What has happened to you is not uncommon. Those old iron pipes start to rust, and once there is an opening, a tree root will find it's way in. Finding plentiful water, they will set up shop and continue to grow and grow. We had to have ours replaced, but the seller did it prior to purchase, so can't help with the question of money. This is why so many of the old underground gutter downspouts no longer work.

Funny story: We had two connections to the street, one good, and one bad. When they put the new in, they connected it at the street, but just ran the house end under the basement floor and capped it. We didn't realize that some of the baths hadn't been used in years (it's a very big house) because of the bad connection. So we moved in and just started using them. After several days or a week we went into the cellar to find about 6" of "water"!.

We had to do a bit of sleuthing to find what had and hadn't been done with the new sewer line (they never told us), and finally just started digging up the basement floor. Fortunately, we found the new capped end. We brought it up and after 3 or 4 days had the whole house switched over to the new line.

It does strike me as a complicated thing to do, and the sewer lines are quite deep. Does the price include a new connection all the way to the street? If you are going to do it, you don't want any more iron pipe that is still your responsibility (in case they intend to find your pipe on the other side of your house and just connect there).

Old iron pipes or clay?
Apropos Clarion's story, I'd compare it with having a new line put in altogether.

But think about this for a moment. Where in the line are the roots? Likely where the tree is. Not under the house. So maybe you just need to dig up and replace the section where the roots are. Put a clean-out in the yard while you're at it. We did that after the first blockage, when we had to run the rooter in 120 feet from the basement toilet (remove the toilet first) to where the blockage was. Not fun. Clean-out in the yard went in the following spring, and we roto-rooted it from there almost every year until we finally cut down the GD tree.

No problems since!

Maybe the cheapest way to solve the problem is cutting down the tree. Is it your tree? What kind is it? Is there a better place on the property to plant one, or a less water-seeking species?

Someone's trying to sell you a service that isn't what you need.

Karin L

I guess I'm lucky in that my sewer drain runs from the back of the house toward the alley--no trees planted there, although I do have a few roses near it.

As to whether it's clay or cast iron, I don't know--but about fifteen feet from the back of the house is a pipe coming to the surface with an iron grate on top--a plumber friend told me it was a whole-house trap, and it can be used for a clean out as well!

it's a clay pipe! they showed us the camera and there were plenty of roots, really throughout. i think those old clay pipes were only 2 foot sections so there are a lot of joints..

some of the roots i saw were as big as my wrist. they said they could cut them but were concerned about the pipe collapsing. i'm wondering if they're just trying to sell me their service through scare tactics..

i'm going to get a couple more opinions from local plumbers recommended by the hardware store. i'll report back..

the tree is my neighbor's huge old maple. it is just about dead and probably won't live another 5 years. they have spent a fortune keeping it alive because they like it so much but it won't last forever. i also have an old sycamore that could have sent roots under the basement floor...not sure.

All clay? I'll backtrack and say yes, you should get that updated one way or the other. But I do bet the blockage from the maple is worse than under the house...?

So you can get the line redone and keep the trees, which will still find the junction with the city line by the way so you STILL NEED A CLEANOUT IN THE YARD! or you can just clear your existing line and cut down those trees - get your neighbour involved by discussing who should bear the cost of the remediation you are now being forced to do. Take samples of the roots if you have to. People who love their trees always look at the canopy and forget the roots, kind of like loving your cat that poops in the neighbour's garden...

Some trees' roots are more water seeking than others - maple is a probable cause, but I don't know sycamore. Tree forum might help you there. But I'd have no hesitation pointing the finger at the maple. We had willows. No contest!

Our experience was that we spent 15 years trying to manage those big stupid trees before my husband (who never did any of the pruning :-)) would consent to cutting them down. It was like the life of our yard started then, with new space, new sky, and no debris or root competition, and we both wish we had taken them down MUCH sooner. We've almost... but not quite, forgotten how to run the rooter.

The cleanout in the yard is just smart design, whether there are big trees there now or not.

Karin L