Ventura Trenchless Sewer Replacement Services!

Several weeks ago we responded to a local customer in Ventura, who wanted to know how to go about replacing her 100-year-old clay sewer lateral. Seems that roots from a 30-year-old ornamental plum tree had taken up permanent residence in the sewer line. A twice-a-year visit from Miracle Rooter Plumbing was necessary to keep the waste flowing.

She asked our opinion about four options:

– Cut down the tree.

– Replace the entire 70 feet of sewer line with cast iron.

– Partially replace the line 10 feet on either side of the snag.

We told her to forget about cutting the tree down. In our view that was penny-wise and pound-foolish. Because we were a little leery of the trenchless option, we suggested that she replace the portion of the line between the street and garage slab using cast iron, or plastic ABS. The idea was to avoid the expense of saw-cutting the garage floor.

A few readers disagreed with our solution. One reader, who is Kevin Sargsyan, says he’s done thousands of installations and inspected too many dozens more. He thought the trenchless option was the best bet. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jDHSbn2J3M
He convinced us that if the conditions are right, this is the best and most cost-effective way for our questioner to go. He noted that this is not a new technology and has been around for several years now. A torpedo-shaped metal bursting head is attached to a steel cable that is pulled through the existing sewer line to burst the pipe. The existing line is just a conduit to pull the new pipe through.
“A cable is pulled through the pipe first,” he writes. “It is then connected to a bursting head. The head is attached to the new pipe. The bursting head splits the existing pipe and pushes it out of the way as the new pipe is pulled through.
“The new pipe is the same inside diameter as the old. If required, it’s even possible to increase the size of the pipe. Very little damage is caused to the new pipe in this process. Usually just some light scratches. He said the pipe that is used, called HDPE, is “a much heavier plastic than ABS and better withstands the earth movement. HDPE pipe is fused together resulting in a no-joint line from end to end. It’s superior to no-hub cast iron in that there are no joints where roots can penetrate the pipe. This method of trenchless sewer replacement in Ventura requires only a hole at each end of the line rather than digging a trench the entire length of the line, as required by more conventional methods. Contractors can be in and out in a day.”