Subterra is Portland's dedicated trenchless and sewer specialty firm. We run the pulling rig ourselves, we own the hydro-jet trailers ourselves, and we don't do faucets — we do laterals, mains, and trenchless replacement. Two master plumbers on staff. Twenty-two years on Portland soil.
Our two emergency trucks carry sewer camera, hydro-jet, and emergency cleanout tools — not general plumbing equipment. We diagnose AND clear AND scope your problem in one visit.
Two master plumbers on staff (Karl + Marina)
Oregon Construction Contractors Board
North American Society for Trenchless Technology
Better Business Bureau accredited
General liability and surety bond on file
Open-trench replacement of failed cast-iron, clay-tile, ABS, or Orangeburg laterals with new SDR-35 PVC or HDPE. Permit and BDS inspection coordinated.
Pipe-bursting via our own 6-ton pulling rig. Replace your sewer line through two small access pits — keep your trees, driveway, and landscaping.
Truck-mounted hydro-jet for chronic root and scale problems. Camera-verified before and after. Same-day scheduling for non-emergency.
Mechanical rooting via K-7500 cable machine for stoppages in residential main lines. For chronic root recurrence we recommend a hydro-jet upgrade.
Color sewer camera with sonde locator. Real-time recording delivered to you via Dropbox link. Accurate depth + position mapping for repair planning.
Two emergency-response trucks staffed at HQ 24/7/365. Each carries camera, hydro-jet, and cleanout tools — full sewer-specific diagnostic capability.
Most Portland plumbing firms that quote a trenchless sewer replacement actually sub-contract the pulling-rig portion to one of two Oregon-based trenchless rental companies. The customer pays the markup. The crew that arrives is not the crew that estimated.
Subterra owns the rig — a TT Technologies Grundocrack 800G pneumatic pipe-bursting system mounted on a 2017 Peterbilt 348 chassis with a 6-ton TRIC Tools hydraulic pulling unit on the rear deck. Same rig, same pulling head, same hydraulic operator every project.
Marina Sundström-Reyes — Karl's daughter, civil engineer, OR PJ-CB #29841 — runs every trenchless project personally. She is on every pull. Naming a specific human as the operator (vs. "our trenchless team") is the trust move we lead with on a $14K–$30K project.
And we don't do general plumbing. No faucets. No water heaters. No fixtures. We do sewer mains, lateral lines, drain mains, hydro-jetting, camera inspection, trenchless pipe-bursting, CIPP lining, and emergency sewer response. The narrowness is the brand.
We work the full city of Portland and the inner suburbs — 42-minute average emergency response inside Portland city limits, 60–90 minutes for outer suburbs. Our specialty is the older quadrants where 1900s–1940s cast-iron and clay-tile sewer laterals are reaching end of life.
Office Mon–Fri 7:30am–5:30pm · Emergency line 24/7/365
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