Trenchless Water Pipe Repair And Replacement

There are new methods that can be used for replacing or repairing sewer and water pipes that are underground. Instead of tearing up your yard, these new techniques can use the old pipes or lines without having to pull them up. This can save your landscaping, sidewalks and driveways from being ruined; making it more cost efficient in the long run and less disruptive.

Pipe Relining

One option is relining the old pipes, either through a pull-in-place method or an inversion method. Both insert new lining into the old broken pipes, either by pulling it through and filling it with epoxy or rolled out and inflated with water, air or steam until cured. Either way, this means the broken pipes do not need to be removed, so no digging. The liner dries inside the old pipes, basically creating a new pipe inside the old one.

Pipe Replacement

Another way to replace old or broken pipes underground without tearing up the lawn or driveway is to use the existing lines to install the new pipes. This method pulls the new pipes through the old pipes from the house to the main, using the existing path to install the new pipe. These systems basically break up the old pipe as they go, so even if a larger pipe is installed then the old one, this method still can be used.

These new trenchless sewer line replacement techniques are not only easier on your yard and property; they also are less expensive and take less time to complete. There is less mess and these methods save your root system that is in your yard. Many repairs or installations can be done in as little as one day.

Trenchless Underground Pipe Replacement

If you need to have sewer pipe, water supply line, or other underground pipe replaced at your home, talk to your plumber about going “trenchless”.  A relatively recent development in pipe replacement technology, trenchless pipe replacement is an excellent option for homeowners who want to avoid damage to lawns, driveways, and other landscaping features.

Traditionally, replacing a sewer line or water supply line meant digging a trench and burying the new pipe.  At a minimum, there will be significant damage to the lawn where the new pipe is laid.  In many cases, there will be additional damage to landscaping features, driveways, sidewalks, and other hard surfaces.

Trenchless excavation techniques minimize the damage because only two small holes need to be dug – one at each end of the pipe.  A cable or chain is fed through the old pipe or sewer line and a steel “pipe bursting head” is attached.  A flexible replacement pipe is attached to the bursting head and the cable or chain is used to pull the bursting head through the old pipe.  As it travels through the old pipe pulling the pipe behind it, the bursting head breaks up the old pipe and pushes the pieces out into the soil.  The result is a new pipe installed where the old pipe used to be without digging up your yard.

In addition to minimizing damage to your landscaping, driveways, and other hard surfaces, trenchless pipe replacement can usually be accomplished in less time than it would take using traditional digging methods.  Trenchless pipe replacement can even save you money by eliminating the cost of repairing the damage to driveways and landscaping features.