If you have an issue with your drains or pipes, be it either a leak or something more serious, you’ll most likely need a draining professional. Without being a professional yourself, it can be difficult to know which service you need. You may need a simpler pipe relining. But then, if the problem is more severe, you may need a full drain replacement. There are advantages and disadvantages with both options. We have summarised some of these for you.
Drain Relining
The first option to consider when you have an issue such as a leak with your drain pipes is drain relining. The problem is usually found by using a CCTV survey. Once the damage has been confirmed, the process involves de-scaling and cleaning the problem part of the pipe, and then covering it with a sleeve.
A combination of strong pressure water jets to take away the scale and silt, fused with electro-mechanical machining, are used to make sure the pipe is clean and ready to be lined again.
Air inflation is then used to install the sleeve – once the inflated resin is added which needs to be cured for around three hours to finish the process. Once the curing has been done, the tube that has been inflated is removed and the new section of the pipe is cleaned. This is a good method to use primarily. It is more cost-effective than excavating the whole pipe. In addition, this is a common technique that any professional from a draining company should be able to carry out.
No work needs to be done to dig up the pipes. This is significantly faster than if a full pipe replacement is done. This makes pipe relining the fastest and most efficient way to get your pipes up and running again, with minimal time with your pipes not working.
Drain Replacement
If drain relining isn’t an option, replacement may be necessary. This is when the whole pipe is dug up, removed, and replaced with a new pipe. This is a significantly more intrusive operation. But then, sometimes, this is necessary when relining isn’t enough to fix the issue.
The entire ground will be excavated, which means that you should hire a company with a good reputation. A professional service will know what they are doing, and will ensure that the end result minimises any damage.
Something to consider is that replacing your pipes may take several days. If the pipes are old, significant work may be needed to replace them. In this case, the pipes will have to be diverted, which can take more time on top of this.
The advantage is that this is a long-term solution. If you keep getting your drains relined, at some point, you’ll have to get them replaced. It may be cheaper and easier in the long term to simply get them replaced. This way, you’ll know that you won’t have to deal with the matter for many years once the work is done.
