Broward County, Florida · Sewer & drain
Sewer line repair for Broward houses whose cast iron is out of time.
If your house went up before 1980, the drain line under your slab is at or past its service life. Cast iron is rated 50 to 75 years by CISPI. In South Florida's damp, sandy fill it's closer to 40 to 50.
You get a camera in the line, the footage to keep, and a written price against what it found. Not a number guessed over the phone.
- 50–75 yr
- cast iron service life
- CISPI
- 40–50 yr
- in South Florida ground
- regional practice
- 1972
- median year built, Fort Lauderdale
- Census ACS
- $150–400
- typical camera inspection
- reported range, South Florida
Is it the pipe
Six things people notice right before the line gives out
More than one drain is slow.
One slow sink is a clog. Two or three is a main line losing diameter to rust and scale.
The toilet gurgles when the washer drains.
Air can't move through the line. Either something is blocking it or the pipe has lost its slope.
A sewer smell that comes and goes.
Usually worst in the morning or after heavy rain. A cracked pipe under the slab vents gas up through the soil.
Palmetto bugs in a clean house.
They use broken sewer lines as a highway. If they're coming up out of drains, there's an opening down there.
Tile that cracked or settled for no reason.
Water escaping a failed pipe washes the sand out from under the slab. The floor follows.
Snaked more than twice in two years.
Snaking clears the symptom. If it comes back in the same spot, the pipe is the problem.
Services
What gets done, in the order it gets done
Find it
Clear it
- Hydro JettingHigh-pressure water scours grease, scale, and roots out of a pipe that's still structurally intact.Detail →
- Main Sewer Line CleaningRestores flow to a line where every fixture backs up at once.Detail →
- Sewer Line Root RemovalCuts and flushes intruding roots, usually by jetting with a root nozzle.Detail →
Fix it
- Sewer Line RepairSpot replacement of one failed section through a single dig.Detail →
- Sewer Pipe LiningA resin sleeve cured inside the existing pipe. No trench, driveway and lawn intact.Detail →
- Trenchless Sewer RepairLining or pipe bursting through access points instead of an open cut.Detail →
- Sewer Line ReplacementNew PVC, correct grade, when the run is past saving.Detail →
- Cast Iron Pipe ReplacementSwaps original 1960s and 1970s cast iron for current Florida-code PVC, under the slab and through the yard.Detail →
The order things happen in
From camera to replacement, and where most jobs stop
Sewer work escalates in a fixed order, and every step exists to avoid the one below it. A quote that skips straight to replacement without a camera has skipped the evidence.
| Step | What it establishes | What forces the next step | Market range* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera inspection | Whether the line is blocked, broken, bellied, or root-infested, and where along its run | Anything the camera names as structural rather than a blockage | $150–400 |
| Hydro jetting / cleaning | Restores full bore by cutting scale, grease, and roots out of an intact pipe | Roots return on a short cycle, or the camera shows the wall is gone behind the scale | $600–1,400 |
| Spot repair | Replaces one failed section through a single dig, leaving the rest of the run alone | More than one failure point, or a run that's at end of service life everywhere | $1,500–4,500 |
| CIPP lining | Rebuilds the pipe from the inside with no long trench, keeping driveway and lawn intact | A collapsed line, a severe belly, or offsets the liner can't bridge | $4,000–12,000 |
| Full replacement | New pipe, new grade, and a service life measured from today rather than from the 1960s | — | $8,000–25,000+ |
*Market ranges from 2026 cost guides for Florida and national sewer work. Actual pricing is set by the written quote against the camera footage.
The standard
What every quote has to meet
- A written, itemized quote before work starts.
- Broken out by excavation, materials, restoration, and permits.
- The camera footage stays with you.
- The quote is priced against it, and you keep the recording whether you hire anyone or not.
- Permits pulled, inspections passed.
- You don't deal with the county.
- No price quoted over the phone.
- If someone quotes a sewer line without a camera, they're guessing, and the number will move once they're in the ground.
- A recommendation to wait when the line has life left.
- Not every cast iron line needs replacing this year. The camera settles it, not the sales pitch.
Every quote is itemized by excavation, materials, restoration, and permits, and priced against the camera footage. The footage is yours to keep. Hand both to another contractor for a second read if you want one.
Frequently asked questions
Why does sewer line repair cost so much?
Access. The pipe is under a concrete slab, a driveway, or four feet of yard, and most of the cost is getting to it and putting things back. The pipe itself is the cheap part.
Should I get more than one quote?
Yes, and the itemized quote and camera footage exist so you can. Any contractor who won't hand over the footage is asking you to take their word for what's down there.
How do I know a plumber isn't inventing a problem to sell a big job?
Watch the screen during the inspection and keep the recording. A cracked pipe, a belly holding water, or a root mass is visible on camera. If the diagnosis can't be pointed to in the footage, it doesn't hold.
Can a sewer line be repaired without digging it up?
Often. Lining and pipe bursting work through access points rather than a trench, as long as the original pipe still holds its shape. A collapsed line or a severe belly needs an open cut.
Should cast iron drain pipes be replaced?
When the camera shows structural failure: channeling along the bottom, cracks, offsets, or a belly. Scale and roots alone can be cleared. The camera draws the line, not the age of the house.
Replace now, or wait until it fails?
If the camera shows the wall is intact, waiting is reasonable and a good contractor will say so. If the bottom of the pipe is gone, every month adds soil loss under the slab and the eventual repair gets bigger.
Will cast iron pipes affect my Florida homeowners insurance?
That depends on your policy. Many Florida policies cover the tear-out needed to reach a failed pipe but exclude the pipe itself, and some exclude older drain systems outright. The camera footage and itemized quote are what an adjuster asks for; what your policy says is between you and your carrier.
Who pulls the permit?
The contractor. Sewer line replacement in Broward requires a municipal plumbing permit and inspection, and it's in the written quote.
Who is responsible for the line, the homeowner or the city?
The homeowner, from the house to the property line or the city tap, depending on the municipality. Past that point it's the utility's. The camera locates the failure and settles which side it's on.
Answers
Before you take a quote
Sewer pricing is opaque and the diagnosis is hard to verify. These pages set out what drives the cost, what the camera should be able to show, and who's responsible for the line.
- Sewer Smell in the Bathroom: What Causes It and What to Check FirstA sewer smell in a bathroom almost always means drain gas is escaping into the room instead of venting to th…
- CIPP Pipe Lining: How It Works, What It Costs, and When It Will Not WorkCIPP lining pulls a resin-saturated felt sleeve into an existing sewer pipe, inflates it against the pipe wa…
- Sewer Line Replacement Cost: What Actually Sets the NumberSewer line replacement cost is set by the foot, by depth, and by what has to be restored afterward. Reported…
- How Long Do Cast Iron Pipes Last?How long cast iron pipes last depends on the ground they sit in. The Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute puts cast…
- Sewer Line Repair Cost: What You Are Actually Paying ForSewer line repair cost is set by access, not by pipe. A spot repair on an accessible yard line is the cheape…
- Main Sewer Line Clog: How to Confirm It and What to DoA clog in the main sewer line affects more than one fixture and backs up at the lowest drain in the house. I…
- Broken Sewer Line: What the Signs Look Like in a Florida HomeA broken sewer line shows itself through repeat backups, a persistent sewer smell at floor level, drain flie…
- Tree Roots in a Sewer Line: What Gets Them Out and Keeps Them OutTree roots cannot penetrate sound sewer pipe. They enter through a crack, a failed joint, or a corroded sect…
- Who Is Responsible for the Sewer Line From the House to the Street?For the sewer line running from the house toward the street, the City of Pembroke Pines Utilities FAQ states…
Service area
Broward County, city by city
Pipe material follows build year, not city limits. Florida construction moved to PVC in the late 1970s, so each city below is written against its own U.S. Census housing-age data rather than a swapped city name.
- Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale has about 67,000 housing units built before 1980, the largest stock of original cast iron drainage anywhere in Broward County.
- HollywoodMore than half of Hollywood's housing was built before 1970: the highest pre-1970 share of any large city in Broward, and the deepest cast iron exposure.
- Pompano BeachPompano Beach has about 40,000 pre-1980 housing units and a median year built of 1974, right at the end of the cast iron era in Florida construction.
- Deerfield BeachDeerfield Beach's median year built is 1977, right at Florida's cast iron to PVC changeover.
- LauderhillLauderhill's median year built is 1976 with 67.3% pre-1980 housing: a 1970s city where drain material varies and condo laterals complicate responsibility.
- Hallandale BeachHallandale Beach is 68.4% pre-1980 housing with a median year built of 1975: a dense, condo-heavy city where lateral responsibility is often shared.
- MargateMargate's median year built is 1978, at the tail of Florida's cast iron era.
- Oakland ParkOakland Park has a median year built of 1972 and 45.6% of housing built before 1970, an unusually deep cast iron exposure for a city its size.
- Dania BeachDania Beach is Broward's oldest incorporated city, with a genuinely old core and 59.6% pre-1980 housing on low, sandy coastal fill.
- North LauderdaleNorth Lauderdale's median year built is 1978 and only 16.5% of housing predates 1970: mostly PVC, so the work here is roots, bellies and grease.
- Wilton ManorsWilton Manors is 73.7% pre-1980 housing with a median year built of 1971, a small city with one of Broward's oldest and most uniform housing stocks.
- Lighthouse PointLighthouse Point is 83.5% pre-1980 housing with a median year built of 1968, the highest cast-iron-era concentration of any Broward city.
- Pembroke PinesPembroke Pines is a newer city: median year built 1992, only 23.1% pre-1980.
Find out how much time the line has left.
The failure is already happening. The only question is whether you learn about it from a camera on a Tuesday afternoon or from a backup at 11pm in a storm, with the floor coming up either way.
About an hour. You watch the screen, you keep the footage, you get one written number.