Your sewer line serves every drain and plumbing-connected appliance throughout your home. A healthy, high-functioning sewer line is an integral part of your home’s wastewater management system. Although some sewer lines can last 80 years or more, there are definite benefits in upgrading older pipes with pitting, cracks, or corrosion.
Get Rid of Weak, Unreliable Materials
Even if your sewer line has yet to reach the end of its lifespan, it could be prone to problems. Cast iron sewer pipes are highly susceptible to corrosion. Terracotta sewer pipes are vulnerable to tree and weed root encroachment. Orangeburg sewer pipes have inherently weak structures.
Replacing a sewer line that has yet to need major repairs might seem like an unnecessary or unjustified expense. But getting rid of notoriously low-performing sewer pipes increases home values, boosts the marketability of properties, and staves off future issues.
Avoid Whole-House Backups
An aging and inherently weak sewer pipe could send raw sewage back into your home. Older sewer pipes often have heavy buildups of sediment and thick accumulations of grease, soap scum, and biofilms coating their walls. These buildups decrease the available space for waste flow and can cause all your drains to clog or move slowly.
Aging and weak pipes can also have rough interiors. This increases the risk of snags. When slow-degrading materials get caught on rough pipe interiors, trapped wastewater has nowhere to go but back indoors.
Minimize the Risk of Costly Sewer Line Repairs
Whether you opt for excavation or trenchless sewer service, replacing or repairing your sewer pipe is a significant project. Whether digging, cutting into concrete, or paying for cured-in-place-pipe lining, you’ll often get the greatest returns when replacing an old sewer pipe rather than fixing it.
Prevent Tree Root Intrusion
Did you know that tree roots can enter your sewer pipe through cracks as small as a millimeter wide? This is also true for weed roots. Age and wear-related cracking allow nutrient-dense effluence to seep into the surrounding soil. This moisture attracts nearby roots.
When tree and weed roots enter sewer pipes, they grow rapidly. They can fill pipe interiors, inhibit waste flow, and cause messy whole-house backups. Replacing a cracked sewer pipe is often the best form of long-term prevention. It’s also an opportunity to choose more enduring pipe materials.
Protect Your Home’s Slab
Although most of your sewer line travels underground from your home to the municipal sewer system, some of this pipe lies just beneath your home’s foundation. Cracked, crushed, and offset sewer pipe sections can lead to slab cracks, soil voids beneath homes, and widespread settlement issues. Settlement cracks from a damaged sewer line can affect your walls, floors, and roof flashing. An upgraded sewer pipe will give your home enduring protection from your slab to its roof.
If you have an old, worn, or weak sewer pipe, upgrading it could be the most cost-effective decision. For expert sewer service in Savannah, GA, get in touch with Thompson & Thompson Service Group.
