Three things: nearly four decades working on Hill Country sewer lines specifically, camera inspection before we quote rather than after, and the fact that we also do the plumbing and HVAC — so a drain problem that turns out not to be a drain problem gets solved by the same company.
We Know What Is Under Hill Country Properties
Since 1986 we have opened enough ground in Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Boerne, and the surrounding communities to know what tends to be down there.
Older properties here run cast iron and clay laterals, both of which fail in characteristic ways — cast iron corrodes and scales from the inside, clay joints separate and admit roots. Limestone and rocky soil make excavation harder and more expensive than in most markets, which changes the calculus on trenchless versus open-cut repair.
Tree species matter too. Live oak and pecan roots are aggressive and they find clay joints reliably.
That accumulated local knowledge is the difference between a quote based on your property and a quote based on a chart.
We Look Before We Quote
The most important thing we do differently is diagnose with a camera before recommending a repair.
A drain that will not clear could be a soft blockage, root intrusion, a bellied section holding water, an offset joint, a crack, or a collapsed pipe. Those are five different problems with five different repairs, and they are indistinguishable from the fixture.
A sewer camera inspection puts an actual picture of the pipe interior in front of you. You see what we saw, and the recommendation follows the evidence rather than a guess.
This is also the honest protection against being sold a sewer replacement you did not need — a real problem in this trade.
We Clear Lines Properly
There is a difference between opening a hole through a blockage and cleaning a pipe.
Cabling clears the obstruction and gets you flowing again, which is the right answer for many calls. But if the pipe wall is coated in grease or scale, the line will close up again within months.
Hydrojetting scours the pipe wall back to bare surface with high-pressure water. It costs more and it lasts far longer, and we will tell you which one your situation actually calls for rather than defaulting to whichever is more profitable.
We Repair Without Trenching Where We Can
In Hill Country soil, excavation is expensive and disruptive. Where the pipe condition allows it, trenchless methods repair a line without opening a trench across your yard.
Where excavation genuinely is required — a collapsed line, a severe belly, a section under a structure — we say so and explain why, rather than proposing a trenchless repair that will not hold.
Both Trades Under One Roof
This matters more on drain calls than people expect.
A recurring backup is sometimes not a sewer problem at all. A condensate line from your air conditioner ties into the drain system, and a clog there reads exactly like a plumbing failure. Water in a crawlspace that looks like groundwater is sometimes a supply leak.
Because we run plumbing and HVAC as one company, those cross-trade problems get diagnosed and fixed on one visit rather than by two vendors pointing at each other.
Credentials and Backing
We are licensed and insured, and every job is backed by our Home Comfort Guarantee. What customers say about the experience is on our reviews page.
Emergency dispatch runs around the clock, because a sewer backup does not wait for business hours.
Getting a Line Looked At
If you have a slow drain, a recurring clog, or a backup, start with an inspection rather than a guess. Details are on our sewer and drain services and drain cleaning pages.
Contact 72 Degrees or call (830) 468-5316.
