Express Sewer & Drain Blog

Pipe damage and sewer failure in Sacramento can be difficult, and expensive, to deal with. However, it’s not exactly something you can brush off until later, which is true for homeowners, commercial property managers and municipal decision-makers alike.

That said, you have options. Just because your sewer line has begun to deteriorate with age, or pipes have been infiltrated by roots, doesn’t mean you’ll have to tear apart your lawn and spend tens of thousands on landscaping and labor. In this blog, we provide an overview of pipe repair options you should consider to restore your pipes at the most affordable cost.

Residential Pipe Repair Options

For residential pipe damage in Sacramento, you’ve got a few options moving forward; each of which are ideal for certain situations. Before we get into today’s innovative pipe repair technologies, let us begin by saying traditional dig-and-replace pipe repairs still have a place in residential plumbing. It all depends on where the pipe is located on your property, and at what depth. 

For example, if your damaged pipe is around two feet deep, and does not run under any surface-level obstructions, simply digging out the pipe and replacing it manually would likely be the most affordable repair. However, if the damaged pipe in question exceeds this depth, or is located under a driveway or other object, trenchless pipe lining is an alternative you should consider. 

In a lining application, trenchless experts will used epoxy resins to cure new sections of pipe from within your existing pipe, in a process that takes only several hours to complete. A smaller-scale lining application, known as spot repair, is an option for pipes with isolated damage, such as single-point intrusion or cracking.

For more severe damage, the trenchless replacement application known as pipe bursting can be a more affordable alternative than manual replacement. Using a cone-shaped bursting head, trenchless teams can break apart warped, collapsed or deteriorated pipes without significant digging. A new pipe line, attached to the broad end of the bursting head, is then seamlessly laid in place in a single process.

Trenchless pipe bursting, spot repair and lining can potentially save homeowners thousands of dollars on their pipe repair projects, depending on the situation at hand. The following are all benefits that come with trenchless pipe repairs, given that they are not only possible, but also advantageous, in a given scenario:

• Fast, minimum-digging repairs mean significant savings in labor
• Expensive landscaping and yard renovations are largely - if not completely - avoided
• Repairs can be completed in a much safer, greener process
• Cured-in-place, epoxy pipes are also guaranteed to perform effectively for decades to come; most even come with a 50-year warranty

If your pipes are more than three feet underground or run below driveways, pools, large trees and other fixtures, trenchless lining (or bursting, for severely damaged pipes) are a serious option to consider.

Commercial Pipe and Sewer Line Repair

Repair options for damaged commercial pipe lines in Sacramento are much similar to those for residential pipe damage; there are a number of basic options, and the most affordable for a given project depends on context.

Is the pipe more than three feet underground? How extensively damaged is the pipe? Does a parking lot or similar surface-level structure make digging difficult? Finding the right repair for your commercial pipe damage all comes down to how complicated the project will be.

To determine whether digging replacement, lining, spot repair or bursting are right for you, consider contacting a trained pipe repair specialist for an evaluation first.

Municipal Sewer Repair

Unlike residential and commercial pipe repairs in Sacramento, municipal sewer line renovations are a good degree more difficult - and expensive - to complete. This is because things like street and pedestrian traffic, city funding and road closure, which are rarely a factor in home or commercial pipe repair, all must be considered for municipal sewer line repair. To put it simply, digging out a sewer line beneath a road is a lot more complicated than doing so for a shallow residential line.

It’s these outside factors in sewer repair, which would add up in very high project costs, that make dig-free sewer lining such a valuable alternative, especially in Sacramento. An application known as manhole-to-manhole lining is the trenchless application for municipal sewer repair. Through existing manhole entry points, trenchless experts can access damaged areas of a city sewer line and, much like spot-repair or standard lining, cure in-place new pipe within the existing pipe. 

The entire application can typically be completed in a single day, resulting in bare minimum roadway disruption, limited labor and a much lower repair bill than digging out the old sewer line. Perhaps the greatest benefit, however, comes from the complete absence of digging. As the repairs can be administered entirely through existing manhole entryways, not a square inch of road or sidewalk surfaces are required to be moved.

For most Sacramento pipe repairs, the best solution for residential, commercial and municipal pipes alike depends on circumstance. To determine the right option for your pipe damage, consider reaching out to a pipe repair expert in your community and scheduling a video inspection.