Several drains backing up at once
One slow sink is a local clog. Tubs, toilets, and the washer backing up together means the problem is downstream in the main line.
Bronco Plumbing
Sewer Line Repair · DFW Metroplex
Sewer line failing?We look before we quote.
Every sewer call starts with a camera down the line. You see the crack, the belly, or the roots on screen before anyone talks price. No trenching a yard to find out what is wrong.
- Camera inspection before any quote
- Written price before work starts
- Trenchless options where the line allows
- Licensed and insured in Texas
What you are seeing
Signs it is the main line.
Gurgling toilets
Air pushing back through the trap means the line is partly blocked. It gets worse, not better, and it is cheaper to catch before it backs up into the house.
Sewage smell inside or in the yard
A cracked or separated line leaks waste into the soil. The smell arrives well before the sinkhole does.
A wet patch that never dries
A soft spot or unusually green stripe in the lawn during a dry stretch usually means the line underneath is leaking.
The same clog every few months
If a line clears and blocks again within a season, snaking is treating a symptom. Something structural is holding the debris.
Foundation moving with plumbing trouble
Doors sticking or fresh cracks alongside drain problems is worth a camera inspection before you call a foundation company.
The Problem
It is not the pipe.It is the ground it sits in.
North Texas sits on expansive clay. It swells when it rains and shrinks in a drought, so the soil under your house is never still. Rigid pipe does not bend with it. That is why sewer failures here follow a pattern you do not see in other parts of the country.
Clay soil that never stops moving
Wet season the clay swells, dry season it pulls back. Each cycle drags the buried line out of alignment a little further. Over years that becomes a separated joint or a cracked wall.
Bellies in the line
When soil settles unevenly, a section of pipe sags into a low spot. Waste stops draining through it and starts collecting. Expansive clay is the leading cause of bellied sewer lines across DFW, and no amount of snaking fixes one.
Cast iron at the end of its life
Homes built here between the 1960s and the 1980s were plumbed with cast iron under the slab. It is rated for 50 to 60 years, and in this soil it rarely gets there. Corrosion thins the walls from the inside until the pipe gives.
Roots following the water
Mature trees in older neighborhoods send roots toward the moisture leaking from a hairline crack. They get in, then grow until the line is packed solid.
It shows up in the house, not the yard
A failing line under a slab saturates the soil beneath the foundation. Sticking doors, new cracks, and a slab that has started to move can all trace back to a broken sewer line nobody has looked at yet.
Finding It
No price
before the camera.
01
Camera the line
We run a sewer camera from the cleanout and locate the fault, including how deep it sits and how far out from the house. You watch the screen with us.
02
Show you what is there
You see the crack, the roots, the belly, or the separation before anyone talks price. If the line is sound, we say so and you are not paying for a repair you do not need.
03
Price the options in writing
Usually more than one repair will work, at very different prices. We lay out what each costs, how long it takes, and how long it lasts, then you choose.
04
Permit, repair, verify
We pull city permits where the job requires them, do the work, and camera the line again afterward so you can see it clear end to end.
The Fix
Four ways to fix it.
The line picks which.
Spot repair
Best for: One failed section, rest of the line sound
We excavate only over the fault and replace that section. The cheapest fix by a wide margin, and the camera inspection is what tells us it is enough.
Trenchless pipe lining
No diggingBest for: Cracks and root intrusion, pipe still in alignment
A resin liner is pulled through the existing pipe and cured in place, forming a new pipe inside the old one. Done through the cleanout, so the yard, driveway, and landscaping stay where they are.
Pipe bursting
No diggingBest for: Collapsed or badly deteriorated line, path still usable
A bursting head is pulled through the old pipe, breaking it outward while drawing new pipe in behind it. Full replacement without trenching the whole run.
Full replacement
Best for: Bellied line, or cast iron past saving
A belly has to be re-graded, which means getting to the pipe. Same for cast iron that has corroded along its length. More disruptive, and sometimes the only honest answer.
DFW Homeowners
Rated five stars,
job after job.
Had a couple problems with my drains at my rental property, came out and fixed em quick. 10/10 would recommend
Chris Williston
Google Review
Full repipe and my system is working amazing. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for them being able to work so efficiently, as well as great customer service. 10/10 would go with them again!
Samuel Friedrich
Google Review
Reliable 10/10!
Angie Perez
Google Review
Questions we get
on every sewer call.
How much does sewer line repair cost in DFW?
It depends entirely on what the camera finds. A spot repair on one failed section and a full replacement under a driveway are different jobs at very different prices, and depth, length, and whether the line can be re-lined all move the number. We inspect first, then hand you a written price. Anyone quoting a sewer line over the phone is guessing.
Do I have to dig up my whole yard?
Often no. If the existing pipe still holds its alignment, lining or bursting repairs it from the inside through the cleanout and the yard stays intact. A bellied or collapsed line usually cannot be repaired that way. The camera inspection tells us which situation you are in before you commit to anything.
Why do sewer lines fail so often around here?
Expansive clay. It swells with rain and shrinks in drought, so the ground under the pipe is always moving. Rigid cast iron and clay pipe do not flex with it, which is what produces the separated joints, bellies, and cracks we see across the Metroplex.
My house is from the 1970s. Should I be worried about cast iron?
Worth knowing about. Homes built here from the 1960s through the 1980s were typically plumbed with cast iron under the slab, rated for 50 to 60 years and often failing sooner in this soil. If you are seeing repeat clogs or slow drains, a camera inspection will tell you where the pipe actually stands.
How fast can someone get out here?
Most DFW sewer calls get a same-day or next-day appointment. An active back-up into the house jumps the line. Calling is the fastest way to get a real arrival window.
Will homeowners insurance cover this?
Sometimes, more often for sudden damage than for gradual wear. We document the inspection and the repair with footage and photos so you have something to file. We cannot promise what a carrier will approve.
Do you pull the city permit?
Yes. Where the municipality requires a permit for the repair, we pull it. We do not skip permits to save a day on the schedule.
What areas do you cover?
The DFW Metroplex, including Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Blue Mound, Saginaw, Haslet, Keller, Watauga, North Richland Hills, Roanoke, Southlake, and Grapevine.
Get it looked at today.
Serving Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Blue Mound, Saginaw, Haslet, and the rest of the DFW Metroplex.