Bloomfield Hills, MI · Oakland County
Plumbing & Sewer Services in Bloomfield Hills, MI
Drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection and trenchless CIPP lining built for the long, tree-lined laterals that run under Bloomfield Hills estate lots — without opening the landscaping.
Bison Plumbing serves Bloomfield Hills, MI from our Warren shop, handling drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection, and trenchless CIPP sewer lining for the long, tree-lined laterals common on Bloomfield Hills estate lots. Family-owned since 1998, Michigan LARA licensed, 4.9 stars across 3,000+ Google reviews.
- Family-owned since 1998
- 3,000+ Google reviews
- 4.9★ average
- Michigan LARA licensed
- APSTA Certified Installer
- ASTM F1216 / F1743 lining
Bloomfield Hills
Birmingham
= longer laterals
& Macomb County
01 Why Bloomfield Hills Sewer Laterals Run Longer — and Fail Differently
Bloomfield Hills sewer laterals are the longest in our service area, and lot size is the reason. The city has a population density of 899 people per square mile. Birmingham, directly to the south, has 4,554 — roughly five times denser on the same kind of land. That single number explains most of what makes sewer work here different: houses sit far back from the road on wooded estate lots, so the lateral running from the house to the main in the street has a long way to go.
Length changes the whole failure profile. A longer run means more pipe joints, more feet of pipe sitting in contact with tree roots, a longer camera push to find the problem, and more linear feet of liner to fix it. On a compact city lot, a lateral failure is usually one bad spot. Out here it is rarely one spot.
It also changes the arithmetic. Trenchless CIPP lining is quoted per linear foot, so on an estate lot the depth of your property drives the number as much as the condition of the pipe does. Two houses with identical pipe damage can be thousands of dollars apart because one sits 40 feet off the street and the other sits 130.
Mature oaks, maples and willows: root intrusion along the whole run
Bloomfield Hills is heavily treed, and the species doing the damage are the ones people value most — mature oaks, maples and willows. Roots do not seek out pipe; they seek out moisture and nutrients, and a hairline gap at a clay joint supplies both. Once a root tip gets in, it thickens season after season until it forms a mat that catches solids.
On a 40-foot urban lateral, that happens at one or two joints and a cutting head clears it. On a 120-foot run under mature hardwoods, it happens at many joints along the length — which is what moves the correct repair from a spot patch to full-length lining. If you cut roots out of six joints and leave the joints open, you have scheduled the same visit for two years from now. Tree root removal clears the blockage; lining is what stops it coming back.
What the extra distance changes about diagnosis
We camera first, every time, before anyone quotes a number. On a long lateral that is not a formality — it is the only way to know where the damage sits, how many feet of it there are, and whether the run is even continuous. We use Picote Solutions HD camera equipment, locate and measure the line, and record the footage so you can see the same thing we saw. A sewer camera inspection costs $200–$400 and is credited toward the work if you go ahead.
02 Septic or Sanitary Sewer in Bloomfield Hills? Here's How to Tell
Some Bloomfield Hills properties are on municipal sanitary sewer and others are still on on-site septic systems — and the two need different work from different trades. This catches people out constantly, including people who have owned the house for years. It is worth two minutes to establish which one you have before you call anyone.
| You're on septic if… | You're on sanitary sewer if… | |
|---|---|---|
| On the property | You can find tank lids or risers in the lawn, and there's a drain field area that greens up differently | There's a cleanout near the foundation and the line runs toward the street |
| On your bill | No sewer charge — water only | A separate sewer line item alongside water |
| On your closing paperwork | A well and septic disclosure, or a county septic permit in the file | No septic disclosure |
| Who maintains it | You do. Oakland County Health Division regulates it — 248-858-1280 | You own the lateral to the main; the city owns the main |
If you are on septic, the City of Bloomfield Hills publishes its own guidance and it is worth following: inspect the system every 3 years and pump the tank as necessary, generally every 3 to 5 years. An inspection means locating the system, uncovering the access holes, flushing fixtures, checking for signs of backup, measuring the scum and sludge layers, and looking over the mechanical components. For inspections and contractor referrals the City points residents to the Oakland County Health Division at 248-858-1280.
Replace this box with one plain sentence stating exactly what Bison does and does not do on a septic property. The intended wording is: "On a septic property we camera, clear and line the building sewer between the house and the tank. We do not pump tanks or service drain fields — for that, the Oakland County Health Division can refer a septic contractor." Bison must confirm this is accurate before it goes live. Publishing the wrong scope here generates unqualified calls and bad reviews.
03 What Root Intrusion Looks Like Inside a Long Estate Lateral
This is a clay lateral running under mature estate landscaping, before and after CIPP lining. The left frame is the root mass at the clay joints — the point where the pipe stopped being a sealed pipe. The right frame is the same line after a resin-saturated liner was cured in place inside it. Nothing was excavated between the two photographs.
04 What We Handle in Bloomfield Hills
Sewer Camera Inspection
Locate, measure and record the lateral before anyone quotes a repair. On a long estate run this is the difference between a real number and a guess.
Trenchless CIPP Lining
A new structural pipe formed inside the old one, from access points. Priced per linear foot — which is why lot depth matters as much as pipe condition.
Drain Cleaning
Cabling and cutting for blocked kitchen, bath and main lines. We camera afterward so you know whether you cleared a symptom or fixed a cause.
Hydro Jetting
High-pressure cleaning sized for long-run root debris, grease and hardened scale — not a 40-foot city lateral's worth of build-up.
