Is Trenchless Sewer Repair reliable?

[Svolcy]

I recently had a camera done on my pipes which revealed the bottom of the them are non existent. The house was built in 1957.

I have a to make a hard decision to go the old school way and tear the floors up so the pipes can be replaced or go the trenches repair route.

Has anyone had any experience or know someone who has had trenches repair done? what were the results?

I've read that there are risks if the pitch is off, or becomes thrown off during the process.

Help!!!!

 

[Twowaxhack]

What exactly needs to be done ? All your drain pipe in the whole house replaced ?

 

[Tom the Elder]

It sounds like your sewer lateral was made from Orangeburg pipe, a material something like a roll of tar paper. The action of repeated use of a rooter would scrape away the bottom of the pipe. My house has 2 laterals (lucky me), both originally Orangeburg and I had to replace both. I did not use trenchless because I was much more expensive. The trenchless system uses a cable to pull a device through the old pipe that expands to break the old pipe, then new pipe is pulled through into the void. I would be concerned that because the Orangeburg, even when new, is so much weaker than typical clay pipe that the existing pipe might already have deviated from its original alignment. For example, a root might have pushed the pipe up or down a couple of inches. At minimum, you should have the trenchless contractor guarantee the new pipe will maintain adequate gradient along its length (not just from one end to the other) - and then verify (preferably by a different plumber) that the new pipe actually achieved that gradient. If you have this problem others in your area very likely did too so your local building inspectors might be a good source of information about what works. Good luck.

 

[Svolcy]

What exactly needs to be done ? All your drain pipe in the whole house replaced ?

Yes, the camera shows that the bottom of the pipes are gone. time and rust have destroyed the pipes.

 

[Svolcy]

It sounds like your sewer lateral was made from Orangeburg pipe, a material something like a roll of tar paper. The action of repeated use of a rooter would scrape away the bottom of the pipe. My house has 2 laterals (lucky me), both originally Orangeburg and I had to replace both. I did not use trenchless because I was much more expensive. The trenchless system uses a cable to pull a device through the old pipe that expands to break the old pipe, then new pipe is pulled through into the void. I would be concerned that because the Orangeburg, even when new, is so much weaker than typical clay pipe that the existing pipe might already have deviated from its original alignment. For example, a root might have pushed the pipe up or down a couple of inches. At minimum, you should have the trenchless contractor guarantee the new pipe will maintain adequate gradient along its length (not just from one end to the other) - and then verify (preferably by a different plumber) that the new pipe actually achieved that gradient. If you have this problem others in your area very likely did too so your local building inspectors might be a good source of information about what works. Good luck.

Thank you for the info. I have read that if the pitch is off when conducting a trenches repair, then the floors would have to be torn up anyways. So I was wondering how often it is successful. When I call around for estimates, I will see if they guarantee the gradient.

 

[Twowaxhack]

I’d just saw cut the floor and replace it all.

That solves the problem for our lifetime.