Hello--I recently had some plumbing work done (hydrojet + camera) that revealed a break in my sewer tap. The line was loaded with roots (as expected) and there was a lot of accumulated dark black sediment which the plumber called grease.
I plan on getting a couple more estimates, but I'm really in the dark here and would like any insight that anyone might have. Primarily I'm interested in fairness of the price and what can hypothetically happen if it goes unfixed for the next few years.
The proposed job: I was given a $13,520 estimate to fix the tap and sleeve the pipe from house to tap. I was also told that if they were to find more issues once they start (something they don't think is likely as the break is at the very end and they didn't see any other major problems) I would be charged a maximum of $16,720. It would be guaranteed for 25 years.
The information I have been given about the project is that it is 53ft from the main clear out and I was shown the break in the pipe when they had the camera down there. They said they would have to dig down six feet and would have to involve the city.
Some history, if relevant?: This is an old house built in the late 30s or early 40s. Tree roots have been an issue for different family members living in this house for decades. It's unclear when this break may have occurred, but things seemed to get worse around 2018—at that time there was a decent amount of general flooding in the area. A hydrojet was, I think, done at that time. From 2018-2024 yearly-ish snakings were being done and I'm not entirely sure how bad things were as I wasn't here full time until 2024. From 2024-last month there were no major issues, there may have been a very small amount of water backup in the basement (wet marks around the drain) from time to time. Then over the past couple of weeks two large loads of laundry were done back to back (not something I ordinarily do) and it backed up more extensively in the basement. Then I had the hydrojet done.