Could my house still be on a clay tile sewer line?

Homes built before roughly the 1980s in the Denver metro frequently have clay tile or cast iron laterals. A camera inspection through the cleanout confirms the material and shows exactly where roots or joints have opened up, which is the only way to know for certain short of digging.

Will cutting the roots out stop them from coming back?

Cutting clears the pipe today, but roots regrow toward the same joint because the moisture source has not changed. Some homes go a year or more between cuts. Others back up on a tight cycle. If the cycle is short, closing the joint with a spot repair or a liner is usually cheaper over time than repeated cabling calls.

Should I remove the tree causing the roots?

Removing a mature tree does not guarantee the existing root mass dies immediately, and it is a bigger decision than the plumbing call alone should drive. Fixing the pipe joint the roots are using is usually the more direct answer.

Is this a job for rooter service or drain cleaning?

If a camera or a prior visit has confirmed roots, this is a rooter call. If the cause is unknown, either service starts the same way, by cabling the line and seeing what the cutting head brings back.

Do you offer same-day residential rooter service?

Most residential calls are scheduled the same day or the next available window, and a fully backed-up main is treated as urgent regardless of the day.

How much does a plumber cost in the Denver metro?

Cost depends on the job, not a flat menu. Afford-A-Rooter scopes the work first, then gives you a free quote before anything starts, so you approve the number in advance. Drain and rooter calls sit at the lower end. Sewer line and water line repairs sit higher because they involve locating, access, and restoration.

How fast can you get here, and how long will the work take?

Most standard repairs are booked for the next available window and finished in one visit. Drain cleaning and fixture work usually take a few hours. Sewer and water line work can take a day or more because of excavation and inspection. You get a realistic time window up front, not a guess.

Do you handle emergency plumbing at night and on weekends?

Yes. Afford-A-Rooter runs 24/7 emergency plumbing across the Denver metro. Call for active leaks, sewage backups, no hot water, and burst pipes. Shut off the water at the main valve first, then call so we can stage the right truck.

Is your plumbing work guaranteed, and are you licensed?

Afford-A-Rooter is a Colorado Master Plumber and licensed Colorado State Plumbing Contractor, family owned and serving Denver since 2006. Work is performed to code, permitted where required, and backed by a workmanship guarantee. Manufacturer warranties apply to installed equipment such as water heaters.

Residential Rooter Service for Denver Area Homes

Houses built before the 1980s in Denver neighborhoods like Berkeley, Park Hill, and Washington Park often still run their original clay tile or cast iron sewer lateral, and those pipes have joints that mature street trees find. Afford-A-Rooter cables those laterals to restore flow, then tells you plainly whether the roots are a once-a-year nuisance or a sign the line needs a permanent fix.

(720) 296-7972 Get a Free Quote

Cabling for kitchen, bath, laundry, floor drain, and main laterals
Root cutting sized to clay tile, cast iron, and PVC lines
Colorado Master Plumber MP-00189274 and Contractor License 2110

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Why do older Denver homes get root intrusion so often?

Clay tile sewer pipe is laid in short sections joined every few feet, and cast iron ages by corroding at its joints and its base. Both give roots an entry point that solid modern PVC does not have. A large tree between the house and the street sends roots toward that moisture, and once a fine root gets in, it grows into a mass that catches paper and slows flow long before the pipe fully blocks. Cabling clears the immediate mass. It does not close the joint the roots are using.

Clay tile and cast iron laterals are common in homes built before the 1980s
Mature street trees are the most frequent source of root intrusion
A slow seasonal backup is often roots, not a one-time clog
Cabling restores flow the same visit even when the joint issue remains

This is likely a residential rooter call when

The main line backs up around the same time each year
A camera or prior plumber has already mentioned roots
Multiple fixtures on the lowest level back up together
There is a mature tree or hedge line between the house and the street

Wider view of the work area, rooter machine and cutter head at a main line cleanout in a Denver home basement

What residential rooter service covers

Cable clearing for individual fixture lines and the main lateral
Cutting heads matched to clay tile, cast iron, or PVC
Flow tested with a heavy volume of water, not a quick flush
A camera look at the entry point when the backup is a repeat problem
An honest recommendation on whether the joint needs a permanent repair

How a residential rooter visit runs

1
Ask what is backing up
One fixture points to a branch line. Several fixtures on the lowest level point to the main.
2
Open the cleanout
We work from the house's cleanout when one exists, or from a fixture opening when it does not.
3
Cut back the roots
The cutting head shears the root mass to the pipe wall and restores the full inside diameter.
4
Confirm and advise
We run water to confirm flow, and camera the line if this is not the first time it has clogged.

Credentials, reviews, and company proof

Colorado Master Plumber MP-00189274A licensed master plumber reviews the cable results, not just the technician clearing the line, before we call a job finished.
Plumbing Contractor license 2110Licensed as a Colorado State Plumbing Contractor, so repairs that follow a rooter call can be permitted and inspected under the same company.
Family owned in Denver since 2006Two decades running cable through clay tile, cast iron, and PVC laterals across the Denver metro.

Ready when you are

Tell us what is happening and your Denver neighborhood. We will route it fast.

(720) 296-7972 Request a Free Quote

What changes the price of residential rooter service

Access to the cleanout and how thick the root mass is drive the cost more than the size of the house.

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Need help right now? 24/7 emergency plumbing service. Planning a larger repair? See financing options.

Whether a cleanout already exists or has to be opened
Distance from the house to the street connection
How established the root mass is at the entry point
Whether a camera inspection is added after clearing
Weekend or after-hours timing

Frequently asked questions

Colorado Master Plumber
License MP-00189274
Colorado State Plumbing Contractor
License 2110
Family Owned & Operated
Serving Denver since 2006, 20 years
Better Business Bureau
Accredited Business, A+ rating
Angie's List Super Service Award
2012 through 2017
Serving Denver since 2006
Residential and commercial properties across the metro

More rooter services

Problems this work solves

Roots slowing your line again? We cable it and tell you why.

Residential rooter service across the Denver metro with a free quote first.

Get a Free Quote (720) 296-7972