Before a sewer line can be relined it must be cleaned & inspected with a video camera to perform a sewer inspection and  determine that it is in fact a viable candidate for relining. The line must have proper pitch maintained without any bellies, or misaligned joints. The liner follows the contour & path of the original line and will not correct these defects.  The line may have small breaks where pieces of the pipe have broken or fallen out exposing soil but the pipe must maintain it’s original shape and not be collapsing yet. Very short and shallow belly, or, small misalignment may be of no consequence but that is best determined by the experience of the relining contractor as this is a judgment call.

The lining may be shot through any opening in the pipe that that allows good access for the liner to reach the problem area. The liner may even be shot into the line via a cleanout. Cutting into the pipe may also be done. Best access will be determined again by the relining contractor.

The relining material is essentially a woven fiberglass hose with a thin plastic

film on the outside. A calculated amount of fiberglass resin and hardener is mixed then poured inside the liner. the contractor then makes sure that the entire length of the woven fiberglass is fully “wet” with the mixed resin.  The liner is then shot into the the sewer line using a gun that inverts the liner so the resin coated weave ends up on the outside where it bonds to the old pipe and the thin plastic film becomes the slick inside surface of the new pipe. The gun uses compressed air to propel the liner into the pipe and the whole process is very similar to turning a sock inside out.

A calibration tube similar to a balloon is also shot inside the liner which is then pressurized with either compressed air or water heated by a portable boiler. The pressurized calibration tube holds the fiberglass liner out against the existing sewer line until the fiberglass liner cures into a hard new fiberglass one piece pipe within the old pipe. Using the hot water method speeds the curing process. Once the line has cured the calibration tube is removed.

If there are any tie-ins that need to be reestablished a small device with a

cutting burr is inserted into the pipe to cut out openings allowing flows from the other line to flow into the newly relined pipe. At this point the work on the line is done, a quick video inspection to check the line,  and the relined sewer is ready for use.

While the relining process sounds very easy in this description I assure you that what I have written is an oversimplification. The sewer line must be cleaned very well prior to relining, and the process requires a careful choreography that even highly experienced crews stop to talk about just before the resin is mixed. The job has a very high pucker factor that comes in as soon as the hardener is added to the resin. At that point the clock is ticking with a count down to the time at which the resin used to impregnate the liner hardens. If the liner hardens before you have completed pressurizing the balloon line you are in trouble.

There are a few different relining processes from different manufacturers used. This article is intended as an overview of the process and is not a full description of every different manufacturers process.

I hope this article gives you a good understanding of the sewer line relining process, the steps involved in the relining process, and the limitations of the relining process.  The net result is a new one piece pipe within the old pipe that does not leak and is impervious to root intrusion.

If you are having problems with your sewer line or your septic tank you may have to call a plumber to figure out what could be wrong with your drain lines. There are many tools that the plumber can use to find out what is wrong with the sewer line including drain cleaning machines, sewer inspection camera’s and something called a pipe bursting machine.

The pipe bursting machine is one of the best options for the replacement of an existing  sewer line and this process that plumbers using this machine is called pipe bursting. A  licensed plumbing contractor can use this method to excavate and expose the old pipe which is connected to the septic tank or the city sewer system.

The starting  point would typically be in the street where the plumber would locate the sewer lateral (the sewer line from the house to the city sewer line in the street) that connects to the city sewer or your septic tank like we mentioned above.

The other hole  would be either just outside the foundation where the line exits the house, or, in the basement just before the line exits the house. A strong steel wire rope cable is pulled through the sewer lateral between those two points. A cone shaped bursting head is attached to the cable along with the new polyethylene pipe which is attached behind the cone shaped bursting head.  At the other end a hydraulic puller is placed which takes hold of the cable and pulls it with great force in a series of short strokes. Typically speeds are in the area of 10 – 15′ per hour. The cone shaped bursting head goes through the old sewer line expanding it over the cone until the old pipe bursts creating room for the new High Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) to be pulled through the ground where the old pipe was. Lengths of the HDPE pipe are joined together using a plastic welding process that creates a new seamless one piece sewer line with no joints that can leak or, be penetrated by roots. Once the line is pulled through between the two holes the connection to the house and the city sewer is reestablished and the line has been replaced.

