Pipe Relining Wollongong

How pipe relining works

The drain is first inspected with a camera and then cleaned, usually by jet blasting, so the liner has a clean surface to bond to. The damaged length is measured, and a flexible liner soaked in resin is cut to suit.

The liner is fed into the pipe from an access point, pressed firmly against the old pipe wall and held there while the resin hardens. Depending on the system, the resin cures at air temperature, or the curing is sped up with heat or UV light. Where branch lines join the relined section, their openings are re-cut from inside the pipe, and a final camera run checks the finished liner.

When relining suits a drain

Relining is usually worth considering for:

• Cracks or small breaks in a pipe that is otherwise holding its shape
• Roots getting in through joints, once the roots have been cut out
• Joints that leak or have shifted slightly
• A pipe under a driveway, slab, pool surround or mature garden, where digging means a lot of reinstatement
• Several short defects along one run, which would otherwise mean several separate excavations

When relining isn't the answer

A liner takes the shape of the pipe it lines, so it can't correct problems with the pipe's shape or position.

• A collapsed section. If the pipe has caved in, there is nothing for the liner to follow, and that part generally has to be dug out and replaced.
• A sag or belly. Where the pipe has dropped and holds water, a liner keeps the same dip, and waste keeps settling there.
• Badly misaligned or deformed pipe. Large offsets can stop the liner going through, or leave a ridge that catches waste.
• No practical way in. The liner needs an access point, and some layouts have none in the right place without some digging.

A slightly smaller pipe

A liner also takes up a little room inside the pipe. On a small-diameter line, that is one more thing to weigh up before choosing it.

Pipe relining vs replacement

Replacement means excavating, removing the damaged pipe, laying new pipe and then reinstating whatever was on top. It disturbs more of the property, but it can correct a sag, change the route, or replace a collapsed section that can't be lined. Relining disturbs far less and keeps the existing route and fall.

On some drains the best result is a mix: dig out the collapsed or sagging section and reline the rest. Our guide to pipe relining vs pipe replacement covers the trade-offs in more depth.

Why the camera goes in first

Nobody can tell you whether a pipe can be relined without seeing inside it. A CCTV drain inspection shows the type of damage, how much of the line is affected and where it sits, and that decides between relining, replacement or both. If you're comparing pipe relining services, ask each one for the camera footage behind its recommendation.

The inspection also shows where your pipe ends. An owner's responsibility stops where the private sewer line meets Sydney Water's pipes, so a fault beyond that connection is Sydney Water's to deal with, not yours to repair.

Relining a sewer drain is also licensed work. In NSW, draining work includes the repair and renewal of sanitary drains, and it needs a licence or certificate.