Ask a plumber
These are the questions homeowners type into Google and ChatGPT before they call us. The answers come from co-owner Ryan Nunez, in his words, and each one links to a real job where it came up. Every one assumes a camera has looked at your line first: we never sell a repair the camera doesn't support.
Call (310) 808-7343
Answered by Ryan Nunez, Co-owner, Mainline No-Dig Trenchless Plumbing
10+ years in plumbing. Has worked under both the Uniform and International Plumbing Codes in several states, in commercial and residential new construction and about five years on the service and troubleshooting side. Born and raised in Torrance.
Reviewed November 4, 2026
It comes down to what the camera shows. Small roots can be cleared and kept in check with quarterly maintenance. If the roots are too big for a sewer machine to clear, or the camera finds a crack, a break or a belly (a low spot that holds water and solids), the line is compromised. Roots only get in through a break, so best practice is to repair it before it fails.
Yes, and ask to see the video. Old clay pipe has a joint about every 4 feet, and those joints can look like breaks to someone who wants to sell a replacement. A second camera from the house to the street will show whether there are real breaks, roots or bellies. Sometimes the honest answer is that nothing needs to be done.
No. A brand-new rigid pipe at full diameter is the best repair, and properly installed it can last close to 100 years. A liner is built inside your old pipe and is a 25–50 year repair. It's a great option when you can't dig, don't want to disturb finished surfaces, or need to keep the cost down. Our PermaLiner installs carry a 30-year warranty.
More on CIPP sewer lining
Choose by the condition of your pipe, not its age. Cracked clay with roots at the joints, or cast iron that's still savable, is a good candidate for a liner. Collapsed, broken or badly deteriorated pipe needs pipe bursting, which pulls a brand-new line through. Wait too long and bursting becomes the only option, because a liner can't go into fully deteriorated cast iron. The camera decides.
More on trenchless sewer repair
Usually about 2 days from the first shovel in the dirt to putting your grass back. With pipe bursting you lose the sewer for about 4 hours, while we cut the line and pull the new pipe through. With a traditional dig-and-replace you're usually without toilets for about 2 days.
Yes. Our hydraulic bursting equipment goes through just about anything except a concrete footing. If the line runs under a footing or a retaining wall, we dig on both sides and chip out just enough concrete for the bursting head to pass. There's very little our equipment can't get through.
A little, but less than people think. The liner wall is about 6–10 millimeters thick. On a standard 4-inch sewer line that leaves you around 3½ inches inside, which doesn't affect how the line drains. It won't turn a 4-inch line into a 3-inch one.
In most of the South Bay, the homeowner. Your private line usually runs all the way to the city connection in the street, where the 4-inch lateral meets the larger city line. Where exactly the city takes over varies by city (in Torrance, for example, the owner is responsible for the connection at the main too), so we check the local rule before we quote.
Usually not. Standard policies typically exclude the sewer line outside the house, because it's treated as wear and age rather than sudden damage. Some insurers sell a service-line add-on that does cover it, so check whether your policy has one before you assume either way.
No. Root killer kills the roots inside the pipe but doesn't remove them. The dead roots stay put, and the roots outside the pipe grow right back in through the same break. It's a very temporary fix. The real fix is hydro-jetting to cut the roots out, then repairing the break they came through.
More on hydro-jetting
Properly installed ABS can get close to 100 years. Properly installed means compacted bedding under the pipe, a fall of a quarter inch per foot, and careful backfill. Plastic in the ground very rarely gives trouble; at most you might want a hydro-jet cleaning after 30 or more years.
Old cast iron that's bubbled and can't be lined, and slab houses with a lot of tie-ins where you don't want liner reinstatements at every connection. We descale the pipe first to break off the rust and buildup, then brush-coat the inside with epoxy. It leaves a much smoother drain.
It's been around since the 1970s. In the last 20 years it has become reliable and consistent, as long as the crew is trained. Done wrong it can make the problem worse, which is why we never rush it. Our crew is PermaLiner-certified and has done about 700 trenchless jobs.
In our experience, yes. Near the coast, humid, salty air reaches pipes in crawl spaces and attics, and we see pinholes in Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach copper sooner than inland in Torrance or Carson. Once you get one pinhole, a second and third usually follow. Repiping after the first one costs less than repairing a soaked ceiling, floors and furniture later.
More on copper repiping
The ground moves. Where a pipe leaves the house it's fixed in place, but the pipe in the dirt moves with the soil. Two inches of settling puts two inches of strain on that pipe until rigid copper snaps. A break can wash out voids under a driveway or foundation. For water mains and repipes we use HDPE, a flexible heavy-duty poly pipe that bends instead of breaking.
Not always. Once we trace the leaking line, we can often reroute a new line around the slab, through a crawl space, wall or attic, and abandon the leaking section. No broken patio, no torn-up floors.
Not without a diagnosis. We take electrical readings, gas pressure and exhaust readings and check the venting, so we find the actual fault and buy the one part it needs. Guessing at parts is how people end up paying twice and still have no hot water.
Ask exactly what's in their quote. If it really is the same job, the difference is usually materials and time. You can buy a $5 coupling or a $75 coupling, cheap brass or heavy brass, cellular-core or solid-core pipe. We use heavy-duty bands and American-made material, and we don't rush, because that's what decides how long the repair lasts.
We can, and if that's what you want, we will. Before we leave, though, we'll show you what we found and tell you the proper way to fix it, so you can decide with the full picture.
Estimates are free when we can see the problem, such as a leaking fixture or a visible break. If finding the cause takes in-depth diagnostic work, like crawling under the house or using specialized leak-locating equipment, that's a $350 diagnostic, and we tell you before we start. After hours there's a $125 dispatch fee.
We keep a floating tech whose job is to break off and take emergencies, so we target 25–45 minutes. About 30% of our work is emergencies, and we keep the schedule open for them.
The big companies spend heavily on marketing, so they maximize each ticket and move to the next customer, often with third-party installers. With us, an owner checks every job: Ryan crawls under the house, takes video from start to finish and checks that the work is to code and strapped properly. We call afterwards and come back the same day if anything needs attention. Our price doesn't change based on your house or the car in your driveway.
Call (310) 808-7343. You'll talk to the people who do the work, 24/7.
