If you’ve looked around our website, you may have noticed we offer a service called trenchless technology. This isn’t actually a “service,” it’s a way of providing different types of services, such as sewer line repair, sewer line replacement, and water main replacement.
People are often curious about trenchless technology and wish to know how it works and why we use it for plumbing service in Rockville, MD.
Trenchless Technology: A “No Dig” Plumbing Solution
The standard—and for many years only—method of working on buried sewer and water lines is to use excavation equipment to dig down to the pipeline. This is time-consuming and really does a number of the property around the house, making it look like a construction site. Trenchless technology allows skilled plumbers to perform work on sewer and water lines without ripping up trenches.
This is often called “no dig” technology, but there is some digging involved. If the plumbers are replacing an entire sewer line or water main, they dig a single hole near where the pipeline crosses under the property line. They detach the pipe from the municipal system and then place a hydraulic device onto it. From inside the house, a pipeliner is inserted into the older line, and the hydraulic device draws the pipeliner into place. Afterward, a “pipe burster” is sent through the liner, expanding it to shatter the old pipeline and replace it with the new one. Voila! A new pipe is in place, no major trench digging required.
The process is similar for repairs, except the plumbers will target a smaller area of the pipe, digging holes on both sides of the affected section to insert the liner and pipe burster. The process only requires a few hours (as opposed to days with regular digging methods) and when it’s done only one or two small spots need to be filled in and landscaped.
Mallick Plumbing & Heating: Your service contractor of choice! We use the best trenchless technology to serve your sewer and water main needs.