Serving St. Paul
Sewer line repair in St. Paul
St. Paul's housing is older than Minneapolis's on average, its streets are hillier, and its clay laterals have had just as many winters to open up. We do the same camera-first repairs, replacements and lining across Ramsey County that we do in Hennepin.
Sewer lines in St. Paul
Mac-Groveland, Merriam Park, Summit Hill, St. Anthony Park and the older parts of Highland Park were built between 1890 and 1940, which means vitrified clay laterals with a joint every few feet. Dayton's Bluff, Payne-Phalen and the West Side have the same pipe, often shallower on the bluff-side lots and deeper at the bottom of the hill. Como and the north end got a mix of clay and, in the 1950s, some Orangeburg. The 1950s and 60s ranches out toward Roseville and Maplewood are where cast iron and tar-paper pipe show up most.
St. Paul's hills matter. A lateral running downhill from a house on Summit Avenue to a main at the bottom of the grade is long and steep; one running from a house below street level up to the main in the street can have very little fall at all, and those are the ones that belly. The camera inspection shows which one you have.
The frost line is the same as across the river — past five feet in a hard winter — so St. Paul laterals are deep, and the same rule applies: the owner is responsible for the service line from the house to the main, including the section under the street. St. Paul requires a permit and a licensed contractor for the work; confirm the current rules with the city's Department of Safety and Inspections.
What we do in St. Paul
- Sewer line repair — spot repairs of root-broken and offset clay joints
- Sewer line replacement — new PVC to the main, with or without a street cut
- Trenchless sewer repair — lining under the boulevard trees on Summit, Grand and the Highland Park parkways, pipe bursting where Orangeburg has gone oval
- Camera inspection — including pre-purchase scopes during the inspection period
- Hydro jetting — root maintenance on sound clay, grease on Grand Avenue restaurant lines
Street trees and Dutch elm
St. Paul lost most of its elms in the 1970s and replanted with ash, which is now coming out for emerald ash borer, and with lindens and maples. The stumps of the old elms are still sending root fragments into laterals along Fairview, Cleveland and Cretin, and the young replacement trees are growing roots toward the same joints. Root intrusion is the number one reason for a sewer line repair in St. Paul, as it is in Minneapolis.
What a St. Paul job costs
The same ranges as Minneapolis: a camera inspection $250–$500, a spot repair $1,500–$4,000, a full replacement or lining $6,000–$15,000 on an average lot, more where the street has to be opened. Hillside lots with a long lateral run to the main sit toward the top. Every figure on our cost page applies across the river.
Nearby
Roseville, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Maplewood, West St. Paul and South St. Paul. Area codes 651 and 612.
Every job we take in St. Paul
Sewer Line Repair
Spot repair of a cracked, offset or root-broken section — in the yard, at the foundation wall or under the boulevard — with a camera before and after.
Sewer Line Repair →Sewer Line Replacement
A new PVC lateral from the basement wall to the city main when the clay or Orangeburg is failing everywhere. Open trench, permit, inspection, restoration.
Sewer Line Replacement →Trenchless Sewer Repair
Cured-in-place lining and pipe bursting through the old pipe — one or two small pits instead of a trench across the boulevard, the driveway or the street.
Trenchless Sewer Repair →Sewer Camera Inspection
A recorded video scope from the cleanout to the main, with every crack, root and offset located and its depth marked on the lawn. $250–$500, credited to the repair.
Sewer Camera Inspection →Hydro Jetting & Drain Cleaning
High-pressure water that strips roots, grease and cast-iron scale from the pipe wall — the right tool when the line is sound but choked, and the prep step before lining.
Hydro Jetting & Drain Cleaning →Questions we get asked
Do you charge more to work in St. Paul?
No. St. Paul is inside our normal service area and pricing is the same as Minneapolis. Any difference in a quote comes from the job — depth, length and whether the street is opened — not the city.
Does St. Paul require a sewer inspection when selling a house?
St. Paul has its own truth-in-housing rules, and the evaluation does not scope the lateral. A buyer's camera inspection is still the right move on any pre-1960 house. Some neighboring suburbs do require an inflow-and-infiltration inspection at sale; check with the city you are buying in.
Can you line a sewer under a St. Paul boulevard tree?
Yes — that is one of the most common trenchless jobs we do. The liner goes in from the cleanout or a small pit near the house and cures inside the old pipe, so the tree roots above are never disturbed.
Need sewer line work in Minneapolis?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.