PIPE RELINING
What Is Pipe Relining?
Underground pipes crack, roots push through, joints shift. Left alone, the damage compounds until the only answer is to dig everything up. For most damaged pipes, there is a better way.
Pipe relining is pretty much just creating a pipe inside your already standing pipe. A sleeve – a fibrous material that absorbs resin – gets coated in a two-part epoxy. You mix the hardener and the resin together, saturate the whole sleeve in it, then push it into the damaged section of pipe. It is blown up with an air compressor like a balloon, held in position against the pipe walls, and left to harden. Once it sets, it just stays there – solid.
The result is a brand new pipe formed entirely inside the old one. No excavation. No disruption to driveways, garden beds, concrete slabs, or anything sitting above the pipe.
” – MATTHEW, PIPE RELINING SPECIALIST
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Can you just patch one section, or does it have to be the whole pipe?
You can just do patchwork. You can even just patch a metre if that is all that needs doing. If there is one damaged section, you fix that section. You do not have to do your whole pipe system – you only do what is needed.
“Pipe relining is not a DIY project. It requires a specialist certification course, a refrigeration unit to keep the resin stable, a steam curing system, packers, cameras, air compressors, and industrial quantities of resin sold in large drums. Even sourcing materials for a single job would leave you with a drum of resin and no use for it. There is no viable path to doing this yourself.“
Signs You May Need Pipe Relining
The typical sign is recurring blocked drains – ones that keep coming back even after clearing. That is the moment to get a camera down there. A plumber feeds it through and checks the condition of the pipe. It will show you whether you have got cracks, whether something is dislodged, whether roots have pushed through. That tells you what you are dealing with.
Recurring Blocked Drains
The most telling sign. If a drain keeps coming back after clearing, the cause has not been fixed – only the symptom. That is the moment to get a camera down there and find out what is actually going on.
Slow Draining Across Multiple Fixtures
When more than one drain in your home runs slowly at the same time, the issue is usually further down the main line, not in the individual fixture itself.
Wet Patches or Soft Spots in the Yard
Tree Root Intrusion
Roots do not break through solid pipe. They find existing cracks or loose joints and push through. Even trees on the nature strip can cause problems if your drainage runs toward the front of the property.
Camera Reveals Cracks or Dislodged Joints
A drain camera is the definitive diagnostic tool. If yours shows fractures, displaced joints, or roots working their way in, those sections are candidates for relining.
Newer Homes Are Not Immune
We have seen it with brand new pipes too. Sometimes they just have not been glued. Or someone has connected a 90mm pipe by pushing it inside a larger one with no joiner at all. Roots go straight in.
It is worth knowing that newer homes are not automatically safe. We have seen it with brand new pipes. Sometimes they have not been glued. We have come across jobs where someone has connected pipes by pushing one inside the other with no glue and no joiner – and roots go straight in. It is not always old pipes and old homes. Sometimes it is just dodgy work from a tradie who cut corners.
The Pipe Relining Process
1. CAMERA INSPECTION AND LOCATING
A metre-counting camera goes down the drain so the team knows precisely how far the damage is and how much liner is needed. The camera head has a locator built in, and a matching device above ground tracks its position. The pipe route gets marked out on the grass, driveway, or concrete above – so there is a full picture of what is underground before a single thing is touched.
2. PREPARE THE LINER
3. INSERT AND INFLATE
4. Steam Cure
A steam unit heats the pipe to accelerate the cure. With a steamer, the resin sets in around 40 minutes. Without one, cold underground temperatures mean it takes up to 6 hours. The steamer is a significant piece of equipment – but it is included in the job at no extra cost. It is not a luxury; it is what makes the whole job practical within a single day.
5. FINAL CAMERA INSPECTION
Once the resin is mixed, the team has 18 minutes to coat the liner, load it onto the packer, connect the air compressor, and get it into position inside the pipe. Temperature is an active variable in both directions – UV light accelerates the cure and can cause problems if prep happens in direct sun, while cold slows everything down. That is why the resin is kept in a refrigeration unit on the truck and all preparation happens in shade or a climate-controlled environment. A well-drilled team runs this like clockwork. It is high-pressure work, and it is exactly why experience matters.
How Long Does Pipe Relining Last?
There is a 25-year warranty as standard. But you can expect it to last well beyond that – at least 50 years for a properly installed epoxy liner. It is really, really strong.
Pipe relining is still relatively new technology. It has only been around for maybe 15 to 20 years, so the 50-year estimate is based on material testing rather than long field history. For comparison, traditional pipe replacements vary widely depending on the material used and how the job was done. There is no single answer on lifespan for either method – but the 25-year warranty gives you something concrete to hold the work to.
