Bellows Plumbing, Heating & Sewer

How the Trenchless Sewer Replacement Method Works

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1. We start out with a FREE DrainScope video inspection

of the sewer line. A visual inspection is the best way to determing what's going on in the sewer line. We can locate root intrusions, offsets in the pipe, bellies in the pipe and more. It allows us to see what material your sewer line is made of and if needs a repair or a replacement. Our camera allows us to pin point exactly where the problem is. It also tells us how deep the problem is. After a thorough inspection we'll provide you with a detailed bid and a list of client references.

2. Starting the Sewer Replacement

Replacing a sewer line is a difficult and labor intensive process. We've completed 100s of sewer lines over the past years and know that an early start is a must. You can expect our crew to arrive between 7:30 and 8:30 am. We typically start by cutting two holes. The holes are typically 3 x 3 foot holes. If the holes are being in the yard, we are always careful a do our best to remove plants and grass so that they can be replaced when the project is completed. We always do our best to maintain the condition of your property and keep the job site clean during the entire process.

3. Assembly of sewer lateral

The next step is fusing the pipe. A major advantage of trenchless pipe bursting has over traditional methods is that there are no joints our couplings. Which is important since roots typically find their way in at the seems and couplings. Once the pipe is fused to the appropriate length we attach a splitting head to the new HDPE piping. The splitting head attached to the new piping gets hydraulically pulled into your old pipe bursting the old pipe and being replaced with the new seamless HDPE pipe.

4. HDPE stands for High Density Polyethylene Pipe.

The pipe is made from a stress-relieved resin in order to prevent scale build up, cracking, brittleness or fatigue. It is also non-reactive to most aggressive chemicals and corrosive elements. Extensive testing has shown that the HPDE pipe will generally outperform steel pipe in application for abrasion resistance. The smooth inner surface of the pipe allows for minimal resistance to the flow inside the pipe. Since there are no seems and the pipe is as non porous as they come, there is no way that roots will be attracted to the line in order to try and penetrate it for a source of water. Your new HDPE sewer line is designed to outlast you!

5. Finishing the project.

We make all of our connections with metal shielded couplings and install cleanouts where necessary. A sewer clean out allows for easy access incase something ever blocks the line again. We then fill any street or sidewalk openings with slurry and compact and dirt in the yard. We replace planets and grass to best possible match. We clean up any left over mess and rubble. Finally we leave everything, as it was when we arrived on the job.

Timeframe of trenchlesss repair

Typically most sewer replacement projects take 3 to 4 days to get the new line in place and then an additionl 3 - 5 days for all the concrete, slurry, and asphalt to dry and harden. The good news is we've perfected our method any you won't have to move out or stop use of the homes normal facilities while the project is taking place. So calm down and give us a call, our friendly experts are happy to do an onsite walk you through of the project from start to finish.