Their old stone terrace stayed whole, sewer fixed
May 2026 · Written by Lwazi Mthembu, Klipspringer Plumbing
The owners of a 1950s house had a sewer line that blocked every few months. It was a pain. We fixed it without lifting the stone terrace above it.
The facts of this job, at a glance
- The problem. An old 1950s sewer line blocked every few months.
- What we found. Three cracked joints and one root intrusion over a twelve-metre run.
- What we did. Jetted the line, then relined it through the inspection eye and one small opening.
- The result. Two days on site instead of two weeks and the line has run clear since.
A 1950s sewer line that kept blocking
The owners live in an old 1950s house. Their sewer line blocked every few months, over and over.
So they called in another contractor to look. He told them the only fix was to lift their stone terrace and replace the whole line underneath it.
The terrace was the hard part. Everything that needed fixing sat under the stone. Lifting it was exactly what the owners were dreading. That dread is why we started with a camera, not a spade.
How we fixed it without touching the terrace
- Lwazi ran the drain camera from the inspection eye first. We found three cracked joints and one root intrusion from a milkwood tree, over a twelve-metre run. The pipe hadn't collapsed.
- We jetted the line. That cut out the roots and cleaned the walls.
- We relined the twelve metres with a resin liner, cured in place.
- We worked through the existing inspection eye and one small opening at the far end. So the terrace was never touched.
What changed once the line was relined
Two days on site, not two weeks. The line has run clear ever since.
The stone terrace is exactly as it was. Nothing lifted, nothing replaced above the pipe.
We ran the camera again afterwards, then handed the owners a before and after video. Now they can see for themselves what changed under the stone.
What this job asked of the owners
Saving the old stone terrace was the tricky part. Everything that needed fixing sat under it and lifting it was the thing the owners feared most.
This is one job. A camera first showed the pipe was cracked and root-damaged but not collapsed, so relining through the existing access worked here. A collapsed pipe is a different story and a different job.
Frequently asked questions
Is this typical of what drain relining can fix?
This is one job, not a general promise. The camera showed three cracked joints and one root intrusion over a twelve-metre run, with the pipe still intact. That's what made relining possible here. Other drain relining jobs may find different damage, which would call for a different approach.
What did it ask of us as customers?
The owners were dreading the thought of lifting their stone terrace, since everything that needed fixing sat underneath it. That worry shaped the whole job: we started with a camera instead of a spade, to see what was really there before touching anything.
Who is this kind of case right for?
This fits an old sewer line, in this case from the 1950s, that keeps blocking every few months, where the ground above it (a stone terrace, in this job) is something the owner doesn't want disturbed. A camera check first showed the pipe was cracked and root-damaged but not collapsed, which is what made this method work for this line.
About the author
Ready When You Are
The old stone terrace is still there, untouched. The line under it has run clear ever since and the owners have the before and after video from the camera. Ready to go further? Read how Drain relining works, then decide from there.