Pipe Relining Costs
The cost depends on a few factors: how many metres are being relined, the diameter of the pipe – 50mm, 90mm, 100mm, and 150mm are all sizes we work with – and whether there are junctions in the pipe run that need to be cut in separately. A junction is where another pipe branches off the main line, which creates a hole in the liner that needs its own treatment. As a rough guide, expect around $1,500 per metre.
| Service | Approx. Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe relining (per metre) | ~$1,500/m | Varies by pipe diameter (50mm to 150mm) |
| 3m patch reline (example) | ~$6,000 | Includes steam curing at no extra cost |
| Excavation and full replacement (3m) | ~$10,000+ | Digging, pipe replacement, compacting, backfilling |
| New line run | Mid-range | Less than full excavation; still significant labour |
| Camera inspection and jet blast | $760 | Business hours; $908+ after hours |
| Root cutting (jetter heads) | +$360–$569 | Added to jet blast; 6-month warranty included |
| Pipe Relining | Excavation and Replace | New Line Run | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disruption | Minimal – no dig | Full excavation required | Partial dig |
| Cost (3m job) | ~$6,000 | ~$10,000+ | Mid-range |
| Warranty | 25 years | Varies | Varies |
| Expected Lifespan | 50+ years | 20 to 50 years | 20 to 50 years |
| Yard or Driveway Safe? | Yes | No | Partial |
| Works if Pipe is Crushed? | No | Yes | Yes |
Because it is a permanent, specialist solution. It is not a band-aid – it fixes the problem and it lasts. The certification course alone costs around $20,000, just to learn it and get the certificate. That is before purchasing all the equipment, resin, and tools on top. When you factor in what excavation actually involves – digging down, replacing the pipe, running a compactor, backfilling properly, and restoring whatever is on the surface – pipe relining often works out to be the more economical option. You are paying for a new pipe without the dig.
Risks and What Happens If You Wait
There are not many disadvantages to pipe relining, but the risks are real. Most of them come back to the 18-minute window and what can go wrong when the resin is mixed and the clock is running.
The worst-case scenario is a liner that cannot be pulled into position in time. It happened once where the team was trying to insert a 150mm liner into a 100mm pipe without realising the size mismatch. They were pulling with everything they had, could not get it in, and by the time they figured out what was wrong the resin was starting to go off. You have to get it out fast, because if it starts setting in the pipe the equipment gets stuck with it – and then the only option is to excavate. That is the real risk. That is why experience and the right gear matter so much.
Risks of Relining
• 18-minute resin window once mixing starts – all hands on deck from that point
• Temperature and UV light are both active risks: cold slows the cure, UV speeds it up unexpectedly
• Water trickling through the pipe during curing can prevent the resin setting properly
• Wrong resin ratios cause ripples or a hardened lip inside the pipe that catches debris
• If the liner cannot be seated in time and starts going off, excavation becomes unavoidable
• Not an option if the pipe is severely crushed or has backfall
Risks of Not Relining
• The pipe keeps deteriorating – cracks widen, roots push further in
• Blockages get more frequent and eventually stop responding to jet blasting
• Pipe relining becomes no longer viable once damage reaches a certain point
• Excavation – the most expensive and disruptive option – becomes the only answer
• A $6,000 job today becomes a $10,000 job later
• Every clearance call-out without a fix is money spent that could have gone toward the repair
When pipe relining is not possible
Two situations rule it out. The first is a severely crushed pipe – if it has collapsed, there is nothing left to line against. The second is backfall. Your pipes should have a fall running away from the house toward the street so water drains out naturally. If the pipes are going the other way, back toward the house, water cannot flow uphill. Relining will not fix that. The pipe needs to be physically repositioned, and that means excavation.
Backfall happens for a few different reasons. It can be a bad original installation, ground movement over time, or gradual crushing under a driveway where heavy loads have been driving over it for years and slowly pushing the pipe down. There are a lot of factors. A lot can happen underground.
What does it cost to leave it and deal with it later?
Say you have a 3-metre section that could be relined now for around $6,000. Leave it, let the damage get worse, reach the point where relining is no longer viable – now you are looking at excavating that same section for $10,000 or more once you include the digging, the pipe replacement, the compacting and the backfilling. That is pretty much double. And you spent the time between those two points dealing with blockages that kept coming back.
— MATTHEW, PIPE RELINING SPECIALIST
Alternatives to Pipe Relining
There are two alternatives, and both involve digging. Pipe relining was invented because before it existed, excavation was the only option. In most cases where the pipe condition allows for it, relining is still the preferred path – no gardens disturbed, no grass, no driveways, no structures touched.
PIPE RELINING (Preferred)
A new pipe is formed inside the existing one. No excavation, no disruption to gardens, driveways, concrete slabs or structures above. Works as long as the pipe is not crushed and does not have backfall.
~$1,500/m APPROX. COST PER METRE
New Line Run
A fresh trench is dug on a new route from the house connection to the boundary trap, bypassing the damaged pipe entirely. Slightly cheaper than full excavation because you choose where to dig, but still a lot of labour.
Mid-range VARIES BY LENGTH
Full excavation
The damaged pipe is located, dug up, removed, and replaced. Full excavation, backfilling, compacting and surface restoration. The only option when a pipe is crushed or has backfall that cannot be fixed any other way.
~$10,000+ FOR A 3M SECTION
Running a new line works like this: rather than chasing the existing damaged pipe, you dig a fresh trench from where it connects to the house all the way out to the boundary trap. You cut off the old line and create a new one where you choose to put it. Because you are digging where you want rather than tracking an old pipe, it is generally cheaper than full excavation – but it is still a lot of labour along the full length of the new route.
In most cases, if the pipe condition allows for relining, that is what we recommend. It is the least disruptive option by a wide margin.
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