Drain & Sewer Repair in Houston
Here's our rule for drain and sewer work, and we don't break it: the camera goes in before the quote comes out. You watch the footage with us, you see exactly what's wrong and where, and the price you approve is the price you pay. In a trade where "your sewer is collapsed" is sometimes said to people whose sewer is fine, evidence is the whole game.
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
One clog is life. The same line backing up every few months is a message. Recurring clogs mean the pipe itself is catching things — and in Houston's older neighborhoods there are three usual suspects:
- Corroded cast iron. Homes built before the 1970s almost all drain through original cast iron, which corrodes from the inside until the rough, narrowed interior snags everything. We wrote a full guide to the repair-reline-replace decision for cast iron.
- Root intrusion. The live oaks that make River Oaks, Memorial, and the Heights beautiful send roots into any joint that weeps. Once inside, they grow into a net that catches waste until the line chokes.
- Bellies. Our expansive gumbo clay swells and shrinks with the weather, settling pipes out of slope. Waste sits in the low spot, solids drop out, and the clog rebuilds in the same place every time.
Cabling the line again treats the symptom. The camera finds the cause — and until the cause is fixed, the clog has a return ticket.
Hydro jetting or cabling — which does your line need?
Both have a legitimate place. The wrong one wastes your money or, worse, damages marginal pipe. This is the honest comparison:
| Method | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|
| Cabling (snaking) | Punching through a single soft blockage fast; restoring flow in an emergency | Grease-lined or scale-narrowed pipe — it drills a hole through the problem and leaves the rest on the walls |
| Hydro jetting | Scouring grease, scale, and roots off the full pipe interior back to bare wall | Structurally compromised cast iron — pressure can finish what corrosion started |
| Camera inspection | Deciding between all of the above with evidence instead of guesswork | — (this is where we always start) |
When the pipe itself is the problem
If the camera shows failed pipe — widespread channeling in cast iron, a collapsed section, a root-shattered joint — clearing it harder isn't a plan. Your repair options, in rising order of scope:
- Spot repair. One bad section, one fix. Entirely legitimate when the rest of the line has honest life left.
- Epoxy lining. A resin sleeve cures into a new, smooth pipe inside the old one — no trench through your gardens. Right for structurally intact pipe with a failing interior; wrong for pipe that's lost its structure.
- Pipe bursting. Trenchless replacement that pulls new pipe through the old path from two small pits. New pipe, minimal digging, landscaping and hundred-year oaks spared.
- Open replacement. Sometimes it really is the best answer — usually alongside a remodel when floors or yards are already open. When it is, we say so and show you why on the footage.
Backed up right now?
Sewage backing into a tub is an emergency and we treat it like one — 24/7, nights and weekends included. Otherwise, book a camera inspection and let's see what's actually down there.
Call (832) 520-2623The Houston factors most companies skip past
Drain work here isn't generic. Our clay soil moves pipes that would stay put in other cities — after a wet spring following a drought summer, we see a wave of new bellies and separated joints. Heavy rain that saturates the ground can push flow into compromised sewers and reveal cracks that stayed hidden all summer; a sewer odor in the yard after a storm is worth taking seriously. And the age line matters enormously: a 1958 ranch in Memorial and a 2019 rebuild in Tanglewood can sit on the same street and need completely different conversations. We've built our diagnosis around those realities for decades.
Drain & sewer FAQ
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
A drain that clogs repeatedly in the same line is almost never a fixture problem — it's a pipe problem. Interior corrosion in old cast iron, a root-invaded joint, or a low spot where the pipe has settled will snag debris in the same place every time. Cabling clears the symptom for a few months; a camera inspection shows the cause, and fixing the cause ends the cycle.
Is hydro jetting safe for old pipes?
On structurally sound pipe, yes — jetting scours the full interior back to bare wall, which cabling can't do. On badly corroded cast iron that has already lost wall thickness, high-pressure water can finish what corrosion started. That's exactly why we camera the line first: the footage tells us whether your pipe can take a jetting or needs repair instead. We don't jet blind.
Can you replace a sewer line without digging up my yard?
Often, yes. Pipe bursting pulls a new pipe through the path of the old one from two access pits, and epoxy lining cures a new pipe inside the existing one — both spare landscaping, driveways, and mature trees. Whether trenchless is right depends on the pipe's condition and layout, which the camera inspection settles. When excavation is genuinely the better repair, we say so and price both.
What does a sewer camera inspection cost in Houston?
In the Houston market, a residential sewer camera inspection typically runs a few hundred dollars — modest next to what it can reveal. You watch the same footage we do, we mark problem locations, and you get a written fixed price for any recommended work. If you're buying a pre-1970s home, it's the cheapest insurance in your inspection budget.