Taking the Mystery Out Of Pittsburgh Sewer Line Replacement
Why Pittsburgh Sewer Line Replacement?
Because Pittsburgh is an older city and even sewer lines reach the end of their service lives.
If you were to check out a map that showed every underground sewer line woven around the Greater Pittsburgh area, you would probably be amazed. So little is thought about it, but every building, both residential and commercial, has a system of sewer lines connected up to it.
Newer, more durable plastics have been developed that now extend the service life of newly installed sewer lines, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, during World War II, steel had to be diverted to the war effort.
This meant that creative ways to fabricate sewer lines were quickly introduced. One of them was to use standard roofing tar paper, and asphalt rolled up into tubes.
It’s hard to believe, but some of these asphalt sewer lines are still in service and causing problems for their owners to this very day.
What About Sewer Line Replacement Cost?
As home improvement projects go, sewer line replacement is for sure not among the more affordable. Then trying to put an exact figure on paper before you inspect the entire system is an exercise in futility.
The problem is that your sewer lines are buried underground, so surprises can happen. This particularly holds true if you are switching from a septic system to a complete replacement with a municipal hookup.
If this is the case, then the door is wide open for so many unknowns to come through it. For example, the distance to the point where you will be connecting up to the municipal sewer line factors in significantly, and you may be surprised by how far away it is.
Or, if you’re planning on redoing an existing septic system, you may find that the municipality you live in no longer permits them and requires a mandatory connection.
That includes hook-up fees. So knowledge of potential hidden factors is key to formulating a reasonable estimate of any sewer line replacement cost.
What About Trenchless Sewer Line Repair?
If your sewer lines are salvageable when trenchless sewer line repair may be a viable alternative to complete sewer line replacement.
Trenchless sewer repair technology has come a long way in recent years. Every day in Pittsburgh trenchless sewer line repair is saving home and business owners thousands of dollars and allowing them to avoid the massive job of complete replacement.
But what’s important to know is that it’s a technology that has its limitations, with the most important one being the condition of your sewer lines.
They have to be stable enough to function as the new outer casing of the trenchless liners that will be inserted into them. There’s just so much to learn about trenchless sewer line repair. Far too much to cover in a couple of paragraphs. So the person to talk to would be a Pittsburgh plumber that does trenchless sewer repair.
Will Your Homeowners Insurance Policy Cover Sewer Line Repair?
The answer to this question is probably not.
The reason for this is that most insurance companies that cover homes and commercial buildings just don’t include sewers in their policies. Some do as a separate stipulation, but it will cost extra.
There are insurance carriers that specialize in and cover sewer line replacement and repair, so it is there, but you will have to take it out as a policy in most cases.
Also, be aware that if the home or building you are considering covering with a sewer line insurance policy is old, you may have trouble. This is because no company will write a policy on an old worn-out sewer system that’s reaching the end of its service life.
Also, if, by chance, your insurance policy does cover the sewer system in your home or commercial building, you may find that there are so many clauses and stipulations that it just won’t do you any good. So the best insurance that you can have on any sewer system is to take good care of it. Get regular inspections and be careful of what you send down it.
What About DIY Sewer Line Replacement In Pittsburgh?
There are just so many reasons why DIY sewer Replacement just isn’t done.
It’s the perspective cost of sewer line replacement that can inspire a home or business owner into thinking about doing the work themselves. A complete sewer line replacement job can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
The people who do the work, though, earn every penny of it because as home improvements jobs go, it’s easily the dirtiest, most challenging, and dangerous. To begin with, the old system needs to be excavated out, and that’s a monumental task on its own
Then if it’s a septic system with a leach field that you’re considering excavating and replacing, you would need to be out of your mind to even try it. Raw sewage is pretty nasty stuff, and that’s what you’ll be dealing with during the excavation and removal process.
Why Sewer Line Inspections Are So Important
If you’re considering buying a home or commercial property, it’s absolutely essential that you have the sewer lines inspected first.
If you don’t, then you run the risk of taking on someone else’s problems. Not only that, but even if the cost of a complete sewer line replacement in Philadelphia is discounted off the price of the property, you need to take into account how intrusive and time-consuming a project like this can be.
You can’t run a business, nor can you live in or move tenants into a home undergoing a complete sewer line replacement in Philadelphia. So today’s plumbing inspector has new high-tech equipment in their arsenal.
Equipment like a compact high definition camera that can be sent down a sewer line to give a complete eyes on assessment. This was only made possible in recent decades and now eliminates that element of risk.