What is the difference between a drain line and a sewer line?
Drain lines are the pipes inside and under the building that carry waste from each sink, tub and toilet. They join into one pipe that leaves the house. From there to the street it is the sewer line, or lateral. This page is about the pipes in and under the house. For the pipe to the street, see sewer line repair.
How do I know a drain line is damaged, not just clogged?
- The same drain clogs again soon after being cleared.
- Water stains on a ceiling or wall below a bathroom or kitchen.
- A sewer smell in the house or crawl space.
- Damp soil, or waste, under the house.
- Rust streaks, flaking or cracks on cast iron pipe you can see.
- Gurgling, or drains that are slow throughout.
What goes wrong with drain pipes?
Cast iron rusts from the inside. It roughens, thins and eventually cracks along the bottom or the top. Galvanized steel drain arms from sinks rust shut and leak at the threads. Old plastic or mismatched repairs come apart at badly made joints. And any pipe can lose its slope, leaving a sag that holds water and waste.
How do you find the damage?
With a camera. We run it through the line and show you the crack, the corrosion or the sag on screen. In a home with a crawl space we can often see the pipe directly as well. You know what is wrong and where before we talk about the fix.
How is a drain line repaired?
We replace the damaged run with new pipe, properly supported and sloped. In a crawl space that is done from below. In a wall it means a small opening. Under a slab the floor has to be opened at that spot, or the line rerouted. If most of the old cast iron is failing, replacing it all at once costs less than doing it a piece at a time. You get the choices and the cost first, and we pull a permit when the job needs one.
Where do you work?
We are based in Hayward, where homes from the 1940s to the 1960s still drain through original cast iron, and we work across the East Bay. If a line only needs clearing, see drain cleaning.
Who is Friendly Services?
A family-owned plumbing company with over 20 years in Hayward. License CSLB #1156315 (C-36 plumbing), $1M general liability cover and workers' comp. Our own work has a five-year workmanship warranty, and we have 100+ five-star reviews online.