammed by another plumbing company or aren’t sure if they know what they’re talking about, give us a call.

There’s also a lot of information in the other blog posts that might help you understand better what’s going on with your home’s system.

And as always, if you have any questions regarding this valve or any other underslab plumbing issues or anything you read on our site, we are happy to speak with you.

Give us a call at 972-494-1750. Or email [email protected].

I’ve talked before on the blog about why we recommend replacing a cast iron sewer system instead of making repairs.

And while that is still our recommendation, we have shifted our policy since publishing that post regarding cast iron repairs.

Why We Recommend Replacing Cast Iron Sewer Pipes

Let me quickly go over why we recommend replacement instead of making repairs.

Cast iron pipes were designed to last for about 50 years. And that’s in an optimistic and ideal situation. For the most part, the last houses with underslab cast iron sewer pipes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area were built around 1985.

However, by then many houses were being built with PVC sewer pipes. So most houses with cast iron plumbing were built before 1980. Meaning most people’s cast iron systems in the North Texas area are more than 35 years old.

So with that mind, it’s more than likely any system made of cast iron will need to be replaced in the next five to 20 years (closer to five than 20, by the way). Added to that, making a repair means we have to cut out a piece of the pipe that is leaking and replace that section with PVC pipe. So now there are two spots on each side of that new PVC pipe that will be a leak — not might, will — in the near future.

Because the metal will continue to deteriorate as wastewater runs through it, the cast iron on each side of the PVC pipe will crumble or crack and break. And there’s nothing anyone can do because that’s just the reality of the situation, the nature of the material; the cast iron is going bad.

So we believe it is in the homeowner’s best interest to not waste any money on repairs and go ahead and replace the system.

Our New Policy Regarding Cast Iron Sewer Repairs

However, we’re finding more and more that the cast iron pipes we come across in our work is in pretty bad shape, to put it mildly. It’s worn out and rusted and needs to be replaced, not repaired.

So now not only do we know that one repaired leak will very soon be two more leaks in the same spot, we’re also doing what is referred to in our industry as “chasing pipe.” This means we have to follow the pipe to find a good spot to attach the new PVC pipe to which is getting more challenging because as I said, we’re seeing more worn out and rusted systems every time.

This is why we will no longer do any repairs on cast iron systems. It is our experience whenever we try to make any repairs on a cast iron system, we end up having significant problems with the cast iron once we’re under the slab.

There are always more issues with the pipe than we anticipated, and we end up spending an inordinate amount of time chasing pipe. It’s a mess, to be quite honest, and always ends up costing the homeowner more money in the end.

It’s a repeating cycle. We repair the leak, a year down the road that spot now has two leaks and because the pipe is bad there are more leaks to repair in other areas. So now the homeowner is spending more money on more tests that need to be done and more money is being spent to repair a leak that’s already been repaired.

Making the repairs is a band-aid solution, at best.

Another Reason for Our Policy Change

I do want to explain briefly another reason we’ve come to this decision.

We’ve had situations in the past where someone is selling their home and wanted us to come out and test for leaks and then do the leak repairs even though we recommended replacing. But as is the case with most sellers, they didn’t want to spend the money on a replacement. They wanted a cheaper band-aid solution to get as much money out of the sale as possible.

So we made the repairs, the house is sold, and less than a year later the buyer inevitably calls us because of leaks. And with our one year warranty, we go out and now the buyer is mad at us, not the seller who is long gone.

This is not just bad business for us but also incredibly unfair to the buyer.

Call Us About Your Options

We understand replacing a cast iron sewer system is a big investment. And not everyone has the money to do it right away. But give us a call and we will do our best to find a good solution for you. There might be an option for some cases where we could reroute the pipe or possibly even a perform a partial replacement.

We are a business, yes, but doing right by our customers is and will always be one of our highest priorities.

If you have any questions give us a call at 972-494-1750 or email [email protected].