Sewer Line Replacement in Greenville, TX

Why Greenville sewer lines are wearing out

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020–2024 5-year estimates) puts the median year a Greenville home was built at 1979. About 53% of the city's housing units were built before 1980, and about 32% before 1970.

Greenville grew steadily after World War II, from 14,727 residents in 1950 to 19,087 in 1960 and 22,043 in 1970 (U.S. Census counts, Handbook of Texas). Much of that growth followed the aircraft work at Majors Field, where TEMCO opened in 1951 and employed 2,200 people by 1960. Here's what that means for the pipe under your house:

• Cast iron was the standard drain pipe for a century. The American Society of Home Inspectors calls cast iron the go-to drain, waste and vent pipe from the 1850s to the 1950s. InterNACHI estimates that cast iron waste pipe below ground lasts 50 to 60 years. A Greenville home from the 1970s or earlier with its original drains is nearing or past that range.
• Cast iron fails from the inside. It rusts from the inside, so you usually can't see it going. Scale narrows the pipe, the bottom channels out, and the first sign is often a backup.
• The oldest parts of town can hold any mix of pipe. Greenville was laid out in 1846. Peniel, just north of downtown, grew up around a college founded in 1899 and voted to join Greenville in 1957. In older homes the pipe may have been patched more than once, so the camera decides.

Where the City's line ends and yours begins

The City of Greenville runs its own sewer system and maintains about 183 miles of sewer lines and 1,600 sewer manholes. The City's Standard Design Manual defines a lateral as the service line from the main to the property line, puts the service cleanout usually at or near the property line, and calls for a 4-inch minimum lateral for a single-family home.

The pipe between the property line and your house, including any section under the slab, is the run we're usually hired to replace. The City also installs City-side sewer cleanouts on problem service lines, and on request for customers who want one at the property line. When we replace your line, we add a two-way cleanout near the house so the next problem is easy to reach.

How we replace a Greenville sewer line

1. Camera inspection and locate (you keep the video). See sewer camera inspection.
2. Written, itemized quote: feet of tunnel, feet of trench and number of access holes, each at our published price. No hourly billing.
3. Permitted and inspected where the city requires it; utilities marked.
4. Tunnel under the slab from outside, so we don't jackhammer your floors, cabinets or tile. Trench the yard run out to the property line.
5. New PVC and a two-way cleanout, tested for the City inspector, then compacted backfill under the slab so the foundation stays supported.

Where the old pipe is still round and the route is open, trenchless pipe bursting can replace a yard section without a full-length trench.

What sewer line replacement costs in Greenville

We publish our prices. Every sewer job is built from three numbers:

Most jobs mix the three. Your real price depends on where your bathrooms are, where the line leaves the house and how deep it runs. Pick your floor plan in our sewer line cost calculator for a range, then we confirm the exact footage with a camera on site and put the price in writing.

Start with a $97 diagnostic

Every job starts with a $97 diagnostic, a camera inspection or walk-through as needed, and a written quote before work begins. We're open Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM, and closed Sunday.

Already have another quote? Send it to us.