Pipe Bursting Services

Pipe bursting replaces a failed sewer line end to end without trenching it: a bursting head breaks the old pipe apart while a new HDPE pipe is pulled in behind it along the same route, from two access pits. Pro Sewer Repair runs HammerHead trenchless equipment and looks at the line on camera before recommending a repair.

What is pipe bursting?

Pipe bursting is a trenchless sewer replacement method. A cable is threaded through the old pipe between two access pits, a conical bursting head is pulled through it, and the old pipe — clay, concrete, Orangeburg or cast iron — is fractured and pushed outward into the surrounding soil. Behind the head, a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe is drawn into the space the old one occupied. The result is a brand-new, jointless pipe on the same alignment, which can leave most of the yard, driveway and trees between the pits undisturbed.

When is pipe bursting the right method?

Bursting is for pipe that has to be replaced, not rehabilitated. On the camera that looks like:

• Orangeburg that has gone oval or blistered — it cannot be lined reliably and nearly all of it in the Seattle area is past its working life.
• Concrete that has lost its crown to sewer-gas corrosion, or clay with crushed or dropped sections.
• Collapsed or badly deformed sections that a liner cannot pass through — see can a collapsed line be lined.
• Undersized lines, where the design calls for a larger pipe and the site allows the bore to be opened.

Bursting is not the answer for a pipe with a bad belly (the new pipe follows the old grade), for routes crossing other utilities too closely, or for a line that a liner would fix from a cleanout with no pits at all. The lining-or-bursting guide lays out the decision. Debunking myths about trenchless sewer replacement clears up the usual misconceptions, and how a camera inspection finds hidden sewer problems shows what the footage that makes the call looks like.

How does a pipe bursting job go?

1. Camera inspection and locate. Material, defects, grade, and a surface trace with depths — including where the line meets the main. How we find where a sewer runs.
2. Options in writing. Bursting next to lining, spot repair and excavation, with pit locations, restoration, permit and warranty spelled out.
3. Permit. A side sewer permit from Seattle Public Utilities inside Seattle, or from the city or sewer district elsewhere; a separate SDOT permit if the pit lands in the street or planting strip.
4. Two pits. Typically one at the house and one at the property line or main. The run between them is not opened.
5. The pull. The head and the new HDPE pipe are pulled through with HammerHead equipment. The expected schedule, including when the water will be off, is set out in your written scope.
6. Connect, inspect, restore. New connections at both ends, a final camera pass, the permit inspection before backfill, and the written paperwork for your job.

What does a full replacement by pipe bursting come with?

Pro Sewer Repair offers a transferable lifetime parts-and-labor warranty on full sewer replacements, subject to the written warranty terms. The warranty guide explains what those words should and should not mean in any contractor's document. The sewer replacement page puts bursting next to every other way to replace a line.

Pipe bursting on Seattle lots and hillsides

Bursting earns its keep on lots where a trench would be the expensive part: narrow side yards with a driveway or a shop over the route, hillside houses on Queen Anne, Magnolia or West Seattle where the main is deep and a trench would need shoring, and townhome rows sharing one lateral under a common walkway. The two pits usually land at the house and at the property line or the street, and where the second pit is in the planting strip or the roadway a separate SDOT permit may be required and is built into your written scope. The depth-and-locating guide explains how the surface trace tells us where the pits go before we dig.

What affects the cost of pipe bursting?

We do not publish a price range. The cost depends on the length and depth of the run, the pit locations and what is on top of them, the connection at the main, whether the line is being upsized, the permit and the restoration. Because the run between the pits is not opened, restoration is usually the smallest line on a bursting estimate — and that is often what makes a full replacement affordable on a lot where excavation would not be. Financing is available through Service Finance; you see bursting priced next to every other viable method, in writing.

Why Pro Sewer Repair for pipe bursting?

Because it is a sewer-first company with HammerHead trenchless gear and BlueLight lining, and it looks at the line on camera before recommending a repair. Family-owned in Seattle since 2017, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with free estimates and free second opinions and financing through Service Finance. Call (425) 478-3133 or request an estimate online.