Since the advent of trenchless pipe repair more than a decade ago, a lot of homeowners and businesses have been spared the major disruption and landscape damage that resulted from the old method.
Yet a survey of Angie’s List members revealed that 78% were not even aware of the “no dig” procedures.
There are two types, and experts say they’re equally effective. If a pipe needs to be entirely replaced, the bursting technique is employed. Relatively small holes are dug at both ends, and the old sections are pulled out and crushed as the new ones are fed in behind them.
When all that’s needed is repair of the internal surface, only one hole is required. New lining material is fed in and carefully aligned all along the inside. It’s sealed into place and left to set for 10 to 30 hours, with the duration depending upon the diameter of the pipe and the process being used. Once finished, the new lining will have blocked any holes and provided a smooth surface to speed up the flow of liquid. This is also known as cured-in-place piping, or CIPP. Its expected service life is considered to be about 50 years.
Both kinds of trenchless sewer repair carry a warranty of 10 to 50 years.
How often does the need for total replacement occur? A sewer drain line that’s forty or more years old is probably going to fail soon. So if you live in an old house or are thinking of buying one, it’s wise to find out when any line repairs might have been completed.
If it becomes necessary for you to have some trenchless pipe repair or replacement done, you may find its initial cost to be higher than that of trenching. But you need to consider the fact that this far less intrusive method saves you the subsequent expense of having to repair major damage done to your landscaping.
Anyone who has ever had a yard dug up for this kind of sewer line work will easily see the advantages of having it done this way instead. The old approach often required extensive digging all the way out to the street, which created problems not only for the property owner but for others driving by.