Sewer Line Repair in Seattle, WA: Spot Repairs, Cleanouts and Liners for Old Side Sewers
Done Right Plumbing repairs side sewers across Seattle, from Haller Lake and Lake City to Ballard and Fremont. We put a camera down the line first, then fix what has actually failed: one bad section, a broken cleanout, or a whole run that is better lined than dug. We pull the side sewer permit and meet the City's inspector ourselves.
Real Work in Seattle
Last September, Jeremy spent a day on the side sewer of a community building in Haller Lake. The trouble was a failed cleanout on the northwest side of the building, which had filled with rock and debris. Jeremy dug down to it and cut out the failed section, and the pipe that came out of the ground was packed with soil and roots. He replaced that section of the side sewer in new PVC and built a new cleanout in its place, with two capped risers, one pointing back toward the building and one out toward the street, so the line can be cleared or filmed in either direction from the yard. The work finished with a cleanout box at grade, and the repair carries our two-year warranty on parts and labor. In February, Ben, Jeremy and Joseph T. rebuilt a settled shared side sewer in Lake City and lined it out to the city main, a job we wrote up as a shared side sewer repair in Lake City.
What We Do on a Seattle Sewer Line
Camera the line first
Every repair starts with a camera run through a cleanout, or through a pulled toilet when there is no cleanout, with the distance counter recording where each problem sits. Our guide to what a sewer scope shows explains what you will see on the screen.
Spot repair one failed section
When the camera finds one broken, sagging or root-choked section in pipe that is otherwise sound, we dig only there, replace that stretch in new PVC, bed it so it holds its grade, and leave the rest of the line alone.
Add or rebuild a cleanout
A two-way cleanout lets the line be cleared and filmed toward the street or back toward the house without anyone working through a toilet. Once it is in, every future clearing and camera run starts in the yard. The two-way cleanout we cut into a Kenmore line shows one going in.
Line it instead of digging it
Where cracked joints and roots run along much of the pipe, or the line passes under a driveway, a sidewalk or a neighbor's yard, a cured-in-place liner builds a new pipe inside the old one. Our trenchless sewer repair page covers how it works.
Jet it back to full bore
Roots and grease can often be cut out of a sound line with a hydro jetter, which buys time without digging. In Ballard this spring, we jetted a rooted side sewer that had been backing up and had it running at full bore again in one visit.
What Makes a Seattle Sewer Job Different
The side sewer is yours, all the way to the main
Seattle Public Utilities puts it plainly: if you own your home or building, you own your side sewer to the public sewer main. That includes the stretch under the planting strip and, often, under the street. Where your pipe joins a neighbor's, the two of you share the line from that point on, which is how the Lake City job became a shared repair.
A permit for every repair, and an inspection before backfill
The City requires a side sewer permit from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections before any side sewer repair, replacement or lining, and the repaired pipe has to stay uncovered until the inspector has seen it. If the work reaches into the street, the Seattle Department of Transportation issues a separate permit for that part.
The City may have a drawing of your line
Seattle keeps side sewer cards, the permit drawings that show where many side sewers were laid, and anyone can look one up by address in the City's side sewer card viewer. A card shows where the pipe was permitted to run, not the shape it is in now, so we use the card to plan the dig and the camera to decide what it should be.
North end lines from the annexation years
Haller Lake, Bitter Lake and the rest of the north end between 85th and 145th joined Seattle in 1954, and Haller Lake residents backed annexation largely for the promise of storm sewers and sidewalks. Much of the neighborhood's housing went up in the years around it, so the side sewers laid with those houses are now old enough for their joints and cleanouts to give out.
Our Process
1. Camera and locate
We film the line from a cleanout or a pulled toilet, note where each problem sits on the counter, and locate the pipe from above.
2. Pull the permit
We apply for the side sewer permit before we dig, and for the street permit as well if the work reaches the right-of-way.
3. Dig, repair and bed
We open only the section that failed, shore the trench when it is deep, replace the pipe and bed it so it holds its grade.
4. Inspection before backfill
The repair stays open until the City's inspector has signed off on it.
5. Restore and walk you through it
We backfill, put the surface back as closely as we can to how we found it, and show you what was done and where the new cleanout sits.
FAQs About Sewer Line Repair in Seattle
How do I find out where my side sewer runs in Seattle?
Look up your address in the City's side sewer card viewer. The cards are permit drawings showing where many Seattle side sewers leave the house and run to the main. A card does not show the pipe's condition, and the pipe in the ground may not match it, so a camera run confirms where it really goes.
Can a sewer repair start in Seattle before the permit is issued?
Only in an emergency. Seattle requires a side sewer permit before any repair, but when a failed line has to be fixed right away, the work can begin first, as long as the permit application reaches the Department of Construction and Inspections by the next business day. Everything else waits for the permit, and then for the inspection.
Does Seattle help homeowners pay for side sewer repairs?
For some homeowners, yes. Seattle Public Utilities offers interest-free loans for side sewer repair to low-income and fixed-income customers. The utility can also check whether it already has an inspection video showing the status of your side sewer connection, which is worth asking about before you pay for a new one.
What does a side sewer spot repair cost in Seattle?
In our records, a spot repair on one failed section of side sewer runs roughly $2,800 to $5,000, and a two-way cleanout installed on its own runs about $3,800 to $4,800. In Seattle, the depth of the pipe, whether the dig reaches the planting strip or the street, and the permits move the number most.
Lining a failing run costs more, about $9,000 to $10,500 in our records, and our sewer repair cost guide breaks the ranges down further.
Should I line my Seattle side sewer or repair one section?
Repair one section when the camera finds a single failure in otherwise sound pipe, the way a broken cleanout or one settled joint usually shows up. Line it when roots and cracked joints run along much of the line, or when it passes under a driveway, sidewalk or a neighbor's yard. On the shared Lake City line, we did both.
Serving Seattle From Lynnwood
Our shop is in Lynnwood, so Seattle's north end is the closest part of the city to us. Haller Lake, Bitter Lake, Northgate and Lake City are usually twenty to thirty minutes away, and Greenwood, Ballard and Fremont a little more. We cover the whole city, south to Beacon Hill, Columbia City and West Seattle, though calls at the south end have a longer arrival window.
Why Seattle Homeowners Choose Done Right
We show you the camera footage before we quote, and we quote the smallest repair that will actually last. We own our camera and jetting equipment, we pull our own permits and meet the inspector, and when a line is past repairing section by section, we say so and price the liner or the replacement beside it.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
WA Contractor License #DONERRP852N5
Done Right Plumbing is licensed, bonded and insured in Washington State, family-owned since 2011, with twelve technicians and our own trenchless, jetting and camera equipment.
Call for a Seattle Sewer Estimate
A drain that gurgles when the washer runs, water coming up through a basement floor drain, a cleanout you cannot find, or a line that has backed up before? Call for a free estimate, or request a callback and we will reach you at a time that works.