24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Birmingham, AL

Southside, Highland Park, Five Points South and Forest Park have homes from the 1880s through the 1920s, many on steep lots with crawlspaces or basements and clay laterals.

Avondale, Crestwood, Norwood and Glen Iris have bungalows and Tudors from the 1910s through the 1940s.

Ensley, Woodlawn, East Lake and the old mill and mining villages have worker homes from the 1890s through the 1940s.

Suburbs over the mountain, like Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, grew from the 1920s onward.

Birmingham sits in a valley between ridges, on red clay over limestone and sandstone.

Jefferson County's Environmental Services Department runs the sewer system for Birmingham and most of the county. Birmingham property owners maintain the private lateral up to the county sewer.

Spring storms dump heavy rain on the hills and soak the red clay, and hot summers drive roots toward water.

Mild winters bring a few hard freezes and ice storms that can catch crawlspace pipes.

Birmingham was founded in 1871 where iron ore, coal and limestone all sat close together, and it grew so fast it was called the Magic City. Steel mills, foundries and mines drew workers from across the South and Europe. The neighborhoods they built, from Southside's mansions to Ensley's worker cottages, have clay laterals now well over a century old.

Highland Park and Southside, on the slopes of Red Mountain, have Victorian and early 1900s homes on winding, steep streets. Laterals drop sharply to sewers below, and huge oaks send roots into the joints. Lining protects the steep yards and old trees.

Avondale, with its revived brewery and restaurant district, and Crestwood, on the east side, have bungalows and Tudors from the early twentieth century. Clay laterals and big trees mean roots, and many homes sit on crawlspaces.

Birmingham's hillsides mean many homes sit well above or below the street. Laterals from homes above drop steeply, and water outruns solids, leaving debris where the slope flattens. A jetter scours the flat spots at the bottom of the hill where a cable would just punch a hole through.

In June, a family in a 1920s bungalow in Forest Park notices the bathtub filling with gray water. The plumber opens the cleanout on the downhill side and clears roots from a big water oak about forty feet out. On the camera, the clay is cracked with a sag near the street. They plan a liner.

Birmingham's red clay swells and shrinks with moisture, and sandstone and limestone sit close to the surface on the ridges. Both make digging hard, and both can shift or crack old pipe.

Ensley, Woodlawn, East Lake and the old mining and mill villages have small worker homes, many on piers, with old clay laterals and sometimes no cleanout. Adding a cleanout makes future service easier.

Jefferson County spent billions rebuilding its sewer system under a federal consent decree in the 1990s and 2000s, reducing overflows. Private laterals still matter, and cracked ones let rain and groundwater into the system.

Many older Birmingham homes sit on crawlspaces, and the humid climate keeps them damp. Drain lines under the floor can rust, sag and leak. A musty smell under the house is a sign to have them checked.

Birmingham's food scene, from Five Points South and Avondale to Lakeview and downtown, is one of the best in the South, and its barbecue joints and meat-and-threes cook a lot of fried food. Restaurants there keep interceptors pumped to avoid backups.

UAB, one of the state's largest employers, and its students bring heavy use to older homes and apartments on Southside. Old laterals and turnover mean more clogs.

Hospital staff on overnight shifts also keep water running at odd hours in the neighborhoods near the medical center.

Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, over Red Mountain, have homes from the 1920s onward on wooded, hilly lots. Long laterals under big trees and rocky soil mean roots and difficult digs.

Birmingham winters are mild, but occasional ice storms and arctic blasts freeze crawlspace pipes. Before a freeze, shut the vents around the foundation and keep one faucet barely running until it passes.

Because so many Birmingham homes sit on slopes, a lot of them have a basement or lower level on the downhill side, often with a laundry, a bathroom or a garage. Those lower drains are the first to show a backup when the lateral slows. Some lower-level bathrooms sit below the sewer line and rely on an ejector pump, which needs regular maintenance and an occasional replacement.

Village Creek and Valley Creek run through the western and northern parts of the city, and neighborhoods along them have flooded in heavy storms. Groundwater there rises quickly, and cracked laterals take in water. Homes near the creeks benefit from a backwater valve and sealed pipe.

Share the neighborhood, the home's age, whether it's on a hill and whether it has a crawlspace or basement. Mention big trees near the line.