Sewer line repair in Edina

Sewer lines in Edina

Edina is two towns. The Country Club District and Morningside, east of Highway 100 around 50th & France, were platted in the 1920s and 30s as streetcar suburbs and built with clay laterals identical to those in Linden Hills and Fulton next door. Those lines are pushing a century old. West of 100 — Indian Hills, Parkwood Knolls, Cahill, the Southdale area — is 1950s–70s construction with a mix of clay, cast iron and, in some pockets, Orangeburg.

What sets Edina apart is what sits on top of the pipe. Mature oaks and elms in the Country Club District, and remodeled lots with stamped concrete, paver driveways, irrigation systems and expensive plantings. An open trench through that costs more in restoration than in pipe. So most Edina sewer work is trenchless: lining a cracked clay lateral from a small pit near the foundation, or bursting a deformed Orangeburg run from two pits, leaving the driveway and the landscaping alone.

The Country Club District has its own character and history; ask the city before a front-yard dig that touches original walks or walls.

Sewer services in Edina

• Sewer line repair — spot repairs at the foundation wall and under the boulevard
• Sewer line replacement — new PVC, often combined with a water service replacement in the same trench
• Trenchless sewer repair — lining and pipe bursting under driveways, patios and the oaks on Browndale and Wooddale
• Camera inspection — pre-purchase scopes, and pre-remodel scopes before a basement finish or an addition goes over the line
• Hydro jetting — root and scale maintenance

Before the remodel, scope the sewer

One of the most useful things an Edina homeowner can do before a major remodel is put a camera down the lateral. A lower-level finish, a new garage, a widened driveway or a pool all go over or near the pipe. If the clay is failing, the time to line it is before the concrete is poured — not two years later, from underneath the new patio.

Rules and inspections

Sewer work in Minnesota is licensed work: check a contractor's license with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and with the city. Sewer work normally needs a permit and an inspection — confirm with Edina's building department. The contractor who does the work pulls the permit; ask for the permit number. Some metro cities have their own point-of-sale sewer or I&I rules — check with the city where you are buying or selling. The owner is generally responsible for the lateral from the house to the main; confirm for your address with the city.

Trenchless sewer repair in Bloomington, MN

Next door, Bloomington's 1950s and 60s ramblers are where Orangeburg turns up most, and tar-paper pipe that has gone oval is a classic case for bursting rather than lining. Trenchless sewer repair in Bloomington follows the same logic as in Edina: scope first, line the pipe if it still holds its shape, burst it if it doesn't, and dig only the section that has collapsed. A trenchless sewer replacement by bursting needs a pit at the house and one near the main, with nothing dug in between.

On sewer line repair, Bloomington, MN follows the same price ranges as the rest of the metro on the cost page. Check the contractor's license and Bloomington's own permit rules before work starts.

What Edina homeowners should check

• Your house's era. East of Highway 100, assume original clay from the 1920s to the 1940s. West of it, the pipe could be clay, cast iron or tar-paper fiber pipe, and the camera will say which.
• What sits over the line. Walk from the basement wall to the street and note every driveway, walk, patio, irrigation line and planting bed on the way. That list drives the choice between digging and trenchless.
• The cleanout. A cleanout at the foundation wall often makes lining possible without any pit at all.
• Irrigation and low-voltage lines. Private sprinkler and lighting lines aren't marked by Gopher State One Call. Find your system map or ask your irrigation company before any dig.
• Remodel plans. If a basement finish, an addition or a new driveway is coming in the next few years, scope the sewer first.

Questions to ask before a trenchless job

1. Does the video show the pipe is still round enough to line along its whole length?
2. Where will any pit go, and what will be removed and replaced to make it?
3. How will branch connections be reopened after lining?
4. What restoration is included for pavers, stamped concrete or plantings near a pit?
5. Is there a written warranty on the installation, and what does it cover?
6. Who pulls the permit, and when is the inspection?

Planning around landscaping

Restoration is often the biggest variable on an Edina job. Pavers can usually be lifted and relaid, but stamped or colored concrete rarely matches once it is cut. Mature plantings may not survive being moved. Ask the contractor to mark the exact pit locations before you sign, and talk to your landscaper about what can be protected or set aside. A good written estimate prices restoration as its own line, so you can see what the method choice is really saving.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pouring a new patio or driveway over a clay line that has never been on video
• Choosing an open trench through finished landscaping without asking for a trenchless price
• Assuming the line ends at the property line; the owner is generally responsible to the main
• Skipping the after video, which is the only record of what was done underground

Nearby

Richfield, Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.