There are some limitations to using the pipe bursting process:

The first is the line has to be in good enough condition for the cable to be pulled through the line.

Pipe Bursting will not fix a sag, or, belly. The bursting head and new pipe follows the path of the old pipe.

Rocks, ledge and some other conditions may jam the bursting head preventing it from passing and still require excavation to complete the job.

Some bend configurations may not allow pipe bursting as the bursting head may exit the pipe and get stuck requiring excavation.

The responsibility of repairing your sewer lateral (the line from your house to the city line in the street) varies in different areas. In most locations by my experience the city’s responsibility is limited to the line running down the middle of the street. However, I have seen some places where they cover to the curb, sidewalk, or the edge of the street right of way. A check with your local authorities is a good idea to see what they cover. Some places also offer assistance if you have low income. It pays to get all the information you can from them. You at least need to know where your responsibilities end.

The first step is to have the line cleared if possible with a snake or, a jetter if needed. Then have the line video inspected to determine the full extent of the problems with the line.  I would strongly recommend that you are present and witness the video inspection. Ask questions if you don’t understand what you are seeing. The line should be round, dry, joints should be smooth, and all turns should sweep nicely. It should look like a water fun ride at an amusement park. There is really not much to it and you should know when there is something wrong. It is a matter of what you see is what you got. You will know when something is wrong. You may not know what it is but you will know it’s not right. The camera operator should be able to explain what is wrong and the explanation should make sense.

Now the nitty gritty details. Cameras for sewer inspections are expensive pieces of equipment used in a harsh environment and the person operating that camera usually has considerable experience in the field. After the drain-cleaner experienced problems cleaning your line the camera may have been offered free. Nothing is free! Them using the camera had an expected pay off of doing the repair work. They cannot be expected to provide you with enough details on the problem to supply enough information to allow a competitor to bid on the job. Recouping the cost of the camera inspection will be built into the price of the job, as I said, “Nothing is Free!”

Repairs or replacement of a sewer line is not inexpensive. It is a large job requiring, licensing, excavation equipment, safety equipment such as trench boxes, permits & inspections, and sometime highly specialized knowledge and equipment. Costs vary widely in different ares but no matter where you live it is something that getting multiple bids on could save you thousands of dollars. much the same as shopping at several car dealerships before buying a car.

Another possibility is to pay for the camera inspection and get all the information a contractor would need to supply a bid on the job. Then make that information available to several contractors and solicit bids. You don’t have a lot of time on this your line will be failing again soon, so time is of the essence. To solicit bids you will need a full video recording of the line from your house to the city sewer line. Either a VHS video cassette, Mpeg file or DVD is used for this. My preference would be the Mpeg file or, DVD which I will explain in a minute. You will also need the location of the line marked both the physical location and the depth. From your house to the connection in the street. The camera has a secondary function as a transmitter for locating the line. All changes in direction should be marked as well along with some intermediate points on long straight runs. Marking should be done with flags, and or, paint on grass and dirt surfaces, and paint on pavement and sidewalks. If flags only are used for marking on the lawn great care should be taken that they are not moved or, removed.

So many people and companies have entered the electronic age that you may be able to submit the video converted to an Mpeg file, along with photo files saved as a Jpeg files, via E-Mail to several companies soliciting bids for the work. The photos should show the work area and all things near the line that may affect the excavation work. Sidewalks, driveways, HVAC units on a slab, trees, shrubs, patio’s, retaining walls, fences, and sheds are just a few of the obstacles commonly encountered.  A written description of the the line depth along the way and any other pertinent details should be included. This will give them enough information ahead of time that they should have the proposal pretty well worked up then come out for a site visit to recheck the information provided and see if anything needs changing before giving you their bid. This can save everybody involved a considerable amount of time.

You may expect bids to come back often with several options ranging from a spot repair, to excavation and line replacement, pipe bursting and pipe relining. You may also expect methods proposed by different companies to be different. You will have to sift through these proposals and bid prices to decide which is best for you then give the go ahead to the winning bid.