Our driveway is only a few years old. Can the new line go in without breaking it?

Often, if the old pipe still holds its shape and slope. A trade-journal guide to lateral bursting says the job can be done with the driveway, porch, garden and sidewalk left intact, working from a pit at the house and one near the street. If the camera shows a collapse or a wrong slope, trenchless may not be suitable; the next answer explains. Ask where each pit will go before you sign.

Why would a plumber turn down trenchless on my line?

Usually because of what the camera shows. Angi says trenchless methods don't suit a collapsed pipe or one sloped wrongly. Under Mobile's plumbing code, bursting stops at 6-inch gravity pipe, and bans relining where the video shows backgrade, wrong slope, a pipe wall that's completely gone, or a joint that has fully separated. Those stretches get dug up.

Does someone have to call 811 before the pits are dug?

Yes. The Alabama Public Service Commission urges a call to 811 before digging; the section on gas, water and cable lines below has the details. Ask the plumber to confirm the locate request is in before the first pit goes in.

Who pulls the city permit on a trenchless job?

Usually the plumber, under an Alabama master license, though Mobile makes an exception for an owner doing the work on the home they live in. The permits section below covers the license, bond, fee and inspections. Ask whether the quote includes the permit.

Trenchless Sewer Line Replacement in Mobile, AL

Cost per foot: $60 to $250 for trenchless work in Angi's and This Old House's national figures; This Old House prices a dug trench at $50 to $200.
Typical project: Angi's trenchless guide puts a job at $1,900 to $6,000, with $2,900 as the average.
Time: shorter than trenching, HomeGuide says; most sewer jobs finish in 1 to 5 days.
Digging: a pit where the line leaves the house and one near the street, instead of a trench the full length (Angi).
Permit: Mobile's 2022 fee schedule lists a sewer replacement as a $5 item on a $10 minimum permit; national guides run $30 to $1,000.

Mobile Sewer Line Replacement is a free referral line for trenchless sewer work. Ask the plumber you're referred to whether your lateral can be rebuilt from two small pits, by bursting new pipe through the old one or by lining it. Tell us what sits on top of the line now, and whether it still drains.

Trenchless Sewer Line Replacement by What Sits Over the Line

Per foot, trenchless runs a little higher than a dug trench in This Old House's figures. The saving, it says, comes from the landscaping and property damage you avoid, so what sits above your lateral decides whether trenchless pays off.

Small access pit dug at the edge of a concrete driveway beside a brick ranch house, with a sewer pipe end visible inside

Concrete Driveway or Patio Over the Run

A trench under a driveway means the concrete comes out and has to go back. HomeGuide's figures:

Driveway repair: $100 to $400, or $600 to $3,000 for major work.
Concrete removal on top of that: $3 to $8 per square foot.

A trade-journal guide to lateral bursting puts one pit inside or beside the house where the line leaves the foundation and the other near the sidewalk, so the slab between them can stay. Ask for a sketch of where both pits go.

Large live oak shading a lawn, with a small neat access pit dug at the edge of the grass and the soil piled on a tarp

Mature Trees, Beds and Lawn

A dug line crosses everything planted over it. HomeGuide lists what a full trench can add:

Tree removal: $400 to $1,200; stump removal: $100 to $400.
Landscaping: $4 to $12 per square foot; new sod: $1 to $2 per square foot.

Angi adds that roots grown over the old pipe can still force some extra digging on a trenchless job. HomeGuide suggests asking whether any trees or plantings have to come out, and that question belongs in the written quote. For roots inside the pipe, see tree root sewer line repair.

A Deck, Pool or Addition Built Over the Line

When a structure has gone up over the lateral since it was laid, a trench means taking part of it down. Trenchless equipment still needs an entry point and an exit point, Angi notes, and the work area has to be reachable. So the question is whether there's room for a pit on each side of the structure. If the run continues under the house slab, see under-slab sewer line replacement.

Small colored marking flags and painted lines on a front lawn showing buried utility routes near a dug access pit

Gas, Water and Cable Lines Crossing the Run

Gas, water and cable lines can cross the sewer anywhere between the house and the street. A full trench meets every one of them; two pits meet only what runs through those spots. The Alabama Public Service Commission urges homeowners to contact 811 at least two days before digging, and contractors use the same statewide one-call center. The call is free, a locator marks the lines with flags, paint or both, and the commission warns that their depth varies.

Sidewalk and Curb at the Street

The outer pit usually sits near the sidewalk, close to the property-line cleanout and just short of the public side. Where MAWSS's side begins depends on the curb and the property line; sewer line repair explains the handover point. Ask whether any digging in the public right-of-way needs a separate city permit, and who restores the sidewalk.

Gloved hands holding a sewer camera monitor showing a cracked clay pipe joint with roots, beside an open cleanout in a lawn

Why Mobile homeowners, landlords and businesses call Mobile Sewer Line Replacement

One licensed plumber gets the request, not a bidding list
No charge to you for the introduction
Ask to keep the camera video from before and after
Alabama plumbing licenses can be checked online

Trenchless Sewer Replacement Limits: When the Camera Rules It Out

The camera decides. Angi says trenchless methods work only where the old line isn't severely damaged. The cost guides name two problems:

Collapse
HomeAdvisor says trenchless replacement is sometimes unavailable when the pipe has completely collapsed, and puts the excavation at $400 to $1,200 per 100 linear feet. See collapsed sewer line repair.
Low spots
Angi says trenchless methods aren't suitable for pipe with improper sloping; see sewer line belly repair.

The code adds its own limits:

Size
Bursting only goes up to 6-inch gravity pipe; details are on pipe bursting.
Defects the code won't let a liner cover,
backgrade or insufficient slope among them. These are listed on cured-in-place pipe lining.

A line can also be split: lined or burst where it's sound, dug where it has failed.

Trenchless Sewer Permits and Inspections in Mobile

The City of Mobile treats replacing a defective drain or sewer pipe with new material as new work that needs a permit and inspections; clearing a stoppage doesn't. The city requires an Alabama master license and a city business license to pull the permit, and keeps a $10,000 license and permit bond on file for each plumbing contractor. The exception is a homeowner personally doing the work on the home they live in: homeowner permits normally need a competency test from the code official, but repairing or replacing an existing sewer line is exempt from it. MAWSS still requires a licensed plumber to connect the private lateral to the public one. Build Mobile issues it (251-208-5895).

Fees
Mobile's 2022 schedule lists a sewer replacement as a $5 item, with a $10 minimum permit. National guides run from $30 to $500 (HomeGuide) and about $200 (HomeAdvisor, Bob Vila) to as much as $1,000 for a trenchless job (Angi). Confirm Mobile's current fee before relying on it.
Inspection
A certified master or journeyman has to be present for any below-ground inspection. For bursting, the code official reviews the after-video before the pressure test; for lining, the code official reviews the before-video ahead of the permit and the after-video before signing off.
The quote
HomeGuide says most contractors can get the permit for you. Ask whether it's in the price, and keep a copy: MAWSS asks for it as proof after a defect letter.