No Dig can fix most pipe problems without digging

Most of our jobs are lining under infrastructure.

We typically line under state roads

We often line under stamped concrete.

We usually line under buildings, through footers, and under porches.

Here are some of our non typical jobs we have encountered.

Washington DC

We had a job in a historical area in Washington DC the problem they had was that roots had made there way into the sewer line and were causing back ups the line had to be cleaned about every six months. We visited the couple that owned the property to see if we could help with the problem. We found the pipe exited the house under the front porch, under the sidewalk and into the sewer main that was located in the center of the street, complete with cobblestone and granite curbing. The sewer line depth was 12' deep in front of the house. We used a location device to determine exactly where the sewer line was and also found the gas line and water lines, these were laid along side the sewer line at about 6" on each side. The owners had some estimates from local contractors to dig up and replace the line and in doing so the street would have had to be closed and traffic detoured which would have been very inconvenient for the neighbors. Estimates ranged from $17,000.00 to $22,000.00 and at least a 4 days of disruption. We had to dig a small hole in the basement 3' by 5' we cleaned the line and installed a new liner inside the old pipe, we made the repair to the basement floor and finished the whole job in a day for $9,000.00.

Assisted Living Facility

This case study is an older two story assisted living facility with 49 apartments in Lancaster, PA. The property management team indicated that the lower apartments ceilings were being stained with water. With the use of our camera equipment we found the building had leaking drain lines from the kitchens drains which were 2" cast iron lines and were rusted through in many places. These pipes were imbedded in block walls from the top floor to the sewer drain. With the help of the maintenance department we removed the kitchen sinks and counters to gain access to the pipe. We removed two cinder blocks in the kitchen wall and thoroughly cleaned and removed the rust in the cast iron pipe with out destroying the already fragile pipe. We took some very accurate measurements of the line and set up each install outside of the building. By using 100% solid epoxy resins for the liner there were no odors in the apartments while doing the install. After approximately three hours we did a post video inspection to find that the old two inch pipes had been restored to a seamless single pipe from the kitchen to the main sewer line. We reinstalled the sink and counter and in a matter of one day the kitchen was back in service. The residents and owners were very happy with the speed and cleanness of the job.

Chemical Facitily

A facility in central Virginia had converted some old steam lines that were being used to transfer acids from one building to the next. The acids were pumped to the center of each building about 150' from the outside walls. Working with the manufacturer of the liner we were able to guarantee the performance of the liner for this specific application. The equipment inside the building was large weighing upwards of 20 tons and it was all bolted to the floor. The cost to remove the equipment and saw cut the concrete was out of the question. There was another solution in addition to lining the pipe - they could have saw cut an area of concrete and used a horizontal boring machine to drill a hole under the building and pulled a pipe through the hole. We ended up being significantly cheaper when taking into account the fact the building would have to be shut down when they were cutting the concrete inside. We lined from outside each of the buildings and the job was completed in one day.

Force Main

A 5 story commercial building in Downtown Allentown. This building was about 15' from the edge of the road and experiencing a sewer back up problem. Upon our initial review we noticed that there were no trees in front of the building. Using our color sewer camera we found that the sewer line was rusted and collapsing. The owner though he would just dig up his line, and when PA one call came out they noted a two foot force main directly under the sidewalk and directly above the sewer line. The company quoted the job at $50,000! They are called force mains for a reason. They are under extreme high pressure and are extremely difficult to shut down, cut, and weld back together. We augured the pipe very carefully as it was already breaking apart. We bridged about a foot of missing pipe and made it a one piece pipe at a cost of $6000! what a savings.

Family Dollar

A new Family Dollar was being erected in Syracuse NY. This was being erected on a lot that had been vacant for over 15 years. When arriving on site we discovered that the sewer line was completely packed full of clay, and various trash from 15 years of having no sewer cap. Many municipalities have rules that mandate new construction must replace the sewer line to bring it up to 20th century standards. This building was in downtown Syracuse with the sewer main in the center of the road. The cost to shut down the street was expensive, but that wasn't the reason we were called in. The main reason was time, from previous experience the developer knew it would take at least a month to get a permit to saw cut the road. It was November and the blacktop plants weren't going to be open in December. The developer said he would just shut the project down and let it sit unfinished until spring as he would have been sitting on more carrying costs as he wouldn't be able receive a certificate of occupancy without having a paved and striped parking lot. The line was so dirty we ended up needing an extra day to clean the pipe, however the next day we had the pipe in the ground to the delight of the city and the developer. We saved the developer money on this job, not only from the cost of the install, but also the savings of carrying the debt 4 months shorter.