Drain Cleaning & Sewer Repair in Newtown Square, PA

Advanced Drains and Underground Solutions provides drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection, hydro jetting, trenchless sewer repair, and drain installation services throughout Newtown Square. We serve the portions of both Newtown Township and Marple Township that make up the Newtown Square community, responding to service calls from the development corridors along Newtown-Edgmont Road, the older residential streets east of Bishop Hollow Road, and the mixed-decade housing throughout the township.

What the Housing Stock Tells You About the Drain System

Newtown Square developed across several distinct decades, and the decade a home was built largely determines what its underground drain and sewer system is made of. Homes from the 1950s and 1960s — split-levels, colonials, and ranches that went up as the township expanded after the war — typically have cast-iron drain stacks inside the house and clay tile sewer laterals from the house to the main. Those clay laterals are mortar-jointed, meaning the individual pipe sections connect with packed mortar rather than rubber gaskets. Over 60 to 70 years, mortar joints crack, roots find the openings, and the pipe settles unevenly at the joints.

Homes built during the 1970s commonly have PVC laterals, which are more root-resistant but not immune to joint separation and bedding settlement. The internal drain piping in 1970s construction often mixes cast iron for vertical stacks with early PVC or ABS for horizontal branch lines — a combination that requires care when diagnosing a blockage, because the connection points between those materials are potential failure locations.

Newer construction in Newtown Square — the developments that went in during the 1990s and 2000s — has all-plastic drain systems that are generally in good condition but are not immune to root intrusion at cleanout terminations or problems caused by improper original installation.

Drain Installation in Newtown Square

Drain installation is one of the more common requests we receive in Newtown Square, and the need arises in several different situations. Homeowners converting unused basement space to finished living area often discover there is no floor drain in the mechanical room, or that the existing drain has no trap or is plumbed incorrectly. Additions and finished bathrooms require new branch drain lines to connect to the building drain. Laundry relocations require new standpipe installations. Yard drainage problems — saturated low spots, water pooling at foundation walls — sometimes require French drain systems or area drains tied into the storm drainage or directed to a safe discharge point.

For any drain installation in Newtown Square, we start with a plan: where does the new drain connect, what is the pipe route through the structure, and what slope and pipe size does the fixture load require? We pull permits for interior rough-in when required and coordinate inspections. For exterior drainage work, the township permit requirements depend on the scope and proximity to the right-of-way.

Common Sewer Problems in Newtown Square

Root intrusion in clay tile laterals is the most frequent sewer problem we diagnose in the older parts of Newtown Square. The large tree canopy throughout the established residential neighborhoods — oaks, maples, and the ornamental trees planted in the postwar developments — produces aggressive root systems that find lateral joints and grow into the pipe. Hydro jetting clears roots from the pipe interior, but it does not repair the joint that allowed entry. If the same lateral has been cleared repeatedly over a few years, camera inspection almost always reveals root entry points at joints that will continue to cause problems without a repair.

Belly or sag in lateral pipe is a second common finding in Newtown Square camera inspections. A belly forms when the soil under a pipe section settles, causing the pipe to sag below the grade line. Waste accumulates at the low point rather than flowing to the main, and the accumulated material eventually blocks the line. A sag cannot be cleared by jetting — the pipe geometry has to be addressed, either through spot excavation and re-bedding or through relining if the sag is gradual.

Inside the house, kitchen drain buildup in older cast-iron branch lines is a recurring maintenance issue. The rough interior of corroded cast iron accumulates grease and food solids far more readily than smooth PVC. Hydro jetting at the branch line level — not just the main lateral — addresses accumulated material that a cable machine moves past without removing.

Trenchless Repair Options

For sewer lateral repair in Newtown Square, we offer both CIPP lining and pipe bursting depending on what the camera inspection shows. CIPP lining — cured-in-place pipe — inserts a resin-saturated liner into the existing lateral, which is then cured to form a new structural pipe inside the old one. CIPP is appropriate when the host pipe retains enough structural integrity to accept and hold a liner. Pipe bursting replaces the host pipe by pulling a new pipe through while fracturing the old one outward — suitable for laterals that are collapsed, severely deteriorated, or deformed.

Both methods require only small excavations at each end of the repair run rather than a trench along the full lateral length. For properties with finished landscaping, established plantings, or hardscape that would be disruptive to excavate, trenchless methods typically represent significant savings in restoration costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I need a new drain installed or just a repair to an existing one?

If a drain exists and is backing up, the first step is determining whether the pipe is blocked, deteriorated, or improperly graded. A camera inspection or diagnostic service call identifies the cause. If a drain is absent — you need a floor drain in a new laundry area, or you are adding a bathroom — that is a new installation. We assess which situation applies and give you a clear recommendation based on what we find rather than what is easiest to sell.

What permits are required for sewer lateral work in Newtown Square?

Interior drain work typically requires a plumbing permit from the township building department. Exterior lateral work may require a separate permit and, for work near or under public roads, coordination with the township road department. We handle permit applications as part of the project.

How long does a CIPP liner last?

CIPP liners installed using quality resins and cured to specification are rated for 50 years by the manufacturers. Real-world performance depends on the original installation quality and the conditions the liner operates in, but well-installed CIPP in residential laterals has a documented service history that supports the long-term rating in typical conditions.

Contact Us

For drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection, drain installation, or trenchless repair in Newtown Square, call Advanced Drains at 1-855-DONT-DIG. We are local to Delaware County and dispatch for all service calls throughout Newtown Square.