u/GroupShower1918

We've owned our 2 br/2ba 1925 home for 3 years. To date we've replaced all the windows, front and back door, water heater and front porch. Before we bought our home, we did our due diligence and had the sewer line scoped. We were advised the clay pipe had a sag and would need to be replaced at some point. It also has a 90 degree trap in the basement which makes cleaning it nearly impossible as there's also no exterior clean out. The line was scoped again last month, and the sag has gotten much worse. It's roughly 30' of pipe filled maybe 30--50% with water. Thankfully we haven't experienced any backups (yet.) While we have a $10k buried utility rider with our homeowner's insurance, I'm under the impression it's going to take a complete failure and basement back up for the insurance company to chip in. Our plumber offered to talk to them and assist with a claim if we wanted. We received a $20k quote to remove the trap (pipe bursting under the brand new porch), replace the sag, and then line from where the lateral straightens out enough towards the sewer main and under the street. If the city permits the lining, we won't have to tear open the street which apparently saves us another $10k.

We've received 3 quotes and the first company is the only one that can line part of it and feels confident it won't require a street repair. We are leaning towards getting this issue resolved now rather than waiting until it fails so we can work with insurance. However, we've put a lot of money into the house already and are starting to feel like true century homeowners.

Based on the expert experience of this group, do you recommend removing the trap before it fails (breaking through the foundation into the basement) of this old home? We are concerned this could result in foundation or other issues.

Based on your experience working with homeowners and insurance companies, would you let it fail so the insurance company would pay for part of it or be proactive and pay for everything yourself? The idea of a sewage backup in our basement paired with an emergency lateral replacement doesn't sound very fun.

Hello Century Homeowner Friends, we've owned our 2 br/2ba 1925 home for 3 years. To date we've replaced all the windows, front and back door, water heater and front porch. Before we bought our home, we did our due diligence and had the sewer line scoped. We were advised the clay pipe had a sag and would need to be replaced at some point. It also has a 90 degree trap in the basement which makes cleaning the sewer lateral nearly impossible and there's no exterior clean out. The line was scoped again last month and the sag has gotten much worse. Thankfully we haven't experienced any backups (yet.) While we have a $10k buried utility rider with our homeowner's insurance, I'm under the impression it's going to take a complete failure and basement back up for the insurance company to chip in. We received a $20k quote to remove the trap (pipe bursting under the new porch) and replace the sag, and then line from where the lateral straightens out enough towards the sewer main and under the street. If the city permits the lining, we won't have to tear open the street which apparently saves us another $10k.

We've received 3 quotes and the first company is the only one that can line part of it and does not require street repair. We still need to paint or reside the exterior but this project seems a bit more of a priority. We are leaning towards getting this issue resolved now rather than waiting until it fails so we can work with insurance. However, we've put a lot of money into the house already and are starting to feel like true century homeowners.

Has anyone had their trap removed (breaking through the foundation into the basement) on their old home and if so, how scary was it and would you do it again?

Has anyone been faced with the same dilemma and if you could do it again, would you let it fail so the insurance company would pay for part of it or be proactive and pay for everything yourself? The idea of a sewage backup in our basement paired with an emergency lateral replacement doesn't sound fun.