A new structural lining cured inside the existing pipe: cracks sealed, open joints closed and root entry stopped, with no excavation and nothing to reinstate afterwards.
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Relining repairs a damaged drain from the inside. A resin-impregnated liner is drawn into position along the run, inflated tight against the existing pipe wall and left to cure, forming a continuous new pipe within the old one. Once cured, the liner carries the flow, seals the defects behind it and gives a smooth bore that resists the deposits which caused problems in the first place.
A patch repair works on the same principle over a short length. Where the fault is one cracked section or one open joint rather than a whole run, a short liner is positioned precisely over the defect and cured there. It is the most efficient repair available for isolated damage, and it is the reason a targeted CCTV survey saves so much money; a defect located accurately can often be dealt with in a couple of hours instead of a day of digging.
The appeal is obvious on any property where the drain runs under a driveway, a patio, a conservatory, a garage floor or a mature garden. The cost of an excavated repair is rarely the drainage work alone; it is the block paving, the concrete or the landscaping that has to come up and go back. Relining removes that entirely.
Digging is the default answer when nobody has looked properly. Without a survey, a contractor cannot know whether the pipe is cracked or collapsed, so the safe recommendation is excavation, and on a run beneath block paving or a concrete drive, the reinstatement is often the larger part of the bill.
Leaving a lining-suitable defect alone is the other expensive route. Cracks and open joints do not stay the same size. They admit roots, they leak into the surrounding ground, the bedding washes out and the pipe loses support. A run that could have been lined this year becomes a run that must be excavated in two, because by then it has deformed or collapsed.
Lifting and relaying block paving, concrete or landscaping can cost more than the drainage repair itself, and none of it is needed if the run can be lined.
Relining needs a pipe that still holds its shape. Once a defect has progressed to deformation or collapse, no-dig is off the table and excavation is the only option left.
Cutting roots without sealing the entry point guarantees they come back. Each regrowth widens the defect that let them in.
An unsealed defect keeps discharging water into the surrounding soil, washing out bedding and undermining whatever sits above the run.
For a shop, pub or care setting, an excavation across a trading area is days of disruption. A patch repair from an existing chamber often is not.
CCTV inspection to identify the defect, its exact position along the run and its extent, and to confirm the pipe retains enough shape for lining to be the right answer.
You are shown the defect and told plainly whether a patch, a full-length liner or excavation is appropriate, and why, rather than being handed a single price.
The run is jetted and vacuumed, roots cut back and deposits scoured off, because a liner only bonds properly to a clean host pipe.
The resin-impregnated liner is positioned over the defect or along the length from an existing access point, then inflated tight against the pipe wall.
The resin is left to cure and form the new pipe, then the camera goes back down so you can see the finished lining and the run flowing.
Chambers reseated, waste taken away by us, and the finished condition of the run recorded for your own records or for an insurer.
The work is carried out from existing access points, so driveways, patios, garages and gardens stay exactly as they are.
Many patch repairs are completed in a single visit, without the excavation, backfill and reinstatement stages a dug repair requires.
Once you count lifting and relaying surfacing, no-dig repair frequently costs less than excavation for the same defect.
The cured liner presents a continuous bore with no joint steps, which gives deposits and roots nothing to catch on.
Sealing the entry point ends the cycle of cutting roots out every year and watching them come back.
If the run is collapsed or deformed and lining will not give a sound result, you are told that rather than sold a repair that fails.
No-dig repair covers several distinct techniques, and the survey determines which one fits the defect.
A short liner positioned over a single defect: a cracked section, an open joint, a small root entry point. Precise positioning is everything, which is why the defect is measured along the run during the survey. This is the most common no-dig repair on domestic property.
Where a run has multiple defects along its length, or is old jointed clay approaching the end of its service life, a continuous liner is installed along the whole section between chambers. The result is effectively a new pipe inside the old one, with no joints to open.
Junctions where a branch meets the main run are a common failure point and a common root entry. They can be sealed with a purpose-shaped liner rather than excavating at the intersection, which is usually the most awkward place to dig.
Lining is only as good as the preparation. Roots are cut back, scale and fat are jetted off, and silt is vacuumed out, so the liner presses against a clean pipe wall. Skipping this is the most common reason a lining repair disappoints.
Sound vitrified clay, concrete, cast iron and PVCu all take lining well when they still hold their shape. Deformed pitch fibre and collapsed sections cannot be lined reliably; those need excavation, and you will be told so after the survey rather than after a failed attempt.
Once cured, the liner is a structural pipe in its own right, resistant to root penetration and to the deposits that troubled the original run. It restores the integrity of the drainage without the ground ever being opened.
The work runs from inspection chambers, rodding eyes or lifted gullies. Where a property has had its chambers paved over, forming an access point may be part of the job, another reason to keep chambers reachable.
On homes, lining protects driveways, patios and mature planting. On commercial sites it protects trading: a car park, yard or shop floor stays in use while the repair happens below it, which is often the deciding factor.
Based on Cutforth Way in Romsey, covering Southampton, Romsey and the surrounding towns and villages. If your postcode is not listed, ring and ask; it is usually still within reach.
It depends on whether a short patch or a full length is needed, the bore of the pipe and the access available. Once the survey has located and measured the defect the job is defined rather than open-ended, and you are told what is involved before agreeing to anything.
Many localised patch repairs are completed within a single visit, including the cleaning beforehand and the camera check afterwards. Full-length lining takes longer, but still avoids the excavation, backfill and reinstatement stages entirely.
For the right defect, yes; the cured liner is a structural pipe with a continuous bore and no joints to open, sealing the fault and resisting root penetration. For a collapsed or badly deformed run it is not appropriate, and in that case excavation is what we will recommend.
No. The host pipe has to hold enough of its shape for the liner to form against. Sound clay, concrete, cast iron and PVCu are generally suitable; collapsed sections and deformed pitch fibre are not. The survey settles it before any commitment is made.
Not for a lining repair. The work is carried out from existing chambers or access points, which is the whole point of no-dig repair, nothing to lift and nothing to reinstate.
A properly installed liner in a well-prepared host pipe is a long-term structural repair, not a temporary patch. Preparation is what determines the result, which is why the run is cleaned thoroughly before installation.
Sealing the entry point is exactly what stops the cycle. Cutting roots without sealing where they came in guarantees regrowth; a liner over that junction or joint removes the way in.
The liner takes up a small amount of bore, but the smooth continuous surface it creates flows better than an old jointed pipe with steps, scale and deposits, so capacity in practice is not a concern on a domestic run.
Yes. The camera goes back down once the liner has cured, so you see the finished pipe and the run flowing rather than taking it on trust.
Yes. It is often the preferred option on commercial sites precisely because the yard, car park or trading area stays in use while the repair is carried out below it.
Start with a survey to find out whether no-dig repair will solve it. Ring any hour, or send your postcode and what has been found so far.
Call 07940 156407A camera down the run turns a guess into a fact: you find out exactly what is wrong, where it is, how deep it sits, and what it genuinely takes to put right.
Read moreThe defect is located on camera before a spade goes in the ground, so the hole is where the fault is, not three exploratory trenches across your garden looking for it.
Read moreRodding punches a hole through a blockage. Jetting removes it, fat, silt, scale and root growth cut away and flushed out, so the run keeps flowing long after we have gone.
Read moreSee all drainage services, the areas we cover or get in touch.
