Old city, old laterals
Berkeley filled in early. Many houses in the flats, Elmwood, Claremont and North Berkeley were built before 1940, and their sewer laterals are the same age. Most were clay. After that long, the joints leak, the pipe cracks and roots move in. A line can work on the surface for years while it slowly fails below.
You notice it as a main drain that needs clearing more and more often. When every drain cleaning lasts a shorter time than the last, the pipe itself is usually the problem.
One line, several units
Berkeley has a lot of duplexes, triplexes and older apartment houses. In most of them every unit shares one lateral. When it fails, the whole building backs up, and the repair has to be planned around tenants. We work with owners and property managers to schedule the job, keep the units informed and keep the paperwork straight.
See it before you pay for it
Every sewer job starts with a camera inspection. You watch the video with us. We mark where the damage is and how long the bad run is. Then we lay out what can be done: a spot repair at one place, trenchless replacement through small pits, or a full new line. Each comes with a cost, and the choice is yours. When the job needs a permit, we pull it.
Berkeley's own lateral program
Berkeley has its own private sewer lateral program; see the City of Berkeley's private sewer lateral page. It requires a lateral certificate at certain times, including many property sales. If a sale or a major remodel is ahead, find out where your line stands first. Start with our sewer lateral compliance page, or call and ask.
Licensed and insured
Friendly Services holds California license CSLB #1156315 (C-36 plumbing) and carries $1M general liability cover and workers' comp. We have been in business in Hayward for over 20 years. Our own work has a five-year workmanship warranty, and we have 100+ five-star reviews online.