Underground work, in plain words.

Bellied pipe (also: belly, sag)

A section of sewer pipe that has sunk below its proper slope, so wastewater and solids pool in the low spot instead of flowing through. Over time those deposits can cause repeated clogs and backups, and a camera inspection is how a belly is usually found.

Where we use it: Sewer camera inspection

Cleanout

An access fitting with a removable cap, usually set at grade or near a wall, that lets a plumber or a camera reach a sewer line from above ground. It is the usual entry point for clearing a line or inspecting it.

Where we use it: Sewer camera inspection

Conduit

A protective tube or duct, usually plastic, that carries electrical wire, fiber optic cable or other utility lines underground. Installing conduit first lets cable be pulled in, or replaced later, without opening the whole route again.

Where we use it: Directional boring

Curb stop (also: curb valve)

A shutoff valve on the water service line, usually near the curb or property line, that lets the water utility turn off service to one building. It is often operated with a key through a curb box at the surface, and where the utility's responsibility ends varies by town and by utility.

Where we use it: Water service replacement

Handhole

A small buried box with a removable cover, placed along a conduit run so a technician can reach cable, splices or conduit connections. It is smaller than a manhole and is not built for a person to enter.

Where we use it: Fiber construction

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) (also: directional boring)

A steerable drill makes a shallow, curved path under a road, driveway or waterway, running from a launch pit to a receiving pit. The product pipe or conduit is then pulled back through the bore.

Where we use it: Directional boring

Lateral

The pipe that connects one building to the public main in the street. A sewer lateral carries wastewater from the house to the sewer main, and who is responsible for it depends on the town and the pipe, so check local rules before assuming.

Where we use it: Sewer camera inspection

Orangeburg pipe

A sewer and drain pipe made of wood pulp fiber bonded with a tar-like binder, widely installed in homes from roughly 1945 to 1972. It deteriorates with age and can crack, sag and collapse, which is why many older houses that have it end up replacing it.

Where we use it: Orangeburg pipe replacement

Pipe bursting

A trenchless way to replace an old pipe. A bursting head is pulled through the old line from an access pit, breaking it outward while a new pipe of the same or larger size is pulled in behind it.

Where we use it: Trenchless or open cut

Pipe lining (also: cured-in-place pipe (CIPP))

A trenchless repair in which a resin-soaked fabric liner is installed inside an existing pipe and cured, usually with heat, steam or UV light, so that it forms a new pipe within the old one. Lining repairs the pipe you already have, so it only works on a pipe that still holds its shape and has enough slope.

Where we use it: Trenchless or open cut

Service line

The pipe that connects a single building to a water main or to a sewer main. On the water side the term usually covers the whole run from the main to the house, and on the sewer side the same route is called the lateral.

Where we use it: Water service replacement

These are general descriptions of how each method or part is usually understood. They are not a quote or a promise about any one property. Reviewed 2026-11-04.