Trenchless pipe lining

OVERVIEW

What is trenchless pipe lining?

Trenchless pipe lining is a method to repair and restore existing main, lateral, and vertical sewer and drain pipes. The “trenchless” part comes from the fact that it is non-invasive/”no-dig”; in other words, walls and floors will not have to be removed to perform the work. Trenchless pipe lining involves lining pre-existing pipe systems with tight-fitting, jointless, and corrosion-resistant replacement pipes and their fittings made out of cured epoxy.

Trenchless pipe relining/pipe lining/plumbing, CIPP sewer lining, epoxy pipe lining. Whichever word you are familiar with, they all refer to the same thing as described above.

Repiper at work

What isn’t trenchless pipe relining?

Trenchless pipe relining is not to be confused with pipe coating. Pipe coating is a proactive coating treatment for the inside of functional pipes to prevent rust and corrosion damage. In other words, it still relies on the original pipe to be fully functional.

HOW IT WORKS

How trenchless pipe lining works

Trenchless commercial sewer line repair is performed in four steps:

Step 1 – Cleaning the pipes

The first step is to clean the pipes and descale them to expose any damages, but more importantly, to expose and open the old pipe to its original inner diameter. If any scale is left, important clues crucial to a successful lining install might be overlooked. In the end: inconsistent cleaning leads to inconsistent installs.

Step 2 – Saturating the liner

Once the pipes have been cleaned, the liner is carefully and properly saturated with a two-part epoxy.

Repiper at work

Step 3 – Installing the liner

The liner is placed in the pipe using either the pull-in-place method or the inversion method. The pull-in-place method is primarily used for section or remote installs, tee, wye, and straight liners, while the inversion method is used for longer installs.

Air pressure is applied to ensure the liners fill out the original pipe completely. Regardless of the method, the epoxy will always be on the outside of the liner.

It is important to install new liners in the flow of water, overlapping. This is to prevent the risk of sewer or drain water getting behind the new lining material over time. This way, the lifetime of the new relining inside is ensured without the risk of seal-failure due to poor adherence in the old pipes.

Step 4 – Curing the liner

The last step, once the liner is in place, is to cure the liner. Heat is often introduced to speed up the curing process of the epoxy, either by using hot water or steam curing. During the curing, the epoxy resin hardens to create a seamless, smooth, structurally sound, and corrosion-resistant new pipe inside the old pipe.

The liner can also be left to cure by itself without heat, this is called ambient curing. The only downside of this is that it will take longer to cure.

METHOD

The Repiper StepbyStep method

Repiper provides a complete solution for residential, industrial, and commercial small-dimension sewer repair. We offer the necessary tools and products and our innovative StepbyStep method to perform trenchless pipe lining. The process only takes a few hours up to a few days depending on the size of the project at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. Read more about the Repiper method.

Repiper at work

ADVANTAGES

Advantages of the Repiper commercial sewer repair method

The Repiper StepbyStep method provides multiple advantages for the owners of the building as well as the relining company:

  • Non-invasive. The Repiper method eliminates leaks in pipes without having to dig or excavate. While this is important to normal homeowners, it is critical for businesses to avoid disruption to their operations. Relining is also the method of choice when pipe systems in buildings with historic value need to be repaired.
  • Saves time and money. The fact that no excavation or demolition is required makes the Repiper trenchless pipe lining method both more cost-effective and less time-consuming than traditional methods.
  • Scalable. The Repiper StepbyStep method is more scalable than repiping because it does not require any big and heavy equipment to repair the pipe system. Pretty much any relining company, regardless of size, is able to execute it without any significant investments.
  • Environmentally friendly. There is little to no waste after a completed relining project. Structurally fine parts of the building remain untouched since the work is performed inside the pipe through accesses such as vents or cleanouts.
  • Increased quality. As the epoxy lining creates a smoother pipe inside the old pipe, it increases the flow capacity while preventing calcification deposits from sticking. It is also corrosion-resistant, which greatly increases the pipes’ longevity.

OUR OFFERINGS

What we offer?

Through innovative trenchless pipe lining solutions, vast knowledge, and long experience within the industry as both an installer and supplier, Repiper contributes to the sustainable pipe renovations of the future.

Products

Explore our complete offering of relining products, including our patented tools and innovative products made of premium materials. The offering consists of Swedish-developed relining technologies adopted for the US market.

Education

We provide detailed on-site training to both new and existing relining contractors on how to take their operations to the next level and how to use the Repiper products and StepbyStep method.

Consulting

Receive support from one of our experienced staff members to plan and ensure the success of your relining projects. We guide and instruct you on how to use our products, tools, and StepByStep method.