Sewer Lateral Excavation in St. Joseph, MO

Sewer lateral excavation is the digging that open-trench repairs depend on: exposing a collapsed section, reaching the tap where the lateral meets the city main, or opening a trench for a new line. In St. Joseph, where the city's homeowner guide puts the lateral up to and including the tap connection at the main on the owner, that sometimes means excavating in the street or under the sidewalk as well as in the yard.

Locates first

Before any digging, Missouri One-Call (811) has to be notified so gas, electric, water and communication lines are marked. The city's permit form for work in its streets requires that notice at least two working days before excavation, and makes the permittee liable for damage to utilities. Private lines the utilities do not mark, such as a sprinkler system, a gas line to a detached garage or invisible-fence wire, are worth pointing out to us at the estimate.

Permits for yard and street work

St. Joseph's building department says plumbing work must be done by city-licensed master plumbers and that right-of-way permits are separate from other permits. Digging in the street can also mean barricades, warning signs and, for a street closure, notice to the city's police, fire and communication center. We arrange what the job requires and list it on the quote.

Depth, soil and shoring

Much of St. Joseph is hilly ground along the Missouri River, and laterals on sloped lots can run deep at the street end. A trench deep enough to stand in is dangerous if its walls are not sloped or shored, and soil that looks firm can let go. We plan the trench size, shoring or sloping and where spoil goes before digging, which also affects how much of the yard is disturbed.

Working around what is on top

Mature trees, retaining walls, front steps and old brick or concrete walks often sit over a lateral in older neighborhoods. We dig to avoid cutting major roots where we can, and when a structure is in the way, we look at whether a trenchless method or a different access point avoids it. HomeAdvisor puts trenching at about $4 to $12 per linear foot and landscaping restoration after sewer work at roughly $1,200 to $6,200, so restoration is a real part of the price.

Backfill and restoration

A poorly compacted trench settles, leaving a sunken strip in the lawn or a cracked patch of driveway a season later. We backfill in layers and compact as we go, then restore the surface to what the quote describes: topsoil and seed, sod, concrete or asphalt patching, and right-of-way restoration to city requirements.

Excavation is one tool

If the camera shows a line that can be lined or burst, or a single spot that can be reached with a small pit, we will price that too. Digging is the right answer when the pipe has collapsed, the slope is wrong, or the tap needs to be rebuilt.