Drain & Sewer Repair Main Line PA | Advanced Drains

The Main Line is one of the oldest and most established corridors in the Philadelphia suburbs — a chain of historic railroad towns running northwest from the city along the old Pennsylvania Railroad route, today’s SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale line. Spanning three Delaware and Montgomery county townships — Lower Merion, Haverford, and Radnor — the corridor strings together Bala Cynwyd, Merion Station, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, and Wayne. Much of the housing stock predates the Second World War, and a sizable share predates the First. Advanced Drains & Underground Solutions has worked sewer and drain failures across every township on this line, and the underground here tells a very specific story.

Why Main Line Sewer Lines Fail

The grand stone Colonials, Tudors, and twin Victorians that define neighborhoods along Lancaster Avenue — from the estate sections off Montgomery Avenue in Lower Merion to the deep lots north of Conestoga Road in Wayne — were almost universally plumbed with vitrified clay tile or cast-iron laterals. The oldest of them, in the Victorian core around Bryn Mawr’s college district and the borough blocks of Narberth, sometimes still hold a stretch of Orangeburg (tar-paper) pipe from a mid-century repair that has since gone soft and blistered shut. Clay tile joins every few feet, and after eighty or a hundred years those joints have shifted, cracked, and opened the door to the mature root systems the Main Line’s towering oaks, beeches, and copper beeches are famous for. Cast iron from the early-to-mid 1900s rots from the inside out, channeling along the bottom until the crown caves.

The terrain compounds it. This is rolling Piedmont ground draining toward Mill Creek, Indian Creek, and Gulph Creek in Lower Merion and toward Darby Creek and Ithan Creek through Haverford and Radnor. Deep, sloping estate lots mean long lateral runs to the street main, often crossing under mature landscaping, slate walks, fieldstone walls, and Belgian-block driveways. Heavy seasonal groundwater pushes through every separated clay joint, and the finished basements nearly every Main Line family has built out over the decades bury the cleanouts and main stacks behind drywall and built-ins — complicating access the moment a backup hits. A failed sewer line here is rarely a simple dig, and that is exactly why trenchless matters on the Main Line, and why we do it in-house rather than subcontract it.

Our Main Line Drain & Sewer Services

Drain cleaning — kitchen, bath, main-line, and floor-drain backups cleared with cable machines sized to the line, from a slow tub in a Narberth borough twin to a full main backup in a Villanova estate.
Sewer line repair & replacement — spot repairs and full lateral replacement for collapsed clay, rotted cast iron, and failed Orangeburg.
Trenchless / CIPP lining — a new seamless pipe cured inside the old one with no open trench, ideal for preserving the mature landscaping, slate, and hardscape Main Line properties are built around. Learn how trenchless sewer replacement works.
Camera inspection — we put a camera down the line first so you see the actual defect before anyone quotes a repair, and locate the line behind a finished basement wall before cutting anything. See our sewer camera inspection service.
Hydro jetting — high-pressure water scours roots, grease, and scale out of the full diameter of the pipe, restoring a century-old line to near-original flow.

Drain & Sewer Service by Main Line Town

Every town on the corridor has its own housing stock and its own underground quirks. Start with your town’s dedicated page for the local detail:

Bala Cynwyd & Merion Station — the city-edge end of Lower Merion, dense pre-war twins and stone Colonials off City & Montgomery Avenue.
Wynnewood — mid-century and older homes between Lancaster Avenue and the regional rail line, clay laterals under deep front lawns.
Ardmore — the busy commercial heart of the line, a tight mix of rowhomes, twins, and storefronts with aging cast iron.
Bryn Mawr — the Victorian college district, some of the oldest clay and Orangeburg on the corridor under mature roots.
Haverford & Havertown — Haverford Township homes from the estate sections to the dense 1920s–40s neighborhoods.

We also serve Narberth borough and Wayne across Radnor Township, along with Rosemont, Villanova, and Radnor proper.

Why Main Line Homeowners Call Advanced Drains

We are a licensed Pennsylvania home-improvement contractor (PA HIC #PA151129) with a 4.8-star rating across 745+ Google reviews. Every sewer call starts with a free camera inspection and a written estimate — no guessing, no “we’ll know when we open it up.” If you have a written quote from another contractor, we will beat it by 10%. And because our trenchless and CIPP work is done by our own crews, not a subcontractor, we control the schedule and the quality — with same-day or next-day service on most calls across the Main Line.

Serving the full Main Line corridor — Bala Cynwyd, Merion Station, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, and Wayne, across Lower Merion, Haverford, and Radnor townships.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a sewer line be repaired without digging up my Main Line property?

In most cases, yes. Our trenchless CIPP lining installs a new seamless pipe inside the existing one through a small access point, so we avoid trenching across mature lawns, slate walkways, fieldstone walls, and Belgian-block drives common on Main Line lots. We confirm the line is a trenchless candidate with a camera inspection first.

Why do so many older Main Line homes have recurring sewer backups?

Most pre-1950 homes here were plumbed with clay tile or cast iron, and some still carry a stretch of Orangeburg from an old repair. Clay joints separate and invite the deep tree roots the Main Line is known for, while cast iron corrodes and collapses with age. Hydro jetting clears the immediate blockage; camera inspection tells you whether the pipe itself needs lining or replacement.

My main cleanout is behind a finished basement wall — can you still work the line?

Yes. Most Main Line basements have been finished over the years, burying cleanouts and main stacks behind drywall and built-ins. We camera-locate the line first to pinpoint the defect and the best access point, so we open the smallest possible area rather than guessing.

Do you provide a written estimate before starting work?

Always. Every job begins with a free camera inspection and a written estimate so you see the actual defect and the price before any work starts. We will also beat any competitor’s written estimate by 10%.