The camera puts the break under my kitchen floor. Does the kitchen have to come apart?

Not always. HomeGuide lists three ways to reach pipe under a slab: break into the slab, insert a liner without breaking it, or cap the old pipe and reroute the plumbing. When the floor is cut, it says existing flooring can sometimes be saved. Ask the plumber to mark the cut line on the floor before you choose.

Can they tunnel in from the yard instead of cutting the floor?

Yes, the plumbing code allows pipe to be installed by tunneling or jacking, with the conditions set out under tunneling on this page. None of the national cost guides on this site prices tunneling, so ask for it as a separate quote.

How long will the bathroom or kitchen be out of use?

HomeGuide's slab-leak guide, which covers slab plumbing in general rather than sewer lines, says plumbers can usually fix a slab leak in 1 to 3 days, and longer if floors or cabinets were damaged and replacements have to be ordered. In Mobile, buried pipe is inspected after it is laid and bedded, before it is covered, so that inspection sits inside the schedule.

Could the pipe under my slab be Orangeburg?

Not usually. A plumbing trade magazine says the Uniform Plumbing Code never approved Orangeburg for use under any building, and a building department that tracks fiber-pipe failures says other material was usually used beneath slabs. Fiber pipe, where it exists, usually starts a few feet outside the foundation. The camera run confirms what material is there.

Under-Slab Sewer Line Replacement in Mobile, AL

Slab surcharge: HomeAdvisor and Bob Vila add $300 to $350 a foot for sewer work under a slab; HomeGuide's slab-leak guide, which covers plumbing under a slab in general rather than sewer lines alone, puts breaking the slab or trenching to reach a damaged pipe at $500 to $3,000.
Slab-leak timeline: the same guide says plumbers can usually fix a slab leak in 1 to 3 days, and that it can take several weeks if damaged flooring or cabinets have to be replaced; it is not a sewer-specific figure.
Other routes (slab-leak figures): for slab leak repair in general, not sewer work specifically, HomeGuide prices a pipe lining at $500 to $3,500 and rerouting the plumbing at $3,900 to $7,500.
Code limits: a trench alongside a footing can't cut into the footing's 45-degree bearing plane, and tunneled pipe has to be protected from uneven loading.

Mobile Sewer Line Replacement steers your request about a drain under a concrete floor toward a licensed plumber. The drain under a slab house can be reached by cutting the floor, tunneling in from outside, lining it in place or abandoning it for a new route.

Under-Slab Sewer Line Replacement Methods

Which method fits depends on where the damage sits, how long the bad run is and what floor is on top. Ask for the camera footage marked against a floor plan so each option can be priced on the same length of pipe.

Narrow trench saw-cut through a concrete floor inside an empty room, exposing a new white PVC drain pipe bedded in sand below

Cutting a Trench Through the Slab

The floor is broken open along the pipe, the old pipe is dug out, and new pipe goes in on the continuous bed the code requires. HomeGuide's slab-leak guide (plumbing under slabs in general, not sewer-specific) puts breaking the slab or trenching to reach a badly damaged pipe at $500 to $3,000, and replacing slab at $6 to $12 a square foot. Bob Vila notes that a short run under concrete can cost more than an easy run twice as long.

Hand-dug tunnel entrance beside a brick house foundation with timber supports and a sewer pipe running underneath the slab edge

Tunneling Under the Slab From Outside

Tunneling reaches the pipe from a pit outside, leaving the floor intact. The code allows it, but the pipe has to be protected from damage and uneven loading, and an earth tunnel needs supports so the ground doesn't settle or cave later. A trench run parallel to the footing can't reach into the bearing plane, a line drawn down at 45 degrees from the footing's outside bottom edge.

Lining the Pipe Under the Floor

Angi's trenchless guide says lines under concrete can be sleeved or burst without digging up the slab. HomeGuide's slab-leak figures, which are not sewer-specific, put a lining at $500 to $3,500. A liner takes the shape of the pipe it is cured in, so it suits cracked or leaking pipe that still holds its shape, not a crushed or sagging run. Method detail is on cured-in-place pipe lining.

Rerouting Around the Slab

The old under-floor run can be capped and abandoned and a new drain run around the house instead. HomeGuide's slab-leak guide prices rerouting at $3,900 to $7,500 for slab plumbing in general, not sewer lines alone, and calls it complex and time-consuming but often less invasive than digging into the foundation. The new route still has to meet the code's minimum slope; see sewer line belly repair.

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

What Adds to an Under-Slab Bill

The floor covering
HomeGuide says flooring can sometimes be saved; ask whether the quote includes patching the concrete and who replaces the tile, wood or carpet.
The length under the house
The per-foot slab premium applies to every foot under the floor, so the footage the camera shows for that section sets much of the price.
The pipe material
Cast iron under a slab is covered on cast iron sewer pipe replacement.
The permit and inspection
Mobile treats replacing defective drain pipe as new work needing a permit, and the buried pipe is inspected before it is covered.