A new pipe inside the old one
Pipe relining is also called cured in place pipe lining (CIPP). It lets us fix your pipes without the extra cost of digging them up and replacing them.
A CIPP liner is a tube soaked in resin. We put it inside the old pipe to make a close fitting pipe within a pipe. It’s a structural fix for pipes that are wearing out.
There are two ways to put the liner in. We can winch it in flat through the old pipe. Or we can turn it inside out through the pipe, using air from an inversion drum.
We make our liners to order from felt. We soak them in special resins to suit each job. These include UV cured GRP lining, polyester resin that cures at air temperature, and heat cured resin.
Getting the pipe ready
A liner needs a clean wall to bond to. So the work starts with a CCTV survey to map the faults. Then high pressure jetting strips out silt and build up. Where roots or concrete block the line, our robotic cutters remove them first.
How CIPP lining works
Install the liner
We winch or invert the resin soaked liner into the old pipe.
Inflate and cure
We inflate the liner and keep it under pressure. Then the resin cures, or hardens, and the liner stays in place inside the old pipe. We cure with air temperature, hot water, steam or UV light.
Trim and seal
Once cured, the liner cools. We cut the ends to fit the old pipe and seal them.
Test a sample
We take a sample from the pipe ends, or cure one in a mould in the access chamber. We test it to prove the liner meets its performance specs.
Reopen the connections
Once the pipe is back in use, our robotic equipment reopens the side connections and branch lines.
What CIPP can fix
CIPP gives a structural fix for pipes with cracks, offset joints and weak sections. We can reline almost any shape of pipe:
- Upright or flat pipes
- Square, rectangular or round pipes
- 90 degree bends
- P traps and S traps
- Junctions and elbows
Only one spot needs fixing? A localised point repair may be all you need.
Is relining right for your pipe?
Most cracked, leaking and root damaged pipes can be relined. A few can’t, because the old pipe is too weak to work with. Relining is hard or not possible when a pipe:
- Has fully collapsed.
- Has large sections missing.
- Has root damage so severe that the roots can’t all be removed.
- Is fully blocked with a large amount of concrete.
The survey footage tells us which group your pipe falls into, so you know the answer before any work is planned.
Getting the liner in
Most liners go in through an existing access chamber. If there’s no way in, our NDD crews dig a small, neat hole with water and suction to reach the pipe. The ground around it is barely touched.
Relining suits a short section or a whole line, including pipes that are hard to reach any other way.
Relining versus digging
Replacing a pipe the old way means digging trenches and bringing in a large crew. It can take days to lift the old pipe, lay a new one and fill the trench. Then the road, path or landscaping on top has to be rebuilt.
Relining is much faster, and the cost is far lower. There are no trenches to fill and no surfaces to restore. Compare the pros and cons of relining and replacement.
We reline pipes for water authorities, councils, ports, rail and road managers. Homeowners can read about our residential drain relining.
No dig. No damage. No danger.
- No digging needed.
- Very little disruption above ground to traffic and people walking by.
- Much lower costs.
- Better for the environment.
- No disruption when we reline pipes under roads and freeways.
- Strong, yet flexible enough to handle natural ground movement in the future.
- The liner resists high heat and a wide range of harsh chemicals.
- Your pipe lasts far longer.
- Better flow.
- A small carbon footprint.
