Sewer line tools

Free, no signup, nothing sent anywhere. Each tool publishes its assumptions.

The tools

Clog or broken sewer line?Tick what you're seeing. Ranks the likely causes, separates a clog from a broken pipe from a city sewer problem, and tells you who to call first.Sewer scope report interpreterTick the findings on a camera report. Each one in plain words, how serious it usually is, the usual fix with a planning range, and what buyers commonly ask the seller for.Sewer line replacement cost calculatorA planning range from length, depth, method and what's on top of the pipe — then check a quote against it for price and scope red flags.Is a sewer line protection plan worth it?The monthly fee against the repair it would actually pay for — how often your line would have to fail for the plan to pay off.Sewer line slope calculatorFall over the run, the grade in every unit, and whether it clears the IPC or UPC minimum for your pipe size — from the slope, or from two depths you can measure.Sewer line depth calculatorHow deep the line ends up at the street, from its depth at the house, the run and the slope — and whether there's enough fall to reach the city main.Can I dig here? Utility line depth checkYour state, what you're digging and how deep: which buried lines could be there, the state's 811 notice and tolerance zone, and the call-811 step.Water line depth by zip codeThe burial depth for a water service where you live, under the IPC/IRC and UPC rules, from the local frost depth — with a county map and the climate check.

Which one to start with

If something is wrong right now — slow drains, a smell, water at a floor drain — start with the clog-or-broken checker. It tells you whether you have a sewer line problem at all, and who to call first. Most people who use it discover the cause is cheaper than they feared.

If you're buying a house and holding a sewer scope report, start with the scope report interpreter. It turns each finding into plain words, says how serious it usually is, and prices the usual fix — so you know what to ask the inspector and a plumber.

Before digging anything — a fence post, a French drain, a tree — run the Can I dig here? check for the lines that could be at your depth and your state's 811 rules.

If a camera has already found damage and you have a quote, use the cost calculator. It prices the job line by line and checks whether the method quoted can actually fix what was found — the mistake that costs more than any overcharge.

If a letter from your water company is offering a sewer line protection plan, use the plan calculator before you sign. It shows how often your line would have to fail for the fee to pay off, and compares it with the insurance add-on most people don't know they can buy.

If the line keeps clogging and you are wondering whether it was laid flat, use the slope calculator. It works out the fall from the grade, or from two depths you can measure at your own cleanouts, and checks the result against the code minimum for your pipe size. To find out how deep the line will be at the street — and whether the city connection is deep enough for gravity — use the depth-at-the-street calculator on the sewer line depth page.

If you're laying or replacing the water service, the water line depth lookup turns a zip code into the burial depth your plumbing code requires, from the local frost depth, with a county map and the climate record to check it against.

How these differ from a contractor's calculator

Most sewer cost calculators online belong to companies that sell the repair, and they ask for a phone number before showing a number. These don't ask for anything, aren't attached to a contractor, and will tell you when the answer is to refill a trap, clear the line, or skip the plan.

The arithmetic is published rather than hidden — every per-foot range, restoration figure and weighting is on the methodology page, imported from the same code the tools run, so the page can't drift from the tool.

Every assumption, written down

What to have in hand before you start

Each tool works with rough answers, but a few facts make the result far more useful. None of them require a contractor — most are on paperwork you already have.

For the clog-or-broken checker: which drains are affected, when it happens, and whether you have looked outside over the line and asked a neighbor.
For the cost calculator: the length of pipe being repaired and the distance to each defect from the camera report, roughly how deep the line is, what sits on top of it, and the total and method from any quote.
For the protection plan calculator: the monthly fee, the benefit limit and any deductible from the plan letter, and your homeowners declarations page, to see whether you already have service line coverage.
For the slope calculator: the length of the run, the pipe diameter, and either the grade it was laid at or the depth to the bottom of the pipe at two points you can reach.