Fix Your Broken Pipes Without Tearing Up Your Home

Imagine you get bad news: you need to replace the main sewer pipes running under your house. Traditional plumbing companies might give you a shocking repair bill in the thousands! Why is it so expensive?

The main reason for this high cost is often the concrete foundation that many homes are built on. To replace the broken pipes, old-school plumbers have to use heavy equipment to dig into the ground, break up the concrete floor inside your house, and then pull out the old sewer lines before installing new ones. It is a huge, messy job that takes a long time and leaves you with major cleanup and repair work afterward.

Why Do Pipes Break Anyway?

In many areas, homes built between the 1950s and 1970s often relied on cast iron pipes. While cast iron is strong, it has a serious weakness: it rusts and corrodes over many years. As these pipes slowly fall apart, holes and cracks appear. Instead of sewage flowing harmlessly away from your home, it leaks out and pools right underneath your foundation. This is a problem that needs fixing right away.

In contrast, newer homes built after the late 1970s usually have tough, rust-resistant PVC piping, which rarely has these same corrosion problems.

The Modern Fix: Trenchless Pipe Lining

The good news is that technology has provided a much better, less destructive way to fix these leaky pipes. It’s called Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining, and it is the modern standard for permanent sewer repair.

Think of it as giving your old pipe a brand-new pipe inside of it.

• Access: Instead of digging a huge trench, technicians only need small access points at the beginning and end of the pipe system.
• Lining: A flexible, tube-like liner that is soaked in a special liquid epoxy resin is inserted into the existing damaged pipe.
• Curing: The liner is inflated so that it presses tightly against the inside walls of the old pipe. Over several hours, the epoxy cures and hardens.
• The Result: The cured liner forms a hard, impermeable, seamless pipe that is stronger than the old one. It seals off all the cracks and holes permanently.

While this new internal pipe slightly reduces the overall width of the line, the smoother inner surface actually helps water and waste flow freely, so the flow rate is not affected.

Why Do We Choose Trenchless CIPP?

The CIPP method is quickly becoming the favorite choice for homeowners because of its major advantages:

• Saves Money: It is far more cost-effective than the traditional dig-and-replace method, which requires expensive labor and heavy construction.
• Less Mess: There is no need to tear up floors, destroy landscaping, or ruin driveways. Your yard and home remain intact.
• Faster Completion: Most trenchless repairs can be completed in just a few days, compared to weeks of construction required for traditional digging.
• Peace of Mind: The finished product is a long-lasting repair that often comes with a strong, long-term warranty.

Other Options

While CIPP lining is ideal for most situations, it isn't always a perfect solution for every single type of broken pipe. If your lines cannot be fixed with CIPP, our experienced professionals can offer other effective, modern alternatives, such as replacing the damaged sections with durable PVC piping. The goal is always to make sure your home is leak-free and your sewer system works perfectly for decades to come. Here at Virginia Best Plumbers our goal is to provide the best possible solution for all of our clients.