Sewer Excavation in McDonough, GA

Most people picture sewer excavation on an old house, with clay pipe and tree roots. Yet a building sewer laid only fifteen or twenty years ago can need digging too, and the cause usually goes back to how it was installed rather than to age. For a McDonough homeowner in a newer house who keeps fighting the same slow drain, that possibility is worth taking seriously.

Defects that start on construction day

• A belly. If the trench was backfilled loosely or the pipe was set on uneven ground, a section can settle and form a low spot that holds water and waste.
• Crushed or cracked pipe. Heavy equipment driving over a shallow line, or a large rock left pressing against it, can deform plastic pipe.
• Joints that were never fully made. A plastic joint not pushed all the way home or not properly cemented can pull apart as the soil moves.
• Debris left inside. Concrete slurry, joint compound or scraps from construction sometimes end up in the line and harden there.
• A lost cleanout. Caps get buried under sod or mulch, or broken off by a mower, which leaves no easy way into the line.

How these problems show up

The signs are familiar: drains that gurgle or empty slowly, a toilet that backs up when the washer drains, or blockages that return at roughly the same spot every so often. Outside, a shallow dip forming along the line's route can point to a trench that was never compacted well. Because the pipe is relatively new, owners often assume the trouble is inside the house and spend a long time chasing the wrong fixture.

Looking before deciding

A sewer camera inspection settles it quickly. Water pooling in the pipe shows a belly, an oval cross-section shows crushing, and a visible gap or step shows a joint that has separated. Hardened debris can often be broken up and flushed with hydro jetting or cut with a mechanical tool, and that may be all the line needs. A belly, a crushed section or a pulled joint, though, is a matter of position and shape, and cleaning cannot change either.

Re-laying the faulty section

Excavation fixes these defects by putting the pipe back where it should have been. The crew digs to the problem, removes the sagging or damaged length, and prepares a firm, even bed under the new pipe so it carries a steady fall toward the street. Joints are seated fully and checked before the trench is closed, and the soil around the pipe is placed carefully and compacted in layers, which is often the step that was rushed the first time. If several faults are spread along the line, it can make more sense to replace the whole run.

McDonough's rules for burying a building sewer

The city's Building & Inspection Division issues plumbing permits and inspects work in McDonough. Where the public system is concerned, the city code goes further: uncovering, connecting to or altering a public sewer takes a written permit from the city maintenance engineer, the owner has to call for inspection before any part of the building sewer is buried, and only an authorized city representative makes the connection. That pre-burial inspection is also the moment when poor bedding or a bad grade is easiest to spot.

Questions about newer sewer lines in McDonough

Can a sewer line in a newer house really need digging?

Yes. Age is only one cause of sewer failure. A line that was bedded poorly, backfilled loosely or joined carelessly can sag, crack or separate within a few years. Plastic pipe does not corrode the way cast iron does, but it depends heavily on the support around it, so installation problems show up as shape and grade defects rather than wear.

What is a belly, and can it be fixed without replacing the whole line?

A belly is a low spot where the pipe has settled below the grade on either side, so water and solids collect there instead of flowing on. If the rest of the line is sound, the sagging length can be dug up, the bed underneath rebuilt and the pipe re-laid at the right fall. If the line sags in several places, a longer replacement may be more sensible.

Who connects a new building sewer to the public sewer in McDonough?

The city does, not the plumber. The private pipe from the house to the connection point is the contractor's work, but the tie-in itself stays in the city's hands, with the maintenance engineer's written approval beforehand. In practice the new connection is scheduled with the city, and the trench near the main stays open until the city has done its part.

Find out what is wrong with the line

Is the sewer line at your newer McDonough home acting older than it should? Call Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448 to get a camera into it and find out whether the problem is a blockage or the way the pipe was laid.