Ten questions to ask before signing a sewer repair contract
Updated October 30, 2026 · 3-minute read · Old House Sewer Lines
The sewer repair contract questions that matter most cover licences, the inspection video, the repair method, the permit, the deposit and what gets restored afterwards. Ask all ten before you sign, and make sure each answer appears in the written contract rather than in a conversation.
1. What is your Westchester County plumbing licence number? Plumbers need a county trade licence to work here, and the county tells consumers to ask for the card (Westchester County). In Rye and the Village of Mamaroneck, the plumber signing a lateral certification must hold that county licence. Background is in Westchester licences explained.
2. Who holds the home improvement licence for the digging and restoration? That is a separate county licence, and Yonkers requires its own for contractors working in the city (Choosing a Home Improvement Contractor).
3. Will the video and a written report be handed over? A diagnosis should rest on camera footage you can watch again. NASSCO's PACP system gives inspectors a standard code for structural and maintenance defects (NASSCO PACP syllabus). See reading a sewer inspection report.
4. Why this method and not another? Lining takes the shape of the old pipe, so a collapsed, back-pitched or fragile pipe is not a candidate, according to a Fairfax, Virginia program page (City of Fairfax, archived). The trade-offs are compared in sewer line repair options.
5. If you are bursting the pipe, does the plan follow §716? The state plumbing code limits bursting to gravity pipe 6 inches and smaller, specifies HDPE at SDR 17, and wants the old line recorded on video beforehand and filmed again once the new pipe is in.
6. Who pulls the permit? The contractor should. Westchester's consumer office says a contractor who asks the homeowner to get the permit may not be licensed. Local permit offices differ; see sewer repair permits in Westchester.
7. Who files the 811 request, and how will you find my lateral? A hired contractor must file the locate request no sooner than 10 working days and no later than two full working days before the dig (UDig NY). Utilities in the one-call system do not mark private facilities, so the contractor has to locate your sewer line separately.
8. Will you add the cleanouts the code calls for? The code places one cleanout where the building drain meets the building sewer, or no more than 10 feet upstream, and more every 100 feet or less on a sewer narrower than 8 inches. Removing an old house trap can take away the only cleanout, the NYS Department of State notes (NYS DOS).
9. Where will my deposit be held? State law requires escrow in a New York bank within five business days, or a bond (NY AG). The county's advice is to avoid cash and keep the up-front share at a third or less. The full rules are in New York home improvement contracts.
10. What is restored, and what is warranted? Lawn, walk, driveway and basement floor repairs are easy to leave vague. So is the warranty. No law sets either for you, so write down exactly what is put back, to what standard, and for how long the work is guaranteed.
Before anyone clears the outside line
If the job starts with clearing a blockage outside the house, ask whether a camera will go in first. NYSEG notes that a gas line can be bored through a sewer pipe, and that clearing such a clog can damage it. Where no camera is available, National Grid tells plumbers to use a jetter rather than a cutting tool (National Grid cross bore brochure). More on that hazard is in cross bores.
Key facts
- Westchester tells consumers to ask plumbers for their county licence card (Westchester County).
- Pipe bursting under the state code: 6 inches and smaller, HDPE SDR 17, video before and after.
- Cleanouts are required within 10 feet of the building drain and sewer junction, then no more than 100 feet apart.
- The digging contractor, not the owner, files the 811 request in advance (UDig NY).
- Deposits go to New York bank escrow within five business days, or a bond is posted (NY AG).