Street level, Boston

In Boston, line the pipe instead of cutting the lot

A city lot has little room for a trench. Drains By James cleans Boston drains and relines failing sewer pipe from the inside, so the old line is restored without opening the ground over it. The shop is in Wilmington and the trucks run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Crew setting up a hydro jet unit beside the wrapped Drains By James trailer
Hydro jet unit set up beside the wrapped trailer before a line is cleared.

Floor pits, liner sleeves and a workbench in the truck

  • Technician in a Drains By James shirt working a floor manhole inside a warehouse
    Floor manhole opened inside a warehouse for line access.
  • Three Drains By James technicians feeding a white liner sleeve into a pipe beside a house
    Liner sleeve fed into the old line beside the house.
  • Technician preparing a liner at the in-truck workbench with resin and liner supplies
    Liner and resin supplies prepared at the in-truck workbench.

Dig it, or line it

Opening

Digging: A trench cut through the lot, yard or sidewalk to reach the pipe.

Lining: A camera and a liner go in through the line itself. Nothing is excavated.

Surface after

Digging: Paving, planting or landscaping to put back.

Lining: No landscaping restoration, because nothing was dug up.

Machinery

Digging: Heavy machinery on the site.

Lining: No heavy machinery. The crew works from the truck and trailer.

The old pipe

Digging: Pulled out and replaced.

Lining: Stays in place. The liner cures into a like-new pipe inside it.

How long

Digging: A replacement pipe, laid new from the ground up.

Lining: Results can last 50 years or more with proper care.

25 ft

Boston drains: snake, then jet

Slow drains, bad odors, gurgling and water backing up all get the same first move: a snake. When it will not clear the line, the crew hydro jets it. The work covers residential, commercial and outdoor drains, including storm drains, roof drains and catch basins, with grease trap cleaning up to 40 gallons at $429.

Any inside drain 2 inches or less is $289, and a main sewer line up to 100 feet is $489. The hydro jetting page covers when a jet is the right call and when it is not.

100 ft

Boston pipes: inspect, jet, invert, cure

A camera shows what the pipe is doing. Hydro jetting prepares it, then a resin-coated liner is inverted into the old pipe and cures into a new one inside it. Cast iron can be restored this way, and just about any pipe is typically a candidate once the camera has looked.

Keep the pipes out of use during the resin cure, as the technician instructs. New customers get $500 off any pipe lining repair. Read the whole method on the pipe lining page, or start with a sewer camera inspection, a point-in-time look at the pipe.

Open 24 hours, 7 days

781-933-4304
Call the shopSee the Wilmington shop