Sewer Pipe Lining vs. Residential Excavation
When it comes to saving time, effort and yard restoration on a sewer line repair, some homeowners have begun to look for alternatives to residential excavation, including a process known as sewer pipe lining. Marketed by manufacturers as an easier way for homes and businesses to update sewer pipes, pipe lining has grown in popularity. This alternative is creating new opportunities for homeowners to extend the life of a sewer line without digging into the property.
We certainly understand the stress that home and business owners feel when they get the bad news that their sewer pipes are in need of repairs or replacement. When the time comes for you to make the choice to dig or reline, we want our customers to be informed. We’ve put together a helpful breakdown of the differences between pipe lining and residential excavation. This way, you can make the decision that works best for you, your lines and your property.
What You Need to Know: “Trenchless” Pipe Lining & Sewer Excavation and Repair/Replacement
Let’s get started with some basic definitions. If you’ve never had your sewer lines break or back up, you may not be familiar with excavation or pipe lining. Here’s how they work:
Plumbing Excavation: Most plumbing companies use an outside excavation contractor to dig in the ground and expose your sewer pipes. Some plumbers may have professional excavation services in-house. Flow Right, for example, has a 24-hour excavation team dedicated to utility replacements. After the excavation team exposes the pipes, the plumbers follow by making necessary repairs or performing a complete sewer line replacement. Once the repairs are set and tested, the excavation crew re-covers the exposed piping. Then you can get your property back in shape.
Pipe Lining: Pipelining is performed by covering the interior of your existing pipes with a special coating. Pipe lining should begin with a sewer piping inspection. Pipes are then cleaned with hotjetting or some other method. Following cleaning, a liner is inserted into the existing sewer pipe through an access point above ground, typically the sewer cleanout. The liner is made permanent using the best process for the type of liner selected (fold and form, cured in place or slip liners). The most common solution, cured-in-place piping (CIPP), uses a line soaked in a special resin. Following insertion, the line is inflated so it covers every portion of the pipe’s interior. Once cured, your plumber should then re-inspect the “new” lines for issues before closing out the project.
Now that you understand the basics, let’s look over the differences and similarities. This information will help you feel comfortable and informed when you discuss your sewer line repair and replacement options with your plumber. Here are some things to consider.
Pipe Lining is Permanent
Coating the interior of your pipes with epoxy resin or other materials is a permanent modification. The pipe liner coating adheres directly to the interior of the pipe and is not designed to be removed. That’s because it’s meant to replace your existing lines and operate just like the original pipe. Additionally, any gouges or damages that occur inside the pipe (in an attempt to remove the lining) can become clog points or weak spots vulnerable to damage. The positive side of such permanence is that, when installed correctly, it will last for decades.
Pro Tip: Hire a pro! Make sure you trust your plumbing company to get the job done right. Because pipe lining is irreversible, you want to get it installed properly to avoid lumps, bumps or creases. Those all become stoppage points for anything in your lines and lead to clogs.
Not All Pipe Materials/Conditions Are Candidates for Sewer Pipe Lining
Before you get really excited about skipping excavation, it’s important to contact a licensed plumber. They need to inspect your lines and find out if they are compatible with sewer pipe lining. Older pipes like the clay pipes you find in areas of Pueblo or in older neighborhoods in Colorado Springs, may not be the best candidates for pipe lining. Some factors that can prevent pipe lining include:
- Damaged pipes that have too many cracks for the liner to be effective.
- Tree root infestations that have caused irreparable damage and burst the pipe.
- Cast iron pipes with buildup and corrosion that can interfere with the liner adhesion, especially if hydrojetting or hotjetting do not work.
- Clay pipes that are too fragile to line or that have collapsed completely.
- Bellied, sagging pipes that need more than a liner to reinforce.
Pro Tip: When pipes are too damaged or made of a material that is likely to deteriorate further, digging a trench may be the better option if conditions are not optimal for pipe lining. Our plumbing technicians use a sewer camera inspection before agreeing to line your pipes. Unfortunately, the length of the lineable pipe is then restricted to the longest length of the plumber’s camera. It is simply too risky to feed liner into an unknown portion of the sewer pipe.
Excavation May Work Better for More Difficult Pipe Configurations
If your sewer lines have odd configurations or bends on their way to the wastewater system, pipe lining may not be the best option. The liner can wrinkle or kink while being maneuvered into the angles. This can create slow-downs and blockages if it is cured in place. It’s important to remember that the differences between what the pipe relining manufacturer claims and what a technician can actually do in the field can be numerous. A sewer pipe lining’s cost per foot increases dramatically if the job isn’t completed correctly.
Fortunately for homeowners and businesses, sewer lines contain very few sharp angles. The same straight lines designed to prevent clogs and turbulence will make it a lot easier for your plumber to place the liner. At Flow Right, we conduct a camera inspection to determine the path of the liner and detect potential problems before making a recommendation.
Pipe Lining Requires Less Cleanup/Is Less Disruptive
While there is some cleanup involved in the CIPP process, it does not compare to the scale of cleanup following excavation. We work really hard to minimize the damage to a yard or property. However, the reality is that digging makes a mess. Once we’ve reset the pipes and buried them, you’ll be left with the work of rehabilitating your yard.
This could be replacement of flowers and bushes. It could also include reseeding the yard or replacing gravel, sidewalks, pavers and more. One of the leading reasons more people choose pipe lining versus excavation is the reduction in damage to things that take a long time to repair. It can take a whole season to re-grow your grass!
CIPP makes repairs from the inside out. Your plumbing company won’t need to take up your neighborhood street with heavy equipment. They also won’t need to obtain specialty permits, remove sidewalks or drive across your lawn. They can make a change that lasts decades from inside your pipes!
Future Repairs Could Require Excavation for Both
Your pipes may still require excavation in the future. This is true whether you replace your lines above ground with excavation or replace them from the inside out with CIPP. In the case of traditional pipe replacement/repair, the lines are reburied after the changes are made. Updates and repairs will require those sections to be re-excavated, unless you choose pipe relining as an alternative repair.
As for CIPP — you can only reline your pipes once. The initial lining is a balance. You want the lining thin enough not to impede flow through the pipe. You also want it to be thick enough to actually reinforce your old pipes. That means you can’t keep adding new lining if something happens to the old one. Eventually, you’ll run out of empty interior! If your lined sewer pipe breaks, the next round of repairs will likely need excavation. Fortunately, pipe cleaning options like hotjetting can still be used. Of course, this is provided your plumber knows what they are doing when working with the new liner.
Choose the Best Method for Sewer Pipe Repair
It’s great that homeowners now have more than one option for sewer pipe repair. Whether you select trenchless sewer line repair or traditional excavation for sewer lines, you’ll be able to get your system running properly once more! If you’d like help from a plumbing company trusted by residents and businesses all over Southern Colorado, give Flow Right a call! We can inspect your sewer lines and help you determine the right solution for you!