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New City

New City — better known to most Chicagoans as Back of the Yards — is one of the city’s most historically significant neighborhoods, made famous by Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and the stockyards labor movement that grew from it. The Union Stock Yards are long gone, replaced by industrial and commercial use, but the residential streets around 47th and Ashland retain their working-class character and their very old housing stock. Two-flats and workers’ cottages from the early 1900s line block after block of a neighborhood that has housed successive generations of Chicago immigrants and working families.


In homes this old, plumbing is genuinely vintage. Lead supply lines, galvanized steel that has narrowed with corrosion to a fraction of its original capacity, original clay tile sewers, and cast iron drains with a century of use — these are standard findings. A sewer camera inspection is always the first step. From there, we handle drain cleaning, trenchless sewer repair, lead pipe removal, full repiping, and water heater service — honestly and without shortcuts.


When you call us about a backed-up or slow sewer, our first move is to rod and clear the line — get things flowing and your home back to normal. Sewer rodding starts at just $99 when there’s an outside cleanout to rod from, a price we’ve held since we opened in 2006. While nearly everything else has gotten more expensive, our starting price hasn’t moved in nearly twenty years. Once the line is open, we follow up with a sewer video inspection to see exactly what caused the problem — tree roots, a crack, a pipe belly — and give you an honest picture of what, if anything, needs to happen next.


We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year — including holidays — so when something goes wrong at 2 a.m., you can reach us. We offer free estimates during regular business hours with no trip charge to come out. Most companies charge just to show up; we don’t. When a sewer line needs more than rodding, The Scottish Plumber is one of the most experienced trenchless sewer repair companies in Chicagoland — doing this since 2006 with thousands of repairs completed across the area. For older homes especially, pipe stent repair is worth knowing about: a precise, minimally invasive fix that spares your floors, walls, and landscaping.


Our New City Plumbing Services