Why Drains Back Up in Lawrenceville Homes

If more than one drain in your Lawrenceville house is slow or gurgling, the cause is probably not hair in a sink. Most repeat backups here come from the sewer lateral, the pipe that runs from your house to the main in the street, and how old it is.

What Is Different About Lawrenceville Homes

Mature trees over old pipe

Lawrenceville has many established neighborhoods with big oaks, maples and pines, and roots reach a long way for water. A root cannot get into a sound pipe. It needs a crack, a loose joint or a bad connection. Old clay tile has a joint every few feet, and that is why root trouble tends to show up in older streets near downtown and not in subdivisions built with PVC.

Gwinnett red clay

The soil across Gwinnett is red clay. It holds water after rain, swells and shrinks through the seasons, and slowly shifts what is buried in it. Over decades that can pull joints apart or put a low spot (a belly) in the line where water and waste sit. A belly collects paper and grease and causes a clog that returns every few months.

What is under older houses

Homes from the 1960s and 70s may still have clay tile or cast iron under the yard. Some have Orangeburg, a tar-paper fiber pipe used mid-century that flattens and collapses. Cast iron rusts from inside and builds a rough scale that catches debris. Newer homes are mostly PVC, which fails differently, usually at a bad joint or if it was crushed during construction.

Everyday Causes

• Kitchen grease cools and coats the pipe, and the coating narrows it year by year.
• Wipes labeled flushable that do not break up.
• Hair and soap in tub and shower lines.
• Garbage disposal scraps like rice, pasta and coffee grounds that swell downstream.

Is It the Fixture or the Main Line?

One slow drain is a fixture problem. Try a plunger or the steps in our drain clearing guide. If the lowest fixture in the house (a basement or ground-level shower or tub) gurgles or backs up when you run the washer or flush a toilet upstairs, the main line is blocked. Find the cleanout cap near the house and look: standing water in the pipe tells you the blockage is past it.

What to Do

1. Stop using water. Every flush and load of laundry adds to the backup.
2. Keep people and pets out of the wet area, and do not use chemical drain cleaners in a backed-up line since they can splash back and the next person working on it will be exposed.
3. Call (770) 285-5619 and we will connect you with a local plumber who handles drain cleaning and sewer line repair.
4. Ask for a camera inspection if it has happened before. The camera shows roots, a belly, cracks or collapse.
5. Ask for the price of cleaning and of repair before any work starts.

Keeping It From Coming Back

• Collect grease in a can and put it in the trash.
• Put a basket strainer in every tub and sink.
• Flush only toilet paper.
• Keep new trees and shrubs away from the lateral, and find out where it runs before you plant.
• If roots keep returning, have the plumber discuss repairing the section with the crack, not only cutting roots again. See when to call about the sewer line.

Frequently Asked Questions