Greetings from a former Flushing resident. Reeves Ave near Queens
College. Upsate NY now. Just curious, where in Queens do you live?
(Nothing too specific please!)

Anyway, I'm not sure if the city will like it if a private firm starts
digging around the roots of their trees without their permission. You
may end up paying fines as well as removal/replacement costs if they
damage the tree. Make sure you discuss this with the contractor and
don't take an "Oh, don't worry about - we do it all the time and never
hurt the trees" answer. It's usually right after that that things go
very bad and they shrug their shoulders and walk away, leaving you with
the city knocking on your bank account's door.

Who is going to replace the sidewalk? Will this be an additional cost
to you after the plumbers leave? Check with the city - they may have
rules about screwing with their sidewalks also. It's been along time
since I lived in Queens and I don't recall who is responsible for the
sidewalks. If it's the city, then maybe you could work a deal where
they would cover some of the sidewalk replacement cost since their tree
has lifted the existing one and it will be level when the sewer job is
done. i.e. a benefit to them.

Maybe you could even get them to coordinate the job with the plumbers
get the sidewalk removed and replaced by the city and reduce the labor
costs of the plumber. Yeah, right!


Dee wrote:
Hi all,

I am new to this group. I have had sewer backups in my house basement
for as long as I can remember. Snaking the main sewer line once or
twice a year helped to contain the problem for about 10-15 years. I
was charged about $250 for each job. The last time a few days ago the
plumber worked for 3 hours and was not able to clear the line
successfully. He was able to go out pretty far, but not all the way to
the city sewer in the street. Last year we had the video inspection
done for $500 and I was given the tape to keep. It showed that the
pipe was severely damaged and filled with large tree roots. It also
showed that the pipe was in danger of collapse (separation?). We have
a large city tree in front of the house that has massive roots that are
lifting up the sidewalk. The houses here were built in the late
1940's, so I assume that the main sewer line is quite old. We are fed
up with the sewage backups that have contaminated our basement time
after time. We have hired a plumber to replace the main sewer line at
a cost of $8,800 (OUCH!). They will dig up a 4-foot wide trench below
our foundation, and install a new pipe. Does anyone know if this is a
fair estimate for two days of labor here in Queens, New York? There
will be four men working. They are also going to remove part of our
front lawn and 4 small bushes that they have promised us may not grow
back. In addition, the sidewalk in front will be broken open as well
as part of the street. I would certainly appreciate any advice that
anyone has for me. I am agonizing over this decision and have a
knotted stomach from all of the trouble and expense. I believe that
this is the only way to solve this problem for good. Please advise me!
Dee in New York City