Sewer Line Repair

We believe we have a collapsed pipe. So far 2 quotes from Balkan and Main Man but wildly different approaches to resolving the problem. Balkan thinks they need to dig the street and Main Man thinks the sidewalk. I’m concerned that whoever we hire will get in there and find they have to do what the other said, sending the already very high price skyrocketing.

Obviously this is not exactly unusual when having work like this done, but I’d love to know for people who’ve had sewer or supply line replacement how close the initial quote was to the final bill. Should I just assume a certain amount above the quote or have they been relatively in the ballpark for most?

Related: We’ll be getting the AWR insurance once this is fixed. The DEP site says prominently it covers breaks but they AWR guy on the phone said it only covers clogs not breaks (which, huh?). That seems very wrong but curious to know people’s actual experience.

alexwithak

in Plumbing 3 years ago

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lkrshacmzcy | 3 years ago

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Watch the exclusions on Site Work…Change Orders are a way of life in that section

lkrshacmzcy | 3 years ago

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Watch the exclusions on Site Work…Change Orders are a way of life in that section

colonialrevival | 3 years ago

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@Ithaca can your estimator come to my house?

Guest User | 3 years ago

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We used Balkan in early 2021 and what we paid was what they bid. But much less than what people are talking about – $6,225.

colonialrevival | 3 years ago

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We’ve got backpitch in our line. So far, 27.5k quote from Balkan, 23 from Harris, and two no-shows from Figliolia.

Good luck with it all, from someone very much in the same boat.

alexwithak | 3 years ago

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Mostly the symptoms of a clog. My basement toilet and shower backed up and there was gurgling prior to that. Had a few minor clogs before and I was able to clear with a plunger but then it backed up on Sunday really bad and I called a plumber. Even he thought the snake would fix the issue until he got to what he believed is the collapse.

igorbalmeida | 3 years ago

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Can I ask you what were some of the symptoms you noticed for a collapsed line? I will be doing this project in the future and I will also include replacing the water main valve. Citywide sewer has a good reputation I would reach out to them as well to see their options.

alexwithak | 3 years ago

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I’m now up to 3 quotes and waiting on one more and they’ve ranged from 10-17k with Balkan being the highest and Figliolia the lowest. Balkan and Fig both said they think this would all be in the street based on the snaking experience but would do diagnostic and camera to confirm. Definitely prefer that to the “start digging and see what we find” approach. I did ask Main Man about a full replacement and he said $27k (oof). Hoping the camera inspection gives us an idea of the state of things.

8104012 | 3 years ago

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I see Balkan all the time in Williamsburg digging up the roadbed where a car might park, right next to the curb. Typically the sidewalk is untouched. I’ve never seen Main Man so…Curious how much you’re quoted on this job since I believe our 8 family building might soon need to perform this maintenance. Good luck!

resident2 | 3 years ago

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Did Balkan or Main Man put a video camera down to see where the damage is? In this day & age with the tech that they have at their disposal it should be much easier to work out where the damage is and what has caused it: tree roots, other prior road works etc..
That said if it is a 100 year old (+/-) sewer line, ask for a quote to replace the whole line. It is often not that much more than repairing it and if it is one of the older lines, repairing will be the beginning of many repairs.
AWR Insurance will not payout for “deferred maintenance” or upgrades as they call it. If the sewer line is already beyond its life expectancy. A 100 year old line is just that.