//Quick answer
- Trenchless: saves driveways, hardscape and landscaping; needs workable access and a mostly intact host pipe.
- Digging: corrects grade, handles collapses, works in open ground.
- The camera and the access at each end make the call.
01Definition
What does each method include?
Trenchless: lining or bursting the existing line through small access pits with minimal excavation. Traditional: an open trench along the failed run, pipe replacement, and backfill. Trenchless preserves the surface; excavation preserves the option to fix slope.
What does each one not do?
Trenchless cannot fix every break location or pipe condition: a collapse, a long belly, or a line with too many turns can rule it out. Excavation cannot preserve what is on top of the pipe: a driveway, a patio or mature landscaping comes up and has to go back.
02Which fits
When is trenchless right?
Lines where access is difficult and surface restoration would be costly, with a host pipe the camera shows is mostly in place. In the operator's words: difficulty of access and the location of the break make this determination.
When is digging right?
Breaks in locations or conditions trenchless cannot address, short runs in open ground, and lines that need their grade corrected.
//What it costs
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Trenchless / pipe lining | Varies by job | Access difficulty and break location drive it. |
| Traditional excavation and replacement | Varies by length of line | Per linear foot. |
Neither option has a publishable range. Quoted on site after the camera inspection.
Financing available with terms up to 10 years. Ask the office about Enerbank, GE and Wisetack.
//Side by side
Trenchless (lining or bursting)
- Keeps driveway, hardscape and landscaping
- Small access pits
- Faster surface restoration
- Not for collapses or long bellies
- Cannot correct slope
- Needs workable access at each end
Traditional excavation
- Handles any break condition
- Corrects grade
- Straightforward in open ground
- Surface comes up and goes back
- Larger disruption
- Priced by length
03What goes wrong
What goes wrong when the method is chosen before the inspection?
A liner in a bellied pipe, or a trench through a driveway that a liner would have spared. Both are avoidable with the camera picture and a look at the access at each end. This page ends in a call, not an estimate, on purpose.
04Proof
- A camera goes down the line before anyone quotes a drain or sewer repair, and the camera inspection is included with the $99 drain snaking.
- When a job needs a permit, Done-Rite pulls it and schedules the inspection.
- Six plumbers averaging more than 9 years in the trade each, plus a General Manager with 25+ years.
- California CSLB C-36 licence #998069. Licensed, bonded and insured, with workers compensation.
05Action
Have both options priced for your line
Camera inspection first. Trenchless varies by job; replacement is priced by the length of the line. Both are permitted work Done-Rite handles. Financing is available with terms up to 10 years.
//Keep going
Learn
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//Terms used in this guide
Where this applies
Done-Rite runs these calls across Orange County from its shop in Anaheim, CA, with no trip charge in any city it serves.
Common questions
It depends on the job. Difficulty and difficulty of access drive the decision, and the location of the break makes a big impact as well. It varies job to job.
