Water is coming back up.
Stop using water. Keep people away from sewage and wet electrical equipment. Contact a local drain contractor and your municipality or utility directly.
Plan the follow-up
HAUSE / SEWER NETWORK / CANADA
A clearer path
A clearer path
through sewer problems.
A slow drain. A recurring backup. A camera report you need to make sense of. Start with what you know, understand your options, and build a useful request for local help.
Independent guidance. A better brief for the person doing the work.
GOOD DECISIONS START WITH EVIDENCESee the line.
Understand the problem.What a camera inspection tells you
Understand the problem.What a camera inspection tells you
START WITH WHAT IS HAPPENINGDifferent problems.
Different problems.
Different first steps.
You do not need to know the name of the service. Pick the situation that sounds like yours.
The clogs keep coming back.
A clear line is the beginning. A camera can help distinguish roots, buildup, a sag or a damaged section before you choose the next job.
Find the next stepThe camera found damage.
Location, condition and grade decide whether a spot repair, lining, bursting or replacement makes sense. Compare the scope of work.
Build a repair briefYou are buying or planning.
Buying an older home? Planning an infill? Put line condition, access, the deadline and municipal requirements into the conversation early.
Plan an inspectionThe HAUSE Sewer desk handles service requests and follow-up help. For an active backup, contact a local contractor directly; the desk does not operate emergency dispatch.
TURN A SYMPTOM INTO A USEFUL BRIEFYour next step,
Your next step,
with context.
Choose the symptom, property and timing. See a sensible starting service, the evidence to gather and what may follow.
Open the full Service Selector →This guide runs in your browser. It helps you prepare; a qualified contractor confirms the cause.
A SENSIBLE STARTING POINT
Camera inspection
When clogs recur, footage helps explain why. If the line is currently blocked, restore flow before a useful camera inspection.
How camera inspection works →COMPARE THE JOB, BEFORE THE QUOTEThe right service answers
The right service answers
the right question.
Clearing, inspecting and repairing are different jobs. Know what each one resolves, and what still needs an answer.
What is wrong, and where?
A camera records the accessible line. A locate can mark a defect's position and depth for repair planning.
Camera inspectionKeep in mindFootage informs a decision. It does not clear a blockage or fix the pipe.
What will restore flow?
Match the method to the blockage and pipe condition. Ask what the visit includes and whether a camera follows.
Drain cleaning Hydro jetting Root removalKeep in mindRemoving roots or buildup does not correct broken joints, a sag or a collapse.
What should be repaired?
Use the recorded condition, grade and access to compare the work. Ask for reinstatement, permits and warranty in writing.
Spot repair Trenchless methods Line replacementKeep in mindA liner follows the existing pipe's path. A sag or lost grade needs a separate solution.
What else does the job need?
Contamination, city-side backups and new connections each need their own plan, beyond work inside the existing pipe.
Sewage cleanup Backwater protection New connectionKeep in mindA backwater valve addresses reverse flow; it does not solve a blockage in your own line.
USEFUL BEFORE YOU PICK UP THE PHONEGet a better handle
Get a better handle
on the decision.
Work out the first service, build a planning budget or explore how your house connects to the street.
FIND YOUR LANE
Service Selector
Turn a symptom into a starting service and possible follow-up work.
Choose a next step PLAN THE BUDGETCost Estimator
Explore how the service, line length, depth and surface affect a planning range.
Explore the estimate SEE THE WHOLE SYSTEMSewer Explorer
Tap the parts of a home sewer and see what changes when a problem appears.
Try the interactive modelCost tools show planning estimates in Canadian dollars. A site assessment and a written scope determine a contractor's quote. See the assumptions →
THE WHOLE HOME, BELOW THE SURFACE
See how the system connects.
Every drain in a house runs into one pipe that leaves under the yard and joins the street main. Select any part to see what it does, then switch on a problem and watch where the water goes — and which service fixes it.
Every part and every problem, in words
The parts
- Roof vent — lets air into the drain system so water flows freely and trap seals are not sucked dry; it also carries sewer gas out above the roof.
- Stack — the main vertical pipe that collects the fixtures and carries waste down to the basement.
