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Trenchless sewer repair is faster and requires less effort without drilling through the living room or yard. Moreover, users can carry out a lot of work without going e-route or restarting the whole repair process. If you’d like to know more about trenchless sewer repair read on.
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What Does Trenchless Mean Exactly?
For many years, individuals had faced challenges with digging up the entire yard to fix broken pipes and returning it to their initial state. Fortunately, Trenchless sewer repair came into the picture.
Trenchless sewer fixes faulty drainage pipes using a simple technique, contrary to the complex excavation method. Hence, this process involves an innovative solution to create a better technology system.
Trenchless sewers first started in Europe before growing in popularity among US users today.
Technically, a trench describes a narrow and long ditch. Hence, trenchless implies repair work without thorough or deep digging.
How Does Trenchless Sewer Repair Work?
Although the Trenchless sewer does not apply to all requirements, it is as effective as the traditional method. A professional plumber would follow a detailed step on how sewer repair works, starting from the pipe inspection.
Pipe Inspection
Since it is unprofessional to dig up the ground during the inspection, tools like a camera and video monitor would come in handy. The plumper makes a small cut at the pipeline opening to insert the camera. This stage is crucial, as it can help determine the nature of the pipeline, either it is clogged, broken, or crushed.
Dusting Off the Dirt from the Pipe
After observing the nature of the pipeline, the next required step is to do a thorough cleaning. This step makes the reclining process easier. Often, pipeline damage may result from small bits of tree roots, while a rotating blade will cut off any other blocking elements.
Sometimes, the repair process stops here if the blocking appears as the major problem.
Pipelining
Pipelining is often the last phase of repair after removing any blocking material and put them under control.
A look-alike of a deflated fire hose known as the liner works into the sewer line. During this process, a long tube known as a bladder attaches the liner to the damaged pipe. After confirming the new liner is intact and smooth, plumbers would remove the bladder as the pipeline starts functioning well.
Pipe Bursting
Pipelining may be insufficient if the pipe is completely damaged. In this case, a technique called pipe bursting (which involves replacing the whole pipe) does the trick.
A material known as a bit, with a cone shape, replaces the old pipeline while the new pipe comes after it. Although pipe bursting requires more time than pipelining, it is more effective than the traditional repair method.
Confirmation Process
To confirm the job performance, plumbers often carry out a final inspection. A video inspection ensures the trenchless sewer repair meets the quality control standard. Afterward, every disconnected line and dug-out hole comes back in shape, and the plumping company assures a warranty lifespan for the new pipe.
Other trenchless sewer repair processes;
Trenchless sewer repairs are four basic types, which works for several functions. These are; pipe bursting, spray lining, slip lining, and structural pipelining.
Having explained structural pipe lining and pipe bursting above, spray lining and slip lining use two different sewer repair methods.
The spray lining does not use a liner. Instead, it uses a spray polymer inside the old pipe.
Sometimes, plumbers use epoxy, which is costlier than a liner but less stressful and effective. A similar method to spray lining is structural pipelining.
Structural pipelining uses both liner and epoxy by soaking the liner inside an epoxy. After a few hours, the plumber removes the liner, and the previously damaged pipe would be as new as ever.
On the other hand, slip lining had been in existence since the 1940s. However, new methods and innovations are involved in its technique. It may have been around for a long time, but its application never remained the same.
This process involves a smaller diameter pipe and grout. Although slip lining is trenchless, it has a higher probability of damaging the yard and is less eco-friendly. Also, slip lining cannot take place without digging up the earth to create another pipe layer.
All Pros and Cons of Trenchless Sewer Repair Technology
The Trenchless sewer repair technology appears to have more pros than disadvantages. However, there are pros and cons of this technology you should know.
Reduced Rate of Invasion
Many users complain about some main issues associated with the traditional repair method. Although the level of expertise of the repairer plays a role, the trenchless’s quality plays a bigger role.
Since sewer pipes have depths, the conventional method destroys most properties during the fixing process. This problem is what trenchless sewer repair provides a long-lasting solution to, with a user-friendly application.
High-Quality Parts
Engineers built trenchless sewer repair with high-quality to ensure effective performance. As a result, you can easily replace any worn-out part without necessarily buying a new trenchless sewer. Most manufacturers have a repair team you can contact within the warranty period.
Eco-Friendly Material
Using trenchless sewer repair would cause no worry about destroying the earth, especially if you are passing it through your home yard. The materials are eco-friendly without causing an imbalance to the ecosystem.
Durable Trenchless Sewer Materials
Trenchless sewer materials are highly durable and can last for up to 50years. However, I recommend you contact a reputable company with many years of experience in the technology industry. More so, fixing your pipes with the modern process extends the pipeline durability since you will seldom use it.
Cost-effective
Trenchless sewer repair is cost-effective both during and after application. Although the modern innovation is costlier than the traditional method, it is cost-effective, considering long-term expenses. When you use the old process, restoring the lost properties would require a huge amount of money compared to the modern method.
Cons of Trenchless Sewer Repair Technology
Having mentioned the benefits of trenchless sewer repair, it has some downsides, and they are;
High Cost of Repair
Trenchless sewer repair cost more than the traditional method during the repair. However, it costs less when considering the underlying cost of cement, replacing landscape, and broken items.
Non-Compatible with Every Damaged Pipe
Despite trenchless sewer repair’s effectiveness, it is not compatible with all damaged pipes. If your pipeline is in extreme condition, it would require extra fixing measures and doing trenchless sewer repair may cause more damage if your pipes are not compatible.
However, your plumber is in the best position to confirm if a particular type of trenchless sewer repair can solve a specific problem.
If otherwise, you may need the time-consuming traditional method. In extensive damage, the plumber would need to dig up manually and fix the pipes.
Is Trenchless Sewer Repair Affordable?
Trenchless sewer repair is relatively affordable, costing about $135-$200+ depending on the area. Traditional repair often costs less than this but incurs extra charges while fixing broken sections of the home.
Although trenchless sewer repair is affordable, it is crucial to request the service of a professional engineer. Despite fixing broken pipes through a modern method, a novice may break up some items during the process.
Hence, keep in mind the factors that are responsible for achieving an excellent repair.
You can check several online vendors for price comparisons. Then confirm if there are positive reviews from past and current users.
Conclusion
In conclusion, trenchless sewer repair is highly recommendable. Users who implement the trenchless mechanism are likely not to need to repair an underground pipe for a long time.
Contrary to untrue opinion, trenchless sewer repair methods can carry out heavy activities, including getting off heavy dirt in your home and big pitches.
Although the traditional process is not useless, if we’re to recommend one, it would be trenchless sewer since it performs the same duty as heavy-duty excavation.