Sewer line replacement

United States
October 19, 2006 9:39am CST
For the past four years we have lived in a 1935 house in Denver, Colorado. The main sewer line from the house recently became blocked. We contracted with a plumber to scope the line, and the immediate problem was caused by a collapsed ceramic pipe near to the house. However, the remainder of the line, also composed of short sections of ceramic pipe, had multiple areas of breakage, or slippage where two adjoining sections were no longer in-line. The pipe runs underneath two fences and underneath a stamped concrete patio at a depth of about 6 feet. The total distance to the alley is probably between 75 and 100 feet. We have received an estimate of close to 14,000 dollars to replace the pipe with PVC, including replacement of the fences, replanting of trees if they need to be moved, obtaining permits, backhoe rental, boring under the concrete patio rather than jackhammering it apart, etc. As there is raw sewage in the basement and no running water, we want this fixed as quickly as possible. However, other homeowners have mentioned prices in the 8000 dollar range. Ofcourse, I don't know many of the details of the specific repairs involved, so the situations may be entirely different. Does their estimate seem reasonable?
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