Slow drains everywhere: what a fix costs

Fixing slow drains everywhere costs $300 to $800 for a main-line clear, plus $200 to $500 if you want the camera that explains why. If the camera finds a defect, a spot repair is $1,500 to $5,000, lining is $4,000 to $12,000, and replacement is $5,000 to $15,000. Most homeowners who start with the clear and the camera spend under $1,300 and know exactly what they are dealing with.

The four purchases, and what each one buys

Slow drains are a symptom, so the price depends on which purchase you make. They are not tiers of the same thing.

The first two are diagnostic and maintenance. The second two are construction. Confusing them is how a $400 problem becomes a $4,000 invoice.

Line items in a repair quote

The percentages make the point better than the ranges: on a spot repair, most of the money is spent getting to the pipe and putting the ground back, not on the pipe.

Three worked estimates

Estimate one: grease and wipes in a sound PVC line. Clear at $450, camera at $300 to confirm, total $750. No repair. This is the most common outcome on a line under 30 years old.

Estimate two: roots at one joint in a clay line. Clear $500, camera $350, spot repair of 8 feet at $2,400, sod $250, permit $100, total $3,600. The pipe work is $2,400 of that, or $300 per foot.

Estimate three: four cracked joints on a 70-foot run. Clear $550, camera $400, lining at $9,200, one pit restoration $600, permit $150, total $10,900. Four spot repairs were quoted at $11,800 plus four restorations, so lining was cheaper and left one warranty.

The third estimate is the one worth remembering. On a run with multiple defects, lining is frequently cheaper than patching, not more expensive.

Per-foot arithmetic

• $750 for a clear on 60 feet = $12.50 per foot.
• $3,600 for an 8-foot repair = $450 per foot.
• $10,900 for 70 feet of lining = $156 per foot.

Those numbers are not comparable to each other, and quoting them side by side is how sales pressure works. Per-foot pricing only compares jobs of the same type on similar ground.

For repairs, the useful per-foot question is: what is the footage, and what does the price become if the footage is 20 percent larger? A quote that scales at $300 per foot will add $600 for two extra feet. A quote that scales at $150 per foot will add $300.

What makes the number move

Depth. Eighteen inches is a hand dig; six feet needs shoring and possibly a vac truck, which adds $1,000 to $2,500.

Surface. Lawn is a few hundred dollars to restore. Concrete, asphalt or pavers add $1,500 to $4,500.

Number of defects. One is a spot repair. Three or more usually makes lining or replacement the better buy.

Access. A cleanout at grade keeps the clear at the low end. A roof vent or a buried cleanout adds $100 to $250.

Timing. A weekday appointment is the base rate. Nights and weekends add $150 to $300, and an emergency backup call is $500 to $1,500.

Permits. $50 to $500, and the contractor usually pulls it.

When the cheap option costs more

A line that has been cleared three times in two years has cost $1,650 and is no closer to being fixed. A camera plus a spot repair at $2,950 ends the cycle and carries a warranty.

The break-even is around the third clear. Before that, cleaning is rational. After it, cleaning is a subscription to a problem.

The repair options are set out in slow drains everywhere repair, and the maintenance path is in slow drains everywhere prevention. If the line is already backing up rather than merely slow, sewage backup cost is the closer guide.

What to ask before you authorise work

1. What footage did you measure, and can I see the recording?
2. Is the camera pass included in the clear, or billed separately?
3. Does the repair quote include restoration, the permit and the post-repair camera?
4. What is the price if the excavation is deeper than expected?
5. What warranty covers a return of the same blockage?
6. If the repair fails, what is the remedy?

A quote that answers all six can be compared with another that answers all six. A quote of “from $1,500” cannot be compared to anything, and it is not a price.

For the full range of sewer work, see how much sewer line repair costs, and for the per-foot version, sewer line repair cost per square foot.

A final note on comparing contractors: ask each one to price the same scope, not the same symptom. “Fix the slow drains” is not a scope. “Camera the main line from the rear cleanout, report footage, and quote a repair at any defect found” is a scope, and three quotes on that scope will be comparable to within a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand.