When the sewer lateral fails, it doesn’t ask permission. Multiple drains back up at once, the yard smells, and a soggy patch shows up on the lawn in the middle of a dry month. We find out exactly what’s wrong — on camera, with you watching — and then we fix it the right way, not the expensive way.

Gallagher’s has repaired and replaced sewer lines across Butte, Shasta, Tehama, Glenn, Yuba and Sutter counties since 1989. We’re the Stand Up Guys: professional, polite, punctual, and straight with you about what a job costs.

We camera the line before we quote a dime

A sewer repair is the kind of job people get oversold on, because the pipe is underground and you can’t see it. We take the guesswork out.

A camera inspection takes about ten minutes, and you stand there and watch the screen with the technician. Roots forcing through a joint, a crack, a section that’s sagged into a belly where waste pools, an offset where two pipes no longer line up — it’s all right there. Then we quote the repair you actually need. If a cleaning will hold you for now, we’ll say so.

What usually kills a sewer line here

  • Tree roots. The number one cause in older North Valley neighborhoods. Roots hunt water, find a hairline crack in an old clay lateral, get in, and thicken until they split the pipe. Homes built before roughly 1975 usually have clay, and clay cracks. Chico’s older streets with the big beautiful trees are prime territory.
  • Age and corrosion. Cast iron and clay don’t last forever. Eventually the pipe wall gives up.
  • Collapse and offset joints. Soil shifts — especially out in the orchard and ag ground — and a long lateral settles unevenly. Joints pull apart; sections cave.
  • Grease and scale buildup that’s gone past the point a jetting can fix.

Signs it’s the line, not a single clog

  • More than one fixture backs up at the same time
  • The lowest drains go first — a downstairs shower, a floor drain
  • Toilet gurgles when the washer drains; water rises in the tub when you flush
  • Sewer smell outside or near a wall
  • It gets dramatically worse after heavy rain

If you’re seeing these, stop running water down the drain and call somebody. A backing-up main line is not a wait-till-Tuesday problem.

Trenchless where it makes sense — and honesty about when it doesn’t

Trenchless repair (lining or pipe-bursting) replaces the line without trenching your whole yard, driveway, or the flower beds somebody spent years on. When the situation fits, it’s faster, cleaner, and often the better value.

But it doesn’t fit every line, and we won’t pretend it does. If the pipe is fully collapsed or badly offset, a dig is the right call, and we’ll tell you that instead of selling you a method that won’t hold. Either way you see the camera footage first.

What it costs

A spot repair and a full lateral replacement are not the same job and shouldn’t cost the same. What we promise:

  • You get the price before we start, in writing.
  • If it turns out bigger once we’re in, we stop and re-quote — we don’t discover things halfway and hand you a surprise at the end.
  • The camera means we’re quoting what’s actually wrong, not what we guessed.

Where we work

We repair sewer lines across the North Valley: Chico, Redding, Red Bluff, Oroville, Anderson, Yuba City, and the towns between — Paradise, Corning, Cottonwood, Orland, Willows, Gridley, Marysville, Olivehurst and more.

Sewer line FAQs

How do I know if my sewer line is broken or just clogged?

A camera inspection settles it in about ten minutes. Multiple fixtures backing up at once, yard odor, or problems that spike after rain point to the line rather than a single clog.

Is trenchless always cheaper?

Not always, but it’s usually less disruptive because it avoids tearing up the yard and driveway. We’ll quote both when both are options and tell you which we’d choose.

How long does a sewer line last?

Clay and cast iron can go 50+ years, but older clay in root-heavy neighborhoods often fails sooner. Modern materials last longer.

Can you repair just one section?

Often, yes — if the camera shows the rest of the line is sound. That’s exactly why we scope it first.

Call the Stand Up Guys

Backing-up drains, yard odor, or a line you already know is failing — we’ll show you what’s actually going on and tell you straight. Gallagher’s has kept the North Valley flowing since 1989.