Drainage pipes don’t last forever, after time they degrade, or the ground around them moves. They can also be affected by disturbance from nearby works or by disturbance from plant and tree roots.
In the past, if a drainage pipe had been diagnosed with a crack or a break there would be no option but to excavate the pipe to remove the damaged section. A new section would then be laid. This was a time consuming process, which not only meant a great deal of disturbance but also created a good deal of mess and disruption. In some situations when access to the broken pipe was limited or even impossible, a complete new section of drain would have to be laid.
Things have changed however, and now if a drainage pipe is found to have a crack or a break, you no longer have to rely on excavation to repair the pipe. New trenchless technology allows the pipe to be repaired in situ.
Trenchless technology incorporates such pipe repair techniques as inserting a new polyethylene pipe inside the damaged original pipe along the pipe’s length and also inserting an epoxy liner into a pipe at the site of the damage to repair the break. These ‘no-dig’ technologies have revolutionised the way drainage companies now work.