SERVICE №05 — CAMERA $249 — CREDITED TO REPAIR
Sewer Line Repair & Camera Inspection
We camera the line before we quote it — every time. Root cutting, spot repairs, and full lateral replacement with the footage to prove what you're paying for.
For owners of pre-1970 homes with clay laterals, buyers who want a line scoped before closing, and anyone who's been quoted a five-figure dig by a stranger with no video.
How we handle it
Half of Milwaukee's housing stock drains through clay lateral pipes laid before the Braves left town. Clay joints every three feet, a century of settling, and tree roots that treat every joint like a drinking straw. Some of those laterals have decades left. Some are one wet spring from collapse. The only honest way to know the difference is a camera.
Our rule is simple and it's not negotiable: nobody at Lipinski & Sons quotes a sewer repair without video of the problem. You watch the footage with the tech, you get a copy, and the quote maps to what's on screen — a root ball at 43 feet, an offset joint at the property line, a belly under the front walk. No footage, no quote. It's why we get called for second opinions weekly.
When repair is the answer, we do it at the right scale: root cutting and jetting to buy a sound line more years, an excavated spot repair when one joint has failed, or full lateral replacement when the video shows a line at the end. We handle the MMSD and municipal permits, locate utilities, and put your yard back together like we mean it.
What's included
- HD sewer camera inspection with locating — $249, credited to any repair
- Recorded footage — yours to keep, quote or no quote
- Root cutting and hydro jetting to restore flow
- Excavated spot repairs with proper bedding and backfill
- Full lateral replacement, permitted and inspected
- Pre-purchase sewer scopes for home buyers — 48-hour turnaround
- Second opinions on someone else's five-figure quote
Sewer Line Repair & Camera Inspection — questions we actually get
Another company quoted me a full replacement without a camera. Now what?
Get the scope. $249 buys you the actual condition of your line on video, credited to a repair if you need one. Roughly a third of the second opinions we scope need a fraction of the quoted work — root maintenance instead of excavation. The other two-thirds at least know the dig is real.
How often should I have roots cut?
A root-prone clay lateral usually needs cutting every 12–24 months, and the camera tells us which end of that range you're on. It's $349 maintenance versus a $8,000–$15,000 replacement — the math isn't close while the pipe is still structurally sound.
Should I get a sewer scope before buying a house?
If the house is older than 1980: absolutely, and before the inspection contingency expires. It's the single most expensive surprise in old-house ownership, and it's invisible in a normal home inspection. We scope, locate, and deliver the video within 48 hours.
While we're there
Emergency Plumbing
DISPATCH $89 — WAIVED WITH REPAIR
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Drain Cleaning & Hydro Jetting
FROM $129
Slow kitchen sink, gurgling tub, floor drain backing up when the washer runs. We cable it, jet it, and show yo…
Water Heaters — Tank & Tankless
INSTALL FROM $1,650
Repairs the same day, replacements usually within 24 hours. Straight advice on tank vs. tankless — including w…
Water where it shouldn't be?
A licensed plumber answers day or night. Flat-rate quote before we start, no overtime charge — nights, weekends, holidays.