Trenchless methods
Pipe Bursting in Seattle
A bursting head splits the old pipe while pulling new HDPE pipe in behind it, through two small pits.
How pipe bursting works
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, with new high-density polyethylene pipe fused to it, is pulled through by a hydraulic unit. The head splits the old clay or cast iron outward into the soil and the new pipe follows in the same alignment at the same depth. The result is a single fused length of pipe with no joints for roots to find.
When bursting is the right call
- Collapsed sections — a liner needs a host pipe to hold its shape; a collapsed run has none.
- Bellies — a low spot that holds water stays a low spot after lining. Bursting lays new pipe on a fresh bed.
- Undersized lines — bursting can upsize a 3-inch lateral to 4 inches; lining slightly reduces diameter.
- Badly deformed pipe — Orangeburg that has flattened, or cast iron with most of its bottom gone.
What the job looks like
One pit at the house or cleanout, one at the property line or the street connection, each a few feet square. Utilities that cross within a foot or two of the sewer path are located and potholed first. The pull takes an hour or two; the whole job, including fusing, connections, inspection and backfill, is usually one day.
Permits and the street
If the downstream pit is in the sidewalk, parkway or street, a right-of-way permit and restoration to city standards are required in addition to the plumbing permit. If the connection at the main is replaced, the city inspects it before the pit closes. Confirm who is handling this before work starts.
Estimates are free. Call now: (877) 880-8125.
Pipe Bursting by city in King & Pierce Counties, WA
Local conditions, the ZIP codes covered and how to reach the contractor for each city.
- Pipe Bursting Seattle
- Pipe Bursting Algona
- Pipe Bursting Auburn
- Pipe Bursting Beaux Arts Village
- Pipe Bursting Bellevue
- Pipe Bursting Black Diamond
- Pipe Bursting Bothell
- Pipe Bursting Burien
- Pipe Bursting Carnation
- Pipe Bursting Clyde Hill
- Pipe Bursting Covington
- Pipe Bursting Des Moines
- Pipe Bursting Duvall
- Pipe Bursting Enumclaw
- Pipe Bursting Federal Way
- Pipe Bursting Hunts Point
- Pipe Bursting Issaquah
- Pipe Bursting Kent
- Pipe Bursting Kirkland
- Pipe Bursting Lake Forest Park
- Pipe Bursting Maple Valley
- Pipe Bursting Medina
- Pipe Bursting Mercer Island
- Pipe Bursting Milton
- Pipe Bursting Newcastle
- Pipe Bursting Normandy Park
- Pipe Bursting North Bend
- Pipe Bursting Pacific
- Pipe Bursting Redmond
- Pipe Bursting Renton
- Pipe Bursting Sammamish
- Pipe Bursting SeaTac
- Pipe Bursting Skykomish
- Pipe Bursting Snoqualmie
- Pipe Bursting Tukwila
- Pipe Bursting Woodinville
- Pipe Bursting Yarrow Point
- Pipe Bursting Ames Lake
- Pipe Bursting Baring
- Pipe Bursting Bryn Mawr
- Pipe Bursting Cascade-Fairwood
- Pipe Bursting Cottage Lake
- Pipe Bursting East Hill
- Pipe Bursting East Renton Highlands
- Pipe Bursting Eastgate
- Pipe Bursting Fall City
- Pipe Bursting Hobart
- Pipe Bursting Inglewood
- Pipe Bursting Kingsgate
- Pipe Bursting Lake Marcel
- Pipe Bursting Lake Morton
- Pipe Bursting Lakeland
- Pipe Bursting Maple Heights
- Pipe Bursting Mirrormont
- Pipe Bursting Ravensdale
- Pipe Bursting Riverbend
- Pipe Bursting Riverton
- Pipe Bursting Tanner
- Pipe Bursting Union Hill
- Pipe Bursting Vashon
- Pipe Bursting West Lake Sammamish
- Pipe Bursting White Center