Trenchless
Trenchless sewer repair in San Diego: lining and pipe bursting
Most San Diego laterals cross a driveway, a patio, a sidewalk or a tree you'd like to keep. Trenchless pipe lining and pipe bursting replace the pipe under all of that from a pit or two, and they're the reason most replacements here don't involve a trench at all.
Two methods, not one
Cured-in-place pipe lining (CIPP). A felt or fiberglass tube saturated with epoxy resin is pulled or inverted into the existing pipe, inflated against the wall, and cured with hot water, steam or UV light. When it hardens you have a new, jointless pipe inside the old one, about a quarter inch thick. Roots have nothing to get into. The old pipe just becomes the form. Trenchless pipe lining San Diego crews do can run from a single access point, often the cleanout, and doesn't need a pit at the street.
Pipe bursting. A steel bursting head is pulled through the old pipe by a cable or rods from one pit to another. It splits the old clay or cast iron outward into the soil and pulls a new HDPE pipe in behind it, same size or one size larger. You end up with a completely new pipe, fused with no joints, on the same alignment. Pipe bursting San Diego-wide needs a pit at each end, usually one at the house and one at the curb or the main.
Which one for your line
| Condition | Lining | Bursting |
|---|---|---|
| Cast iron with scale and channel rot, still round | Yes | Yes |
| Clay with root intrusion at joints | Yes, after cleaning | Yes |
| Offset joints, small | Yes | Yes |
| Offset joints, large, or a partial collapse | No | Usually |
| Belly (sag) in the line | No, the belly stays | No, needs a dig |
| Orangeburg | No | Yes |
| Pipe needs to be bigger | No, liner reduces bore slightly | Yes, can upsize |
| Many branch connections | Yes, reinstated with a cutter | Harder |
| Runs under a slab or inside a building | Yes | No |
Lining is the choice for the cast iron under a slab and for any line with several branch tees. Bursting is the choice for a straight yard lateral that's broken badly enough that a liner has nothing to hold onto, or when the old 4-inch pipe should really be a 6-inch. Neither fixes a belly, because both follow the old pipe's path; a belly needs a dig at that spot, and we'll say so. Lining vs pipe bursting goes into the choice in more detail.
Why it's the default here
Digging up 20 feet of driveway and a sidewalk panel, then pouring them back and matching the finish, adds $2,000–$5,000 to an open-trench job before you count the fence, the planter and the tree. In the City of San Diego the sidewalk and the street are yours to restore too, to the city's standard, under a right-of-way permit. So a trenchless bid at $9,000 is often cheaper than an open-trench bid at $6,000 once the restoration is on paper. Ask for both on the quote and add them up.
The other reason is roots. A lined or burst pipe has no joints. On a lot with a 40-year-old ficus or a row of eucalyptus along the alley, that's the difference between a sewer you think about every spring and one you forget about.
What a trenchless job looks like
- Camera inspection and cleaning. Cast iron gets descaled by hydro jetting, clay gets root-cut, and the camera confirms the pipe is a candidate.
- Permit and DigAlert marking.
- Pits dug where they're needed: none or one for a liner, two for a burst. In dirt they're a couple of feet square; in concrete we saw-cut a neat opening.
- The liner is installed and cured (three to six hours), or the burst head is pulled and the new HDPE fused and connected.
- Branch lines are reinstated with a robotic cutter if lined. A new cleanout is set.
- Post-job camera, city inspection, pits backfilled and compacted.
Most jobs are one day. You're without drains for the hours the liner is curing or the burst is in progress, and we tell you the window in advance.
What it costs
Trenchless sewer repair San Diego pricing is mostly per foot plus the pits and the connection at the main. Lining runs about $90–$200 per foot, bursting $100–$250 per foot, so a 50-foot lateral is usually $6,000–$14,000 and a long or deep one up to $20,000. Under-slab lining is priced separately. The cost page has the tables and trenchless sewer repair cost in San Diego walks through what moves the number. Compare it with open-trench replacement on the same quote; we price both when both would work.
Other sewer services
Sewer Line Repair
Backups cleared, roots cut, the line hydro jetted and cameraed, and a spot repair where one section is broken and the rest is sound.
Sewer Line Repair →Sewer Line Replacement
A new lateral from the house to the main when the old cast iron or clay is done. Open-trench where it makes sense, trenchless where it doesn't.
Sewer Line Replacement →Sewer Camera Inspection
A recorded camera run from the cleanout to the main, with the break located from the surface. The basis for every honest quote, and the first thing to do before buying an old house.
Sewer Camera Inspection →Under-Slab Sewer Repair
Rusted-out cast iron under the kitchen and bath of a 1950s slab home: lined in place, tunneled to, or re-routed, with the least concrete cut.
Under-Slab Sewer Repair →Questions we get asked
How long does a pipe liner last?
Manufacturers rate CIPP liners at 50 years, and the epoxy is inert in soil and sewage. The liner has no joints, so roots can't get in, and it doesn't corrode. The realistic risk is a bad install: resin that didn't cure fully, or a liner pulled through a pipe that should have been burst. That's why we camera every liner after cure and give you the footage.
Can you line a pipe with roots in it?
After cleaning, yes. The roots are cut out and the line is jetted until the camera shows a clean wall. If the joint is so offset that the liner would bridge a gap bigger than it can hold, we'll recommend bursting or a spot dig at that joint first. A liner over uncut roots fails, and some crews do it anyway.
Does trenchless work under the street?
Yes, and it's the main reason to use it. A burst pit at the curb, with the head pulled to the main, avoids opening the road. The connection at the main still has to be inspected by the city under a right-of-way permit; if the tap itself is broken, a small excavation at the main is sometimes unavoidable and we'll price it up front.
Is trenchless cheaper than digging?
Per foot, no. As a total job, usually, once you count what's on top of the pipe. A lateral under nothing but lawn is cheaper open-trench. A lateral under a driveway, a patio and a city sidewalk is cheaper trenchless almost every time, and it's finished in a day instead of three.
Need sewer line work in San Diego?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.