I bought a house in May, in the state of Texas inspectors don’t have to insect sewer lines and I took a chance and lost. The sewer line was old clay pipe. had a contractor to come out and fix 68 ft but the he found out that he would have to go to the main he wanted more money which was 10 grand, also the main was 14 ft down. When he found out I could not come up with it he left me with a hole in the ground and no sewage. I have been using a pick and shovel for the last 3 weeks or so to try to do it myself but I am out of energy to even look at it. So what is my next move?

–Dennis

Dennis, you should contact the municipality that you live in, in most cases you (the homeowner) are only responsible up to the property line and not all the way out to the main. At 14 feet down, this is not a do-it-yourself project. Digging a trench, especially one that deep, requires proper excavating equipment and shoring. Without shoring, the trench could collapse/cave-in, filling with soil –leaving you and anyone else in it buried alive. Click here to read TrenchSafety.org’s great piece (illustrated) on why trenches cave-in.

An alternative to digging a trench would be one of the several types of trenchless technologies available, these replace or restore failing sewer pipes with only limited excavating. The North American Society for Trenchless Technology’s website, www.nastt.org, is a good place to start looking for companies that offer different trenchless solutions.

-Brian