- Toilet — sealed to the drain by a wax or foam ring; a failed seal leaks and smells.
- P-trap — the U-bend under a sink that holds a plug of water to block sewer gas.
- Floor drain — the lowest opening in the house, so a backup usually shows here first.
- Backwater valve — a flap that lets water out and closes when the City main backs up.
- Cleanout — a capped access fitting used for cleaning and camera inspections.
- Lateral, owner side — the buried pipe from the house to the property line.
- Property line — where responsibility often changes hands; the split varies by city.
- Lateral, City side — the section between the property line and the main.
- Sewer main — the municipal pipe under the street that collects the whole block.
- Manhole — the City's access to the main for inspection and cleaning.
The problems
- Roots find joints and cracks, grow inside and catch waste — slow drains, gurgling, repeat backups. Root removal.
- Grease cools and coats the pipe until the opening closes. Hydro jetting.
- A sag holds standing water and solids, so clogs keep returning. Camera inspection, then repair.
- A collapse blocks the line outright — nothing drains, and the yard may soften. Replacement.
- A frozen line — shallow pipe under a cleared driveway in a cold snap. Drain cleaning to thaw it, then fix why it froze.
- The City main backs up in heavy rain or a main blockage; a backwater valve closes to protect the house. Backwater valves.
FROM YOUR HOME TO THE RIVER
Follow the flush
Where does it go? Press flush and follow one trip from a toilet to the river, stop by stop.
Ready
- Trap and toiletA water seal in every fixture blocks sewer gas; the flush drops into the stack.
- Stack and ventWaste falls down the stack while the roof vent lets air in behind it.
- Building drainUnder the basement floor, past the floor drain, backwater valve and cleanout.
- Owner's lateralOut under the yard at a gentle slope — gravity does all the work.
- Property lineIn many cities responsibility changes here; in others the owner's pipe runs to the main.
- Local mainA few hundred millimetres wide, collecting every house on the street.
- Trunk sewerMains join ever-larger trunks that follow the valleys toward the plant.
- Lift stationWhere the ground rises, pumps lift the flow so gravity can take over again.
- Treatment plantScreens, grit removal, settling, biological treatment and disinfection.
- RiverTreated water returns to the river under the plant's provincial approval.
BEFORE YOU AUTHORIZE WORKWhose pipe?
Whose pipe?
Start with your city.
The ownership boundary is local. It may be the property line, or the owner may be responsible all the way to the main. Ask the utility to confirm the boundary and its reporting process.
Understand line responsibility →KEEP THE IMPORTANT DETAILS CLOSEA little understanding.
Explore the guide library →A little understanding.
A better conversation.
What your drains are telling you
Warning signs, recurring symptoms and the details to record.
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What may be under your yard
Common pipe materials and why condition matters more than an age alone.
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Ask better questions before hiring
Camera evidence, scope, access, restoration and a written warranty.
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Small habits worth keeping
Seasonal care for traps, cleanouts, drains and backwater valves.
↗Does Sewers.ca perform the work?
Sewers.ca is an independent information and service-request portal in the HAUSE Sewer network. The desk can help with next steps and pass a request to a local contractor where available. Work, availability and terms are confirmed with the contractor.
What should I include in a request?
Describe the symptoms, city, property type and timing. Add what the camera showed, where access is available and what any existing quote includes. The brief builder above puts your selected context into the form for you to review.
Can I use the request form for an active backup?
For immediate help, stop using water, keep people away from sewage and wet electrical equipment, and contact your municipality or utility and a local contractor directly. The desk handles requests and follow-up help; it does not dispatch emergency crews or promise a response time.
Are the cost ranges actual quotes?
The ranges are planning estimates. City, access, depth, pipe condition, permits and surface restoration change the work. Get a written scope and a site-specific quote before authorizing it.
Request quotes
Describe the problem once. Get a straight answer.
Send the symptoms and anything you already know — age of the house, what a camera found, what you have been quoted. The HAUSE Sewer desk replies with next steps and, where available, a local contractor for the job.
Sewage backing up right now? Stop using water, keep people away from the water, and do not touch electrical equipment near it.