Preparing for replacement

A replacement is the largest thing most properties ever have done to their drainage, and almost everything that goes wrong with one was decided before the machine arrived.

The preparation is not complicated. It is mostly recording what the property looks like now, agreeing what putting it back means, and knowing who is responsible for each stage.

What this page cannot establish

SewerOwner cannot tell you what is wrong with your line, and nothing on this page is a diagnosis
the words a contractor uses have no agreed definitions in this trade, and two companies use them differently
no price, range, or cost driver on this site is a quotation, and none can be
nothing here establishes who is responsible for the length of pipe being described
SewerOwner cannot tell you what any authority requires where you live
nothing here is a specification for work, and no standard is asserted

Before the day

photograph every surface, path, wall, fence, and planting near the route, with dates
have the route located and marked, and photograph the marks
confirm which approvals are in place and which inspections must happen
agree in writing what reinstatement includes and to what standard
confirm where machinery, spoil, and materials will sit
move anything you care about out of the working area yourself
confirm whether drainage will be interrupted and plan around it
tell your neighbours, particularly if access crosses their ground

Reinstatement is the item that causes the arguments

Not the pipe. Almost every dispute after a sewer replacement is about the surface: a lawn that was returned as bare soil, a driveway patched rather than matched, planting that did not come back.

The fix is to write it down beforehand. "Reinstate as found" means nothing on its own. What is the surface, what standard is it being returned to, who does that work, when, and what happens if it settles over the following months?

What to expect while it is happening

Noise, machinery, a spoil heap, and a period during which the garden is not a garden. Ground that has been excavated will settle afterwards, sometimes for a season, and it is normal to need to top it up.

What is not normal is finding out about a change to the scope after the fact. Agree beforehand how variations are raised, priced, and approved.

What to ask

What exactly is included in reinstatement, and to what standard?
Who does the reinstatement, and when relative to the excavation?
What happens if the ground settles over the next few months?
Where will machinery, spoil, and materials go?
Will drainage be out of use, and for how long?
What has to be inspected before you backfill?
How are variations raised and approved, and by whom?

What would change the answer

photographs of every surface, planting, and structure near the route, dated
the located route marked on the ground and recorded
what the proposal states about reinstatement, and to what standard
which approvals are in place and which inspections are required

What to do next

A dated photograph of a lawn is worth more than any conversation about what the lawn used to look like.

Photograph everything before anyone arrives

If your situation is different

You want to know what happens during the work: During the work
A tree stands over the route: Trees and sewer lines
You are still choosing between methods: Trenchless and excavation methods

Project timeline
The sequence the work follows, and which stages are outside anyone’s control.
What drives scope
What the excavation is actually being priced on.
PVC and HDPE
What the new line will be, and what that does and does not solve.
Restoration
Reinstatement is the stage that gets under-specified most often.
After the work
What is worth having once the ground is closed.
Permits and inspections
What has to be approved and inspected before it can be closed up.
Get help
A person reads it. It is not a contractor booking, and describing what you were told is often enough to work out which question is actually unanswered.