Sewer Pipe Bursting in Huntington Beach

What pipe bursting is

A steel cable is threaded through the old sewer line from a pit at one end to a pit at the other. A cone-shaped bursting head is attached, with a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe fused to it, and a hydraulic pulling unit drags the head through the old pipe. The head splits the old clay or cast iron outward into the surrounding soil and the new pipe follows directly behind it, in the same alignment, at the same depth. When the head reaches the far pit, the job is a matter of connecting the new pipe at each end and backfilling two holes.

The new pipe is a single fused length with no joints for roots to find, rated for decades of service, and it can be the same size as the old line or one size larger.

When bursting is the right call instead of lining

• Collapsed sections. A liner needs a host pipe to hold its shape while curing. If the camera shows a crushed or fully collapsed run, there is nothing to line.
• Bellies. A low spot that holds water will still be a low spot after lining. Bursting lays new pipe on a fresh bed and lets the crew correct grade at the pits.
• Undersized lines. Some older Huntington Beach homes were built with 3-inch laterals or have been remodeled with added bathrooms. Bursting can upsize to 4 inches; lining slightly reduces diameter.
• Severely deformed pipe. Cast iron that has lost most of its bottom, or clay that has shifted badly at several joints, may not be sound enough to bond a liner to.

The reverse is also true. If the line is cracked or rooted but still round and holding grade, lining is usually less disruptive and less expensive. The camera inspection decides it, not a preference for one method.

What a bursting job looks like at a Huntington Beach home

One pit is dug where the lateral leaves the house, or at an existing cleanout, and the other at the property line or at the connection to the city main in the street, depending on how much of the line is being replaced. Each pit is typically a few feet square. The pull itself takes an hour or two for a residential lateral; the full job, including pits, fusing, connections, an inspection by the city, and backfill, is usually one day. Water is off for part of that day.

Because the old pipe is displaced outward, the crew checks for nearby utilities first, with a locator and, where anything is close, a small hydro excavation pothole. Gas services and water lines that cross the sewer path are the usual concern in the tract neighborhoods where everything was installed in the same era and the same corridor.

Permits and the city connection

Replacing a lateral is permitted work in Huntington Beach, and if the downstream pit is in the sidewalk, parkway, or street, an encroachment permit from Public Works is required as well, with the trench and pavement restored to city standards. If the connection at the main is being replaced, the city will want to inspect it before the pit is closed. A contractor who bursts lines here regularly will pull the permits and schedule the inspection as part of the job, and you should confirm that before work starts.

What shapes the estimate

Length of the run, depth at each pit, whether the street connection is included, pavement or hardscape restoration at the pits, groundwater handling, and any utility potholing. What is not on the estimate is the cost of trenching the whole line, replacing a driveway, or re-landscaping a yard, which is the point.

If you are weighing the two trenchless options, TSR Trenchless lays out its approach to choosing between lining and bursting for a Huntington Beach sewer line, including what the camera has to show before either method is recommended.

Questions we hear in Huntington Beach