# Sewer Repair Method Comparison and Cost Guide

Twelve methods, one decision. This guide explains what each sewer and water line method does, when it is the right call, what rules it out, and what actually drives its cost, so you can read a quote and know whether the method matches the pipe.

- Every method we run, compared in one place.
- Direct answers on when each method fits.
- The conditions that disqualify each one.
- What genuinely drives underground cost.

## How the Method Gets Chosen

Method selection is decided by four things: the condition of the existing pipe, whether grade is correct, what sits on the surface above the line, and where access points can be placed. Nothing else should decide it.

If the pipe is continuous and correctly graded, lining is usually on the table. If the whole line needs replacing but the path is right, bursting is. If grade is wrong, the line is collapsed, or the route has to change, excavation or boring is the answer and no amount of preference changes that.

Anyone quoting a method before running a camera down the line is picking the method they prefer to sell rather than the one your pipe requires.

- Is the pipe continuous, or is it collapsed or separated?
- Is the grade correct, or is there a belly to fix?
- What is on the surface, and what does restoring it cost?
- Where can access pits realistically be placed?
- Does the line need to stay on its path or move to a new one?
- Does the diameter need to stay the same, grow, or can it shrink slightly?

## Which Method Is Right for Which Situation

Use CIPP lining when the host pipe is round, continuous, and correctly graded but has cracks, root intrusion at joints, or corrosion. Use pull-in-place lining when that damage covers a defined shorter segment with access at both ends. Use sectional spot repair when the camera proves one isolated defect in an otherwise sound line.

Use pipe bursting when the entire line needs replacing, the path and grade are right, and you want to keep the driveway or the trees, or you need to upsize. Use open cut excavation when grade has to be corrected, the line has collapsed, or a new connection or reroute is required. Use directional boring when a new line has to be installed on a new path under something you cannot open.

Use hydro excavation to expose lines safely near live utilities and to pothole before larger work. Use pipe reaming to restore lost diameter and prepare a host pipe for lining. Use hydro jetting and descaling to remove grease, sludge, roots, and scale from sound pipe. Use camera inspection and line locating first, always, because they are what make every choice above defensible.

- Belly or back-pitch: rules out all lining. Requires excavation.
- Collapse: rules out lining, bursting, and jetting. Requires excavation.
- Multiple defects along the run: rules out spot repair.
- Line already undersized: rules out lining due to diameter loss.
- Utilities inside the displacement zone: rules out bursting.
- Rock or cobble: rules out or complicates directional boring.
- Fragile or corroded pipe wall: rules out jetting and reaming.
- Reroute required: rules out every method that follows the old path.

## How to Read an Underground Quote

1. **Ask What the Camera Showed** A defensible quote references defect type, distance from access, and depth. If none of that appears, the method was not chosen from evidence.
2. **Check the Method Against the Defect** Lining quoted on a bellied line, or a spot repair quoted on a line with defects throughout, is the wrong method regardless of price.
3. **Look at Depth and Access** Depth is the largest cost multiplier in excavation and the reason two quotes on the same footage can differ by thousands.
4. **Confirm Restoration Is Included** Surface restoration, backfill compaction, permits, and inspection either appear in the quote or appear later as a surprise.

## What Actually Drives Cost Across Every Method

Depth first. A line at four feet and a line at twelve feet are different projects, because depth drives shoring, spoil handling, pit size, and time. It affects trenchless work too, since access pits still have to reach the pipe.

Then length, diameter, and pipe material. Then access: whether a cleanout exists, whether the rig can get close, whether the pits land in lawn or concrete. Then preparation, since a host pipe needing heavy reaming before lining adds a step before the method even begins.

Then jurisdiction. Work in the public right of way brings permits, inspection, and traffic control. Then restoration, which is where trenchless earns its premium: the method costs more per foot and saves the driveway, patio, or mature trees that the trench would have cost you.

We do not publish flat prices for underground work, because a fixed number quoted before inspection is either padded to cover the unknown or destined to change. You get a scoped quote once we know what is in the ground.

## Frequently asked questions

**Which sewer repair method is cheapest?**

On a shallow line through open lawn, open cut excavation usually is. Trenchless methods cost more per foot and become the cheaper total once you count restoring a driveway, patio, or mature landscaping.

**How do I know if my line can be lined?**

A camera inspection has to show a continuous, close to round host pipe with correct grade. Bellies, collapse, severe offsets, and missing pipe wall all rule lining out.

**What is the difference between lining and pipe bursting?**

Lining rebuilds the inside of the pipe you have and slightly reduces diameter. Bursting destroys the old pipe and pulls a new one into the same corridor, and it can increase diameter.

**When do I have to dig?**

When grade needs correcting, when the line has collapsed, when a new connection or tap is required, or when the line has to be rerouted to a new path.

**Why will you not give a price over the phone?**

Because depth, access, pipe material, and defect type set the price, and none of them are knowable over the phone. We inspect, then quote.

**Do I always need a camera inspection first?**

For any significant repair, yes. It is the least expensive step in the project and the one that prevents the expensive mistakes.

## Related Methods and Services

- [Trenchless Sewer Repair](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/trenchless-sewer-repair) The umbrella page covering every no-dig and low-dig repair method we run.
- [Pipe Bursting](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/pipe-bursting) Full line replacement pulled through the old pipe path without a long trench.
- [CIPP Cured-In-Place Lining](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/cipp-lining) A resin liner cured inside the host pipe to form a new jointless pipe wall.
- [Pull-In-Place Lining](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/pull-in-place-lining) A liner pulled into position from one access point for shorter defined runs.
- [Sectional Spot Repair](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/sectional-spot-repair) A short liner or replacement section targeting one isolated defect.
- [Open Cut Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/open-cut-excavation) Traditional trenching when the line has to be exposed and physically replaced.
- [Hydro Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/hydro-excavation) Water and vacuum digging for safe exposure around live utilities.
- [Directional Boring](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/directional-boring) A steered bore that installs a new line on a new path under obstacles.
- [Pipe Reaming](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/pipe-reaming) Cutting the interior of a pipe back to full diameter before lining or cleaning.
- [Hydro Jetting and Descaling](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/hydro-jetting-descaling) High pressure water and cutting heads that strip grease, roots, and scale.
- [Sewer Camera Inspection](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/sewer-camera-inspection) Video inspection that identifies the defect, its depth, and its location.
- [Line Locating and Marking](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/line-locating-and-marking) Electronic locating that puts the line path and depth on the ground surface.

---

Denver Sewer and Water is a privately owned, licensed and insured plumbing contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Denver Water, the municipal water utility, or any government entity. To pay a municipal water bill or reach the public utility, visit denverwater.org.

Source: https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/sewer-repair-method-comparison