Most full sewer line replacements in Aurora, Colorado fall between about $5,000 and $15,000. Where you land depends most on how long your line is, how deep it sits, and what has to be dug up and put back, and a long or street-cut job can go past $20,000.
This is rarely a planned expense. It usually shows up as a backed-up basement drain or a recurring clog that finally gets scoped, and then the camera finds a cracked or collapsed line that has to come out.
The wide range is not a dodge. It reflects how different two Aurora homes can be. A short run from a compact house in an older central-Aurora neighborhood is a very different job than a long line stretched across a big lot in Tallyn’s Reach or Southshore out toward E-470. On top of the pipe itself, you are paying for excavation, permits and inspection, and putting your yard, driveway, or sidewalk back the way it was. Get all of that scoped and quoted before any dirt moves, because a real number only comes after a camera inspection shows what is actually down there.
What drives the cost of a sewer line replacement in Aurora?
Length and depth are the two biggest levers. Contractors usually price replacement by the linear foot, and that rate typically covers the pipe and the labor to install it, often around $50 to $250 a foot for a traditional dig-and-replace job. Many Denver-area lines run somewhere around 50 to 150 feet from the house to the city tap, so length alone can move the total by thousands. Deeper lines take more digging, and a trench deeper than 5 feet needs shoring, sloping, or a trench box, which adds equipment and time. A few other things move the price:
- Pipe material, since new lines are usually PVC sewer pipe that meets Aurora Water’s standards
- The method used to get the pipe in, since trenchless work often runs around $60 to $250 a foot, which can match or top the per-foot cost of digging, but it often cuts down on the yard, driveway, or sidewalk left to restore
- Depth and soil conditions, which decide how much digging and trench protection the job takes
- Permits from the city’s Building Division and Public Works, plus inspection of the connection by Aurora Water
- Restoration, meaning repairing lawn, driveway, sidewalk, or a street or alley cut afterward, which is usually billed on top of the per-foot rate
Mature trees over the line and a long distance to the tap both add labor, which is why two Aurora houses on the same block can get very different quotes.
Can a homeowner replace their own sewer line?
Practically speaking, no. Replacing a sewer lateral in Aurora is licensed, permitted work, not a weekend project. Permits come from the city’s Building Division for the part near the house and from Public Works for the run out to the public sewer, including any street, alley, or sidewalk work, and the final connection is made under the supervision of Aurora Water. The property owner is responsible for the lateral from the house to the city main, but responsibility is not the same as being able to legally dig and connect it yourself.
There is also the physical reality. The job itself is heavy work: a trench deep enough to reach the line, the right protection to keep it from caving in, the equipment to excavate it, and the know-how to set the right pitch so the line drains. A bad slope, an uninspected connection, or an unpermitted tie-in to the city main creates code violations and leaks you end up paying twice to fix. Aurora also spans Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, and a property on the edge of the city can fall into a special district instead of Aurora Water service, so confirming which authority governs your line comes first, before anyone quotes the job.
What’s the lifespan of a new sewer line?
A properly installed modern sewer line should last a long time. New replacements in Aurora are usually PVC, which holds up better than the older lines it replaces. That is a real upgrade over what it usually replaces. Aurora’s median home was built around 1985, so about half the city’s homes are older than that, and those older homes can still have clay sewer lines.
Clay pipe can wear out with age, and once a joint cracks or separates, roots can find the gap and make it worse. When you replace an old clay line with PVC, you are not just fixing today’s break. You are putting in a far more durable line. A camera inspection before and after the work confirms the new line is seated and clear, so you start out knowing exactly what you have.
Is it worth replacing a sewer line?
When the line is cracked, collapsed, or full of roots at the joints, replacing it is usually worth it, because a new, more durable line ends the cycle of backups instead of postponing it. A failing old line does not get better on its own. It keeps trapping waste, keeps backing up into the lowest drain in the house, and each repeat backup risks damage to finished basement space that costs far more than the pipe.
There is a resale angle too. A standard home inspection does not look inside the buried sewer line, so records of a permitted, inspected replacement give a buyer answers the inspection cannot. The cheaper path is getting the line scoped early, while you still have options, instead of waiting for a full failure to decide for you. A camera inspection shows whether you need a spot fix or a full replacement, so the decision rests on what is actually in the ground.
A failing sewer line under an Aurora home rarely gives you much warning, and by the time it backs up, the digging and permit steps involved mean it is not a quick or cheap fix to rush. At Superior Mile High Plumbing, we start with a camera inspection, walk you through what it shows and what the replacement will involve, and take care of the permits and inspections so the whole job is done right and on the books. When your drains keep backing up or you are ready to schedule sewer line repair in Aurora, get in touch by calling (303) 304-0784 to set up a sewer inspection in Aurora and a straight estimate.