Sewer Stoppage Charge

How much does it cost to unclog a sewer stoppage?

In 2010: $254.73 (Using the 2010 price book)
In 2014: $245.21 (Using the new hourly rate, as outlined below)

The drain stoppage I did yesterday took 90 minutes from arrival to getting paid. I had to search for the sewer access and then I ran the snake twice the full 100' to the city sewer.

That doesn't include the 5 minutes taking/processing the job order or the 20 minutes to drive there. Those costs are included in the first hour.

Plumber labor break down: $132.00/first hour. $44.00 for additional 30 minutes ($22.00/per 15 minutes) = $176.00

Equipment charge: $50.00 (The big sewer machine)

Tax: $19.21

Total: $245.21

That was for nearly 2 hours (if you include travel), plus equipment. It would have been faster if I didn't have to spend all that time searching for the sewer clean out. Plus, I had to clear the utility closet out to access the sewer clean out.

A Plumber's Christmas

This was a typical Christmas Day plumbing job in Blaine, Washington. We don't charge overtime or holiday rates for Christmas because.

Sewer stoppage Blaine, WA

Sewer Stoppage Ball Plumbing

Ferndale Wa Sewer Stoppage

On the day of the announcement of the Ferndale building inspector resigning for being a drunk, I'll post this nightmare job we did yesterday in a 9 year old house in Ferndale, WA.

The first two pictures are blurred, yea I know. I'm trying to get used to this I-Phone 5 camera.

What you are looking at is a sewer filled with pebbles and dirt. The riser came loose enough to allow the stuff to fill the pipe over the course of years. The third picture is the riser.

What makes matters worse is the sewer makes a u-turn to go all the way across the front lawn to join a shared sewer before it goes into the city sewer.

Sewer Roots

Ball Plumbing does drain and sewer cleaning, too.

The picture below is in a Mt. Vernon, WA basement. They had water coming up a floor drain when they ran water anywhere in the house.

I ran the sewer machine through the stack clean out  to 120 feet. In that part of Mt Vernon, the house sewers can go across alleys, down sidewalks, across neighbors' yards and tie into a storm drain. I'm not kidding.

I was able to clear the sewer stoppage for them for under $425.00 (including tax) on a Saturday afternoon. Cheap at half the price, huh.

Sewer stoppage in Mt Vernon., Wa

Think you have a sewer problem? This customer has a 50 year old, 200' long sewer that travels 160' feet under a city sidewalk and a street to tie into the city's combination storm drain/sewer.

I had to use 1-1/2 reels of sewers cable to clear the stoppage.