Sewer pipe repair can be costly. In fact, depending on the plumbing and sewer line location on your property, the out the door costs can rise to $20,000 or more for traditional repair techniques that involve excavating a trench to access the sewer line. A lot of that cost is not the repair itself, though, it’s the cost of the restoration to your property after the work is done. That’s why homeowners need to know about other options, like trenchless approaches to sewer repair.
What Is Trenchless Repair?
Trenchless sewer repair techniques have been available to homeowners for about 15 years, saving them the extra time and cost associated with restoring the home and yard after trench excavation. It’s accomplished by placing a “cured in place pipe” or pipe liner. Typically, this is done by blowing a flexible tube coated with resin into the pipe and then inflating it to seal it in place. The result is a solid lining with no leaks, essentially a pipe-within-a-pipe.
How Much Does Trenchless Repair Cost?
Like traditional sewer repair techniques, the costs for trenchless repair will vary according to the plumbing architecture of your home. Angie’s List reports that nationally, costs for trenchless repair techniques are 30 to 50 percent higher than for the traditional method. This still leads to savings overall for many consumers, though, because the increase in cost for the core repair technique is far less than the savings most homeowners realize from avoiding the costs associated with excavating a trench.
Excavation can include opening the street in front of the home, and that often requires traffic be rerouted. When homeowners opt for traditional sewer repair techniques, they bear these costs. Depending on the home’s location and local ordinances, they can be a lot more expensive than the repair procedure itself. If you need sewer repair, it’s a good idea to get quotes from trenchless repair companies alongside traditional quotes.
