Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Plumber in Winston-Salem, NC: Sewer Backups, Leaks and Who to Call

Sewage in a tub, a wet patch in the yard or a water heater that has quit. In Winston-Salem, first work out whether the problem is in the street or on your property, then call.

TALK TO A PLUMBER(336) 388-6216

Open sewer camera control unit sitting on grass in front of a low commercial building, with a cable reel at the right — Camera equipment set up at an outside access point is how a backup gets traced to its source.

Start here

Sewage or water in Winston-Salem: is it the city's problem or yours?

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities, the city and county utility, says on its overflows, ruptures and leaks page that it is responsible for breaks in water and wastewater mains in the street, and that the business or property owner is responsible for breaks on private property.

That split decides the first call. A sewer backup is sewage coming up into a home or business. The utility's page says you must call CityLink for a water emergency or a sewer backup, at 336-727-8000 or by dialing 311, and not use the online form for it.

A wet spot in the yard is harder to place. If it sits between the meter and the house, the pipe is usually yours. If it sits near the street, it may be the utility's main. A call to CityLink settles which.

Stop using water in the house while you wait. Every flush sends more water toward the blockage.

After a backup

What a plumber should do and record after a backup

The utility publishes instructions for plumbers after a backup. In short, the plumber clears the blockage all the way to the main, runs a camera down the service line and sends the evidence to the utility's field operations supervisor. The utility covers a first-time blockage in the sewer main, not one in the home's own service line.

That is why the camera matters. Ask whoever comes to record the footage, note where any damage sits and give you a copy. Call CityLink before cleanup starts, because delay can affect a claim.

Kitchens add to the problem. The utility runs a program called Can the Grease, aimed at reducing sewage backups, which is a reminder that grease poured down a drain ends up in the same line. The pages on camera inspection of a sewer line and unblocking a drain cover the work itself.

Sewage backing up? Stop using water and call CityLink first if you are on city sewer.

CALL NOW(336) 388-6216

Murky camera view of brown debris and film coating the inside of a pipe — Footage like this is what a plumber should note after a backup, along with where in the line it was seen.

Coverage

Is my Winston-Salem address in range of this dispatch line?

This site serves Clemmons, about nine miles west of Winston-Salem. The only ZIP code on this dispatch network's current list is 27012, a Clemmons ZIP. No Winston-Salem ZIP code is on that list.

That does not mean a call from Winston-Salem will be turned away. It means this page cannot promise that a plumber from this network will come to your address. Call with the address and the problem, and the dispatcher will confirm whether it can be reached.

If the answer is no, you have lost little. If water is running that you cannot stop, close the main first and then compare options.

Older homes

Older Winston-Salem homes and what their age asks of the plumbing

Winston-Salem has neighborhoods built long before modern plumbing codes. The Ardmore Historic District, for example, was developed in at least ten platted residential developments between 1910 and 1924, in Queen Anne and bungalow styles, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Age is not a diagnosis. A house from that era may have had its plumbing replaced in whole or in part, or it may still run on original drain lines. The only way to know is to look.

If you own or are buying an older house in Winston-Salem, ask for a camera inspection of the sewer line before major repairs or before closing. The footage shows the pipe's real condition, whatever the age of the house.

Renovating an older property can involve extra rules, especially in a historic district. Ask the contractor what applies before work begins, and who pulls the permits.

Hand pointing toward an old cast iron drain pipe with clamps below a wooden subfloor and joists, with rust marks on the wood — Older houses often have cast iron drains, and rust marks near a joint are worth showing a plumber.

Water heaters

Replacing a water heater in Winston-Salem: the permit question

North Carolina's rule in G.S. 160D-1110(a)(2) applies across the state. A permit is not required to connect a replacement water heater in a one- or two-family home when a licensed plumber does the work, personally examines it and leak tests any gas piping. It also requires that nothing changes in fuel, energy source, location, capacity, or the routing or sizing of venting and piping.

Change any of those, and a permit may apply. Local offices can add requirements, and the Forsyth County website publishes a plumbing permit application. Ask the plumber which case yours is and who will pull the permit.

Choosing a new unit is covered on the page for replacing a water heater, and a unit that still works but is failing is on the page for repairing one.

Tank water heater and a furnace side by side in a narrow closet, with a vent pipe above and a yellow gas line at the bottom — A replacement in a tight closet has to account for the vent, the gas line and the clearance around the tank.

While you wait

What to do in the first few minutes of a plumbing emergency

Whatever the address, the first steps are the same.

Close the main shutoff, usually near the meter or where the line enters the house.
Stop using water, including the washing machine and dishwasher, if sewage is coming up.
If you smell gas, leave the building and call the gas utility or 911.
Photograph the damage before moving anything, and keep receipts.

The full list is on the page for the full emergency checklist, and drying and cleanup are covered on the water damage page.

Before work begins

Checking a plumber before they start in Winston-Salem

Plumbing contractors in North Carolina are licensed by the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, and Fire Sprinkler Contractors under G.S. 87, Article 2. Ask for the license details before work begins and confirm them with the Board.

Winston-Salem has many plumbers, and nothing on this page says this network's plumbers are better than any of them. Compare the scope in writing, ask for the price first and ask what the diagnosis includes. Typical ranges are on the cost guide.

By problem

Slow drains, rising bills and frozen lines: pages to read next

A slow drain that keeps returning belongs under pipe cleaning with high-pressure water. A bill that is rising with nothing obviously leaking belongs under tracing a leak you cannot see. A frozen or split line belongs under burst pipe repair.

Nearby Clemmons neighborhoods that this network does cover have their own pages, listed on the service areas page.

Questions

Winston-Salem FAQ: ZIP 27012 and who to call for a sewer backup

Do you serve Winston-Salem?

The only ZIP code on this dispatch network's current list is 27012, in Clemmons. No Winston-Salem ZIP is on it. Call with your address and the dispatcher will confirm whether a plumber can be sent.

Who do I call for a sewer backup in Winston-Salem?

If your house is on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities system, call CityLink at 336-727-8000 or dial 311 before cleanup starts, then call a plumber. The utility handles mains in the street, and the owner handles private property.

Does an older Winston-Salem house need a sewer camera inspection?

It is worth asking for before major repairs or before buying. Age alone does not show what is in the pipe, but footage does.

Browse plumbing questions with short answers on one page.

Not sure your address is in range? Call and ask.

Give the dispatcher your address and the problem, and they will confirm whether this network can send a plumber.

TALK TO A PLUMBER(336) 388-6216