Repair pathways
Three homeowners on the same street can be offered three different methods for the same symptom. The useful question is not which method is best — nobody who has not seen the pipe can answer that. It is what would have to be known before each could sensibly be discussed at all.
What this page cannot establish
- this does not tell you which method to choose, and it does not rank the methods
- this does not establish that any repair is necessary
- no method here is better than another; which ones are possible depends on the pipe, the ground, and the property
- this does not estimate what anything costs
- a pathway marked "not enough recorded" is a statement about your record, not about the method
Nothing is saved yet. Anything you record will be stored in this browser only — SewerOwner does not receive it.
No inspection is recorded. Methods can be read about, but they cannot be compared for your line until something has been seen.
Cleaning or maintenance
Clearing what is in the pipe, without changing the pipe itself.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- which access point will be used and how far the equipment will reach
- whether a camera inspection is included, and whether before or after
Root management
Removing roots that have grown into the line, without closing the opening they came through.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
- No root finding is recorded. If root work is being proposed, ask what was observed and where.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- whether a camera inspection follows the cutting
- what the proposal says about recurrence
Spot repair at one location
Opening the ground at one identified place and repairing the pipe there.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- the length being repaired, stated as start and end points
- what the proposal assumes about depth and soil
Excavation and replacement
Opening the ground along a run and replacing the pipe in it.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- the excavation limits, stated as start and end points
- assumptions about depth, soil, and groundwater
Lining the existing pipe
Forming a new pipe inside the existing one, which stays in the ground.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
- This method leaves the existing pipe in the ground. Ask what its condition means for the result, and what would be inspected afterwards.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- the lined length, stated as start and end points
- what preparation is included, and whether cleaning is priced separately
Pipe bursting
Pulling a new pipe through the line of the old one, breaking the old pipe outwards as it goes.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
- Ask what happens at every connection along the run, and what is done about anything else buried near the line.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- where the access pits will be located and what surfaces they affect
- the replaced length, stated as start and end points
Access work
Adding or altering a point of access to the line, rather than repairing the line.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
- This changes how the line can be reached rather than repairing the line. Ask what it is intended to make possible.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- the proposed position and what it will reach in each direction
- the finished surface treatment
Something else a contractor has proposed
A method that is not on this list. It belongs here rather than nowhere.
Not enough is recorded yet for this conversation to be specific
What your record does not yet answer
- No inspection state is recorded, so nothing here rests on evidence about your line.
- No findings are recorded, so there is nothing specific for a method to address.
- Record what you were told in your own words, then ask the same questions you would ask of any method: what it addresses, where, and what it does not cover.
If this is proposed, ask
- What specifically does this address, and where on my line?
- What did you see that led you to propose this rather than something else?
- What does this not address?
- What would we look at afterwards to know it worked?
- This does not tell you which method to choose, and it does not rank the methods.
- This does not establish that any repair is necessary.
- No method here is better than another. Which ones are even possible depends on the pipe, the ground, and the property — none of which SewerOwner has seen.
- This does not estimate what anything costs.
- A pathway marked "not enough recorded" is a statement about your record, not about the method.
What would change the answer
- whatever inspection state and findings you have recorded
- nothing is required — an empty record produces an honest answer
What to do next
Once you know which conversations your evidence supports, the quotes can be read against each other.
Compare the proposals you holdIf your situation is different
- You have no proposals yet: Build the questions to ask
Related, and why
- Trenchless and excavation
What each method involves, in detail, with what it cannot establish.