Noticed the drains in the 2 bathrooms starting to get clogged and the toilet had some bubbling so I called a plumber to come out. I was at work, so I am not sure what all he did but the wife said he took off the toilet and hooked up a "vacuum" and the plumber said he was getting mud. He told her we have a busted sewer line and it needed to be replaced. The quote ($8800) is for the replacement of the entire line (65'). Does this sound right? I asked her if he used a camera and she didn't think her did. Would they need to replace the entire line or could fix the broken area? House is 80 years old, so I am guessing it is cast iron. Any advice would be appreciated.

Is your sewer line cast iron or clay?

They could have done a hydrostatic test rather than a camera.

Does their quote include replacing line in existing place or rerouting?

Looks like replacing the line where it is. "Estimate : Estimate to replace 65 ft of main sewer line from house to city tap in backyard will have to replace 25 ft of concrete all work will have to permit inspected by the city of Dallas". Not sure of the material.

Reach out to the plumber and asked if he ran a camera. Then ask to see the video, most outfits worth a damn have the ability and automatically tape their runs. Our Ridgid cameras can take video, still pics, have a date/time stamp as well as show distance so you can get a good idea of the length of the issue and where it starts. You can also use a locator and find the exact spot of the camera head from the surface.
Old cast iron doesn't last forever and depending on the location of the collapse (under the house or in the yard would make a big difference).
If it's as bad as they are telling you, I would personally be working with a larger plumbing company and not a one or two van operation. Not saying a small guy can't do it, but the larger guys normally have a better warranty on their work (it will cost more)

I work in DFW. What company did you use, I may know them.

A-Star Heating and Air. They were sent through our home warranty.

I'd get like 5 more quotes

you can get it done way cheaper when you find someone honest

What age is the house?

My house is 1964 build in Houston. FWIW, 65' of under-slab cast-iron for 8-9K is a reasonable price from what I have seen. That said, I'd make damn sure I see a video of where the issue is before I sign off on anything.

I wouldn't use a company sent by a home warranty company.

Side note, I wouldn't use a home warranty company either. Most of the contractors that they hire are businesses that are failing, that's why they take the low paying home warranty company work. If they get a chance to up sell, they will take it with a vengeance.

Way to cheap, expect to pay for it again at that price.

Offer to dig the trench yourself, or hire day laborers to, instead of paying a plumber whatever plumber rates are ($100/hr?) to dig a hole.

I haven't worked with A-Star but they look like they do a good job from the reviews online. I would get a second quote, but note, most these guys will charge you up to $300 just to take a camera off their van, so shopping around could get expensive. There are many options, you can call a national brand like AHR (Rescue Rooter), TD Industury (they do service). A large regional like Milestone Electric (they have a large plumbing division), Bakers Brothers, or The Lawton Group (Benjamin Franklin plumbing). Even a larger DFW contractor like Dallas plumbing company or United Mechanical... and many many more. Just call around and see what it will cost for a house visit...
I'm not a plumber, I just work for a company that makes tools for the trade. Take my thoughts for what they are worth, I'm just some random dude on the internet giving advice...

The house was built in the 30s. Pier and beam foundation. I will call around today to see what I can figure out.

Our foundation company did our dig/replace. $11K Had a break under the house and one under master toilet which is towards the edge of the foundation. And insurance paid $10K.

Had another plumber come out. They were unable to get the camera very far due to the clog, so they suggested we have a clean out installed because we currently don't have one.

DIY- lots of digging.

Rent a transom and make sure you have a minimum of 1/4" of Fall per foot. I'd go for 3/8".

Agree with adding a clean out.

I've done it four times building spec homes.

I'm an IT person by profession and a carpenter by trade...

Learning how to use a transom was fun.

It's a zhitty job, but you can do it. Being pier and beam makes it easier.

I had a plumber do a similar length run maybe longer replacing clay and black plastic pipe from the 50's 60's maybe? Cost me $3000. Trick was that they dug using the existing line as a template. Added 4 clean outs at the turns and at the connection to the city. They traced it and replaced with the new line to ensure the drop was maintained. No concrete work needed.

Problem is you are paying plumber prices to dig the hole and do concrete prices. There are guys that will do that way cheaper...especially in DFW.

Dr. Venkman said:

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Offer to dig the trench yourself, or hire day laborers to, instead of paying a plumber whatever plumber rates are ($100/hr?) to dig a hole.

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I work with a lot of plumbers; they have equipment operators for this. The plumber isn't charging you their hourly rate to work a hoe.

I just did 45' at the farmhouse/office. Did it for less than $1,000. Material and equipment rental included.

Rented a small trackhoe for 4 hours, sand bed to make sloping easier, pvc pipe, fittings (connections and new clean out).

Then again, I'm in an area where I can do that without any issues. But the reality is it is an easy project if you want to or can take it on.

You might be able to do a trenchless repair if you can get the line cleared of all the mud & debris.

Accurate Leak (Dallas)

Check your home insurance policy. I have service line coverage with a $500 deductible.

It cost me around $11k for same in Dallas. 1965 house. Replaced lines in crawl space and out to main when collapsed. Insurance would not cover since no damage to house.

We got a quote for the same in the M-Streets. The right answer is to have someone else dig. The original company told us ours was bad and wanted to replace the clay. I called someone else who said it looked fine, to put root cleaner in once a year and have it snaked once a year and it should be fine.

Plumbers are like dentist, they get paid by procedure, so they are always looking for a procedure to do.

Word of caution on the home warranty items. Get a line item estimate from them to items covered by warranty and items you will be asked to pay for and are not covered by warranty. Get absolute clarity on each item you do not understand. Be prepared for certain "unforeseen circumstances" as well. This particular contractor may be stand up folks, but there is more than enough precedent to warrant proceeding with caution.

ETA: concur on not paying master plumber billing rate for the digging portion.

They are out there right now. Yesterday they put in some clean outs because my line didn't have any. They found the line broken at that point as well as another point that is under my deck. They are going to replace the broken stretch. ~$4000 total.

Sounds like you're already done with the work, but you could call the City's inspector and ask around a bit and they should be able to see if you're getting the shaft. You shouldn't be paying master plumber rates for the digging, he will have an apprentice doing that work, and likely a journeyman overseeing the job. The master will just pull the permit and maybe do the paperwork on the job.

harge57 said:

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Check your home insurance policy. I have service line coverage with a $500 deductible.

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We just recently moved and redid our insurance on old house and ensured (pun intended) coverage on the new house was complete.

Service line coverage was not part of what I paid for when signing up the old house online through Travelers 15 years ago.

Its a fairly cheap inclusion / rider and one day it could certainly pay. We have bar ditches and no curbs obviously so the scenario in my head was someone running off the road and hitting the service lines. Of course this would require something massive running through the yard, but me not having power and being out $20k whilst I fight with the shingle delivery driver that didn't know how to backup is piece of mind.

Keep in mind the utilities only own the line to the meter. The rest is on you. Digging holes / trenches, putting in conduit / pipe, and having it all permitted and inspected by city and utility company are not cheap things, nor are they do it yourself projects.

Power doesn't even go to the meter if underground.