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PVC and ABS Sewer Laterals
In short
PVC and ABS laterals are solvent-welded, which leaves no joint for roots to enter and nothing for sewage to corrode. On plastic the material is rarely the fault, so a recurring problem points at fall, at a belly, or at something crushed during construction.
Solvent-welded PVC and ABS became the default for laterals through the 1980s and 1990s and have been effectively universal since. Neither corrodes. Neither offers roots a joint to exploit in the way a socketed clay run does.
Why the material is rarely the answer
If a plastic lateral backs up repeatedly, the pipe is usually intact. What has gone wrong is nearly always how the run was laid: a belly that holds water, a flat section that drops solids, or a length crushed during construction and never noticed.
This is the most useful thing to know before you take a quote on a newer house. A contractor who proposes replacing sound pipe has not explained the actual fault, and a recording will show it.
What a survey should show
On a plastic lateral the material is rarely the answer, so the survey is really measuring fall. A belly holds water, a flat section drops solids, and both show on the recording as standing water where there should be none.
Related: bellies, fall and water that sits, what a camera survey should show you.
Get the run looked at
Tell us your ZIP code and what the drain is doing. We check it against partner coverage and put you through to an independent contractor who works that area. We do not do the work and you are never charged.
Before anybody excavates.A camera survey is a different instruction from a repair, and the order matters. Tell us what the drain is doing and we will route you to somebody who covers your area. No charge to you, ever. Anything else the plumbing is doing can be raised on that call too.
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