How long does a trenchless sewer job take, and what happens to my house that day?

Before the day

1. Inspection and trace — about an hour. The camera video with distances and the surface marks are the basis for everything after.
2. Proposal — written from the footage: which method, from where to where, what is being spot-repaired, and the written paperwork for your job.
3. Permit — a side sewer permit from Seattle Public Utilities for yard work in Seattle, or the equivalent in the suburbs. Lead time varies from days to a couple of weeks; the permit guide explains the process.
4. Utility locates — public utilities are marked before any pit is dug.
5. Scheduling — with weather in mind. Lining can go ahead in rain; bursting pits in saturated ground are slower and messier.

Lining day

A run that needs a small spot repair first adds a half-day to a day, usually done ahead of the lining so the liner goes through a continuous host.

Bursting day(s)

1. Pits — one at the house end, one near the property line or the main. A few feet square, dug to pipe depth. Deep street ends take longer.
2. Cable through the old pipe from pit to pit.
3. Fusing the new HDPE pipe into a single length above ground.
4. The pull — the bursting head and new pipe are winched through. Minutes to an hour depending on length and soil.
5. Connections at each end; inspection; backfill and compaction; surface restored.

One long day is typical; two when the street-end pit is deep or the connection at the main needs work. Water is off for the pull and the connections, usually a few hours.

What the yard looks like after

Lining from a cleanout usually works from small access points, which can leave most of the yard undisturbed. Bursting needs a pit at each end, and a spot repair needs one at the damaged section. Access and restoration depend on the project, and your written scope spells out what to expect.

What can extend it

• The line needs more preparation than the first camera showed — heavy scale, a second offset.
• Saturated ground after days of rain, for anything involving a pit.
• A shared side sewer that turns out to serve a neighbor, which changes the permit and the agreement.
• A failed connection at the main that needs the street end opened, sometimes with a right-of-way permit.

None of these are unusual, and all of them are visible early if the inspection was thorough. Our trenchless page covers the methods; this timeline is what they look like from the kitchen window.