When should a trenchless sewer repair method be used?
Repairing sewers involving excavation is complicated and demanding. It generates an enormous amount of mess and waste, takes a long time, puts the sewer out of use and places severe restrictions on urban life. What makes trenchless sewer repairs more suitable and when should they be used?
When sewers work correctly, there is no need to worry. In fact, there is almost no need to take any care of them. If, however, sewers become blocked or any other issue arises, the situation must be addressed immediately to minimise subsequent losses.
Cleaning and a camera test will reveal what type of repair the pipe requires
When the first signs emerge of a problem with sewers, the necessary step is to clean and inspect the sewer. Based on video inspection, an expert firm will identify specific sewer problems.
The most common of these are as follows:
- Incorrectly fitted service pipes
- Roots or other objects inside the pipe
- Concrete leaks or scaling
- Corrosion and cavities in the existing sewers
- Groundwater leakage into the piping
- Cracks and shards inside sewers
- Leaky couplings
- Missing sewer segments
- Offset couplings
- Missing seals in couplings
- Damaged manholes.
Based on the findings, the firm decides whether to use a trenchless or other repair method. Trenchless rehabilitation methods can be used for all of the aforementioned issues.
Benefits of trenchless sewer repairs
The chief benefits of trenchless sewer repairs are speed and environmental friendliness. If a damaged sewer is located deep under the surface or below a building, trenchless repairs are less costly and often the only option.
Other benefits of trenchless sewer rehabilitation include the following:
- Minimum service life of restored sewers of 80 years
- Trenchless sewer repairs do not require building permits or notifications.
- In many cases, a trenchless sewer repair is the most cost-effective method.
- No need for complicated handling of excavated soil and demolition debris
- Using trenchless methods, a professional firm can repair up to 200 metres of pipe in six hours (depending on the process used).
- Rehabilitation of pipes under roads requires no road closures.
- Environmental impact is minimal. Waste, dust, and noise generation are also minimised.
Disadvantages of trenchless sewer repairs
Trenchless sewer repair methods cannot be used everywhere. Some pipes are damaged so severely that the standard excavation method is the only option available. This can be the result of overlooking initial signs of sewer issues or a sudden natural disaster.
Either way, trenchless sewer repairs are unusable in the following situations:
- Severely structurally compromised piping
- Caved-in (collapsed) pipes
- Excessive spacing and/or radical changes in the profile along the pipe
- Insufficient or reversed pipe incline.