Sewer Repair & Replacement
Traditional repair where lining is not viable — collapsed sections, severe offsets, or a line that no longer holds a continuous path.
Emergency Service
Active backups do not wait for business hours. If waste is coming up, call — do not keep running fixtures in the meantime.
05 On an Estate Lot, Excavation Isn't a Trench — It's the Landscaping
Trenchless CIPP lining rehabilitates the existing pipe from access points, so mature trees, irrigation, paver drives and stone hardscape stay where they are. That matters more here than almost anywhere else we work, because of what an open cut on a Bloomfield Hills lot actually crosses on its way to the pipe.
- Mature hardwoods. A specimen oak or maple that has been there sixty years cannot be replaced at any price — and a trench through the root plate can kill a tree that looks fine for another two seasons.
- Irrigation. Estate systems run many zones. A trench cuts lines and control wiring, and the repair is rarely just the piece you can see.
- Paver and aggregate drives. These get reset, not patched. Matching an aged paver drive after a cut is a specialist job.
- Stone walls and planted beds. Rebuilding a dry-stacked wall or a mature bed is landscape work, billed as landscape work, on top of the plumbing.
The restoration bill routinely exceeds the pipe repair on properties like these. That is the whole argument for no-dig work here, and it is why we treat lining as the default rather than the upsell. For a fuller walkthrough of the method, see our guide to no-dig sewer repair in Bloomfield Hills.
The work is done to standard, not improvised: our liners are installed to ASTM F1216 and ASTM F1743, our technicians are APSTA Certified Installers trained through the American Pipelining Solutions Training Academy, and we are Michigan LARA licensed. Every lining job closes with a post-repair verification camera run, so the liner is confirmed seated and fully cured before we leave.
Financing available
Financing available through GreenSky — apply in minutes. Most approvals in 24 hours. Reference: 81085618.
06 Buying or Selling in Bloomfield Hills? Scope the Lateral Before You Close
A pre-purchase sewer inspection matters more on a Bloomfield Hills property than on a smaller lot, because a failed 120-foot lateral under mature landscaping is a five-figure surprise rather than a four-figure one. A standard home inspection does not include the sewer lateral. Nobody puts a camera down the line unless you ask for it, and the line is the single most expensive thing on the property that nobody looked at.
What you get is a located and measured lateral, recorded HD footage you keep, a written condition report, and a straight recommendation on whether the line needs lining now, monitoring, or nothing at all. Buyers use it to renegotiate with evidence instead of estimates. Sellers increasingly scope ahead of listing for the same reason in reverse — finding it yourself is cheaper than having it found during the inspection period, when the other side sets the price of the fix.
If you are working with a client on a Bloomfield Hills listing, our pre-purchase sewer inspection is built for exactly that timeline.
07 Bloomfield Hills Areas & Nearby Communities We Serve
Around Bloomfield Hills
We work throughout the city, including the Cranbrook area, the neighborhoods around Kirk in the Hills, and properties along the Woodward Avenue, Long Lake Road and Lone Pine Road corridors — plus the surrounding Bloomfield Township.
Neighboring communities
Bloomfield Hills sits directly north of Birmingham, where we handle the same aging clay laterals in a denser setting. We also cover Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and West Bloomfield. See all service areas.
08 Frequently Asked Questions — Bloomfield Hills, MI
Does Bison Plumbing serve Bloomfield Hills, MI?
Yes. Bison Plumbing has served Bloomfield Hills and the surrounding Oakland County communities since 1998 from our shop in Warren, MI. We handle drain cleaning, sewer camera inspection, hydro jetting, sewer repair and trenchless CIPP lining, and we hold a 4.9-star average across more than 3,000 Google reviews.
Are Bloomfield Hills homes on septic or city sewer?
Both. Some properties are on municipal sanitary sewer and others remain on on-site septic systems. The City of Bloomfield Hills advises septic owners to inspect the system every 3 years and pump the tank generally every 3 to 5 years, and refers residents to the Oakland County Health Division at 248-858-1280 for inspections and contractor referrals.
Why do Bloomfield Hills sewer lines get root damage?
Because the laterals are long and the tree cover is mature. At 899 people per square mile, Bloomfield Hills lots are large and heavily treed, so the pipe from house to main travels a long distance under oaks, maples and willows. Roots enter at multiple clay joints along the run rather than at a single point, which is why spot repairs often fail.
How much does trenchless sewer repair cost in Bloomfield Hills?
Trenchless CIPP lining runs $165–$295 per linear foot. Because it is priced by the foot, total cost tracks the length of your lateral — so estate lots with long runs cost more than compact lots with identical pipe damage. A camera inspection at $200–$400 comes first to measure the run and confirm what needs lining.
Can you repair a sewer line without digging up my landscaping?
Yes. CIPP lining forms a new structural pipe inside the existing one, installed through access points rather than an open trench, so mature trees, irrigation, paver drives and stone hardscape stay intact. Our liners are installed to ASTM F1216 and ASTM F1743 by APSTA Certified Installers, and verified with a camera run before we close the job.
Should I get a sewer inspection before buying a Bloomfield Hills home?
Yes. A standard home inspection does not include the sewer lateral, and on a large lot that line can be 100 feet or more of unseen pipe under mature landscaping. A pre-purchase camera inspection gives you a located and measured line, recorded footage and a written condition report — evidence you can negotiate with before closing.
Sewer or Drain Problem in Bloomfield Hills?
We camera the line first, show you the footage, and quote from what is actually there. Family-owned since 1998 and Michigan LARA licensed.