The Different Ways to Fix a Broken Sewer Line

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Your local plumber offers more than rooter service. If you have a larger problem than a single instance of a clogged toilet, your plumber can take a look at your entire plumbing system, including your sewer line. Your plumber can insert a video camera down your pipes to find issues, such as sagging pipes or a broken sewer line. When your sewer line is broken, your plumber can repair it in the traditional way or use a trenchless method.

Traditional Sewer Replacement with Excavation

In the past, the only way to repair a broken sewer line was by excavating the entire damaged section. The damaged piping was removed then replaced with a new section of pipe. Traditional replacement is still used, but since the acceptance of trenchless sewer replacement in the plumbing industry, it’s been used less frequently. Traditional replacement can be expensive and uproot landscapes, gardens, and buildings, so plumbers try to avoid it.

Trenchless Sewer Replacement

The least invasive repair option is trenchless sewer repair & replacement. The first trenchless technology was created in the 1970s, when British agricultural engineer Eric Woods developed the pipe replacement technique cured-in-place piping (CIPP). He developed this method when he needed to repair a damaged air duct above his mushroom bed, as he couldn’t remove the pipe. Instead, he pulled a plastic-wrapped felt tube containing resin through the damaged pipe, then inflated it to fill the pipe. This hardened into a new layer, fixing the pipe without major construction.

In addition to CIPP, your sewer line replacement contractor will consider two other methods. Here’s what you need to know about those trenchless sewer replacement methods:

Sliplining

Sliplining uses the broken pipe as a pathway for the new pipe. The new pipe must be narrower than the broken pipe, so it can fit inside and be grouted into place. This turns the old pipe into an outer shell that is slightly larger than the new pipe, so if you want to upsize your new pipe, you’ll want the next method: pipe bursting.

Pipe bursting

Pipe bursting uses a bursting tool that pulls a new pipe along the broken pipe, dismantling the broken pipe open as the new pipe replaces it. The new pipe can be of any size, so this is the best trenchless option if you want a new pipe of a similar or larger diameter.

When you’ll need traditional sewer replacement

Trenchless sewer replacement requires an intact old pipe to work. If the old pipe is too damaged, misshapen with a pipe belly, or sags, you’ll need traditional replacement. Additionally, if your old pipe is close to the surface and not underneath gardens or buildings, it could be cost effective to use traditional replacement because it’s easy to dig a narrow trench. 

When you can use trenchless sewer replacement

The fundamental prerequisite for trenchless sewer replacement is the old pipe being intact enough to act as a feeder tube. In most cases, if the old pipe can be a feeder tube, you can use trenchless repair.

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating — Family-owned rooter service

To determine the best way to fix your broken sewer line, contact Ehret. Co Plumbing & Heating through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292. We’ll inspect your sewer line and talk you through the different repair options available.

What You Need to Know About Trenchless Sewer Replacement

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Trenchless sewer replacement has many advantages over traditional sewer excavation. It requires less construction, reduces traffic detours, and reduces disruption to people around the construction zone. It also minimizes disturbance to landscapes and outdoor structures, making it a frequent choice of sewer replacement contractors and homeowners.

Two common methods of trenchless sewer replacement are sliplining and pipe bursting

Both methods involve slipping a new pipe into the original pipe. The key difference is whether the old pipe is dismantled or used as an outer shell for the new pipe. In some cases, both methods are ideal choices, but a household plumbing inspection might find one more beneficial to certain situations.

Sliplining

Sliplining requires the new pipe to be narrower than the original pipe. The new pipe is pulled or pushed into the original pipe, and then grouted into place. Sliplining doesn’t dismantle the original pipe, which has become an outer shell for the new pipe, so the new pipe can’t be upsized. Upsizing the pipe’s capacity would require dismantling the original pipe, as is done with pipe bursting.

Pipe bursting

Pipe bursting is exactly as it sounds. The sewer replacement plumber pulls a bursting tool through the old pipe, forcing it open as the new pipe is dragged into place. Pipe bursting can replace pipes of similar or larger size, typically made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). It’s also more environmentally-friendly than sliplining, which requires chemicals to grout the new pipe into place.

Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP) Lining is another common method

CIPP lining is ideal for repairing sewer pipes that don’t need to be upsized or be entirely replaced. It creates a new lining within the old pipe. A resin-saturated felt tube is inserted into the old pipe and turned inside-out with air or water pressure. This puts the resin in contact with the old pipe so it can be cured and hardened into a new lining. 

Trenchless sewer replacement can’t fix pipe bellies

Despite the benefits of trenchless sewer replacement, sewer lines that sag due to shifting soil and improper bedding can’t be replaced with trenchless methods. This is because a new pipe can’t be led through a misshapen pipe. Sewer replacement contractors also won’t cure a new lining into a pipe belly, as solid waste could remain stagnant in the belly and form a clog. The only option is to dig out the entire pipe.

Trenchless Sewer Replacement with Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating

To learn more about trenchless sewer replacement, reach out to Ehret. Co Plumbing & Heating through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292. We’ll help you determine if your sewer line needs to be repaired or replaced, and if it will benefit from a trenchless method.

What are the Benefits of Trenchless Sewer Replacement?

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Decades ago, the only way to replace a sewer line was to entirely remove its damaged pipes. Workers had to upend all surrounding landscape and structures to access the line, making for long days or weeks of excavation. Now, modern technology allows an easier, quicker, and less-expensive method to replace damaged sewer lines: trenchless sewer replacement.

Minimally Invasive

Traditional sewer replacement is messy. If the damaged segment of a sewer line runs beneath a garden, fence, or building structures, they’ll all be dismantled or unearthed for the excavation site. Workers will dig trenches to access the entirety of the damaged sewer pipe, which is avoided with trenchless sewer replacement.

Instead of exposing the entire sewer pipe, trenchless sewer replacement creates entry points for new piping to be fed through. There are typically two entry points, so instead of digging up the entire pipe, workers only have to dig up enough land to access those portions. This leaves the rest of the landscape untouched.

Higher Quality & Functionality

Trenchless sewer replacement can improve your sewer line’s functionality by installing higher quality pipe liners or pipe replacements. A new pipe liner can reinforce your sewer line by increasing flow capacity with stronger piping material, and a seamless pipe replacement can prevent off-set piping caused by tree roots and other environmental factors. Not only is your sewer line repaired, it’s upgraded with the latest pipe technology. Your sewer line will last longer  and have fewer needs for residential plumbing services.

Saves You Time & Money

Smaller excavation sites means shorter project times. There is less land to dig, and less land to replace after the pipe is repaired. This frees up substantial time for the actual replacement. Workers can be in and out of site within a day, compared to the multiple days often required by traditional sewer replacement. And if your sewer pipe damage extends beyond your property and underneath the sidewalk, traditional replacement might stretch into a week or longer.

Trenchless sewer replacement also can cut down the money you’d spend with traditional replacement. You won’t need to pay for dismantling all the structures that would get in the way of a complete excavation. You’ll also have a lower bill to pay for post-project cleanup, including replanting the small sections of your lawn and garden that were dug up. Make sure you plant greenery that is pipe-friendly and won’t grow into your sewer line, or plant them far away from your pipes.

Your Local Providers of Trenchless Sewer Replacement

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating has provided quality residential and commercial plumbing services across the Bay Area since 1910. Contact us today to further discuss our trenchless sewer replacement and repair services. As a fully licensed and insured company, we are open 365 days a year to work on everything from major emergency repairs to simple fixes.