Trenchless sewer repair — when it works and when it doesn't

Pipe lining

A resin-saturated liner is drawn into the existing pipe and cured in place, forming a new jointless pipe inside the old one. Because it is seamless, the joints roots were entering through no longer exist. It requires the host pipe to be reasonably intact and reduces the internal diameter slightly, which is usually immaterial on a residential line.

Pipe bursting

A bursting head is pulled through the old pipe, breaking it outward while drawing a new pipe in behind it. It works where the old line is too damaged to line, and it can increase the diameter. It needs access pits at each end and enough clearance around the line for the old pipe fragments to displace into.

Where trenchless is not an option

A fully collapsed section leaves no path to pull through. A severe belly stays a belly — lining a sagged pipe gives you a lined sagged pipe that still holds water, and correcting the grade means excavating. Very tight bends can defeat both methods. And in some cases the access pits land somewhere that makes the advantage disappear. The camera inspection is what determines which of these you have.

Comparing honestly

Open-cut is cheaper per foot. The comparison people get wrong is leaving out restoration: replacing driveway concrete, re-laying a patio, re-turfing a lawn, and the mature trees that do not come back at all. Where both methods are viable, get both quoted with restoration included in the open-cut number. Sometimes trenchless wins on total cost outright; sometimes it loses and is still worth the premium for the disruption avoided. That should be your decision with both numbers in front of you.

Common questions