Failing Sewer Repair Without Trenching the Entire House

Most of the time, when a homeowner realises they have bad pipes under the house and probably will need sewer repair, they instantly panic about their floors being completely ripped apart. But in this case, we showed exactly why you don’t always have to dig up the whole living space to get things flowing right again.

When the Almco Plumbing team arrived on site, we discovered an old cast iron system from way back in the early 1970s that was just completely failing. The pipes were causing constant backups for the family, and once we actually dug out some pieces, you could see they were 100% corroded. Honestly, it wasn’t no metal left in the pipe structure at all, just straight rust and scale.

To fix this mess and comlete sewer repair without wrecking the whole place, we implemented a hybrid restoration plan that took us five days total. For the long, straight 70-foot main line, we utilized epoxy sewer lining, and we was able to shoot the liner working directly from the exterior cleanouts outside.

But for them complex bathroom clusters where all the different pipes branch together, we had to do it the old-fashioned way. We dismantled the old plumbing by breaking through the concrete slab and replacing the branches entirely with brand new ABS plastic pipe. Doing it this way allowed us to restore structural integrity to the system, plus we even saved the family’s sentimental vintage floor tiles and kept the dust and noise to an absolute minimum for the lady living there.

Challenges in Balancing Sewer Lining vs. Pipe Replacement

The next stage of the job was to carefully navigate the complex connections underneath them two bathrooms. A lot of homeowners always ask us if lining or replacing is better, but the system’s layout pretty much made the choice for us.

See, the work was complicated by branching combo fittings (like where the big 3-inch main splits off into them smaller 2-inch toilet lines). Trying to clean out, prep, and line them tiny intersecting joints takes multiple days and you just cannot guarantee a proper finish that’s gonna hold up. In our projects, we replace bathroom clusters with new ABS pipe cause it’s ultimately more cost-effective for the customer and guarantees a 100% leak-free connection after sewer repair.

Anyways, for that long 70-foot straight run, our lining crew deployed a seamless epoxy liner that seals up every single crack without us having to dig trenches through the living rooms. After the replacement crew finished up under the bathrooms, we poured new interior concrete and reinforced it with structural wire mesh to restore the subfloor completely so it’s solid as a rock.

Conclusions & Recommendations

The total failure of this residential cast iron sewer line was caused by decades of natural corrosion, which completely ate away the metal walls over the years. This resulted in severe structural failure and created an unlivable situation with sewage backing up constantly.

Conclusions & Recommendations

This case just goes to show you the benefit of a smart hybrid approach—combining epoxy lining services that meet strict ASTM International plumbing standards with targeted physical replacements to extend the system’s lifespan for another 100-plus years without needing a ton of heavy property destruction.

By having two of our specialized crews working simultaneously, we managed to rehabilitate the entire network in just five days. This case just goes to show you the benefit of a smart hybrid approach—combining epoxy lining services with targeted physical replacements to extend the system’s lifespan for another 100-plus years without needing a ton of heavy property destruction.

Recommendations

• Choose a hybrid approach when you’re dealing with real old cast iron; use structural epoxy lining for them long straight runs, but always go for full ABS replacement on them messy branch combos and bathroom clusters.
• Address old cast iron early before the pipe walls lose all their thickness, cause if the pipe completely collapses on itself, it’s gonna limit your trenchless repair options big time.
• Work with multi-crew teams who know how to handle excavation and advanced lining at the same time, that way you minimize the headache and get the whole overhaul done inside of a single work week.