Pipe Relining in Wollongong and the Illawarra

CS Plumbing & Drainage Services offers pipe relining for homes, rental properties, strata buildings and businesses across Wollongong and the Illawarra. Relining repairs a cracked or root-damaged drain or sewer pipe from the inside, so in many cases the pipe can be fixed without digging up your driveway, garden or paving. Before we recommend relining, we put our CCTV drain camera through the pipe and you watch the footage with us, so you can see the damage and exactly where it is. Call 0416 101 022 to book a drain camera inspection.

Here is how to tell that a drain is blocking, what usually causes it in the Illawarra, and how we clear it.

What Is Pipe Relining?

Pipe relining is a way to repair a damaged pipe without digging it up. Sydney Water, which relines pipes on its own network, describes relining as a repair where a liner is inserted into the old pipe and forms a new pipe inside it, free of cracks and holes.

The relining process follows the same basic steps on most pipes:

Sealing: the cut edges around each connection are sealed so the liner is watertight.

Cleaning: the pipe is cleaned out with high pressure water to remove roots, grease and silt.

Camera check: a CCTV camera is run through the clean pipe to check its condition and measure the damaged section.

Lining: the liner is inserted into the pipe and forms the new pipe wall.

Reopening branch lines: any connections that join the pipe are reopened from inside the relined pipe.

Signs Your Drain or Sewer Pipe May Need Relining

A single blockage does not mean the pipe needs relining. What we look for is a pattern that points to damage in the pipe itself. Book a drain camera inspection if you notice any of these:

• Repeat blockages in the same spot: the drain clears, then blocks again within months.
• Tree roots in the drain: roots keep coming back after the drain has been jetted.
• Slow drains in more than one fixture: the shower, basin and toilet all drain slowly at the same time.
• Gurgling sounds: the toilet or floor waste gurgles when other fixtures are used.
• Sewer smells outside: a smell in the yard that hangs around, especially after rain.
• Green or soggy patches in the lawn: a strip of lush grass or wet ground along the line of the drain.

Sydney Water lists slow drains, gurgling and wastewater overflowing from the gully near your outside tap as signs of a wastewater blockage. If those signs keep returning after the drain has been cleared, the pipe is usually cracked, has an open joint or has roots growing into it.

Is Pipe Relining Right for Every Damaged Pipe?

No. Relining suits a pipe that is cracked, has open joints or has roots getting in but still holds its shape. The liner needs the old pipe as a guide, so a pipe that has collapsed, sagged into a dip or pulled out of line at a joint usually has to be dug up and that section replaced.

That is why the camera inspection comes first. The footage shows us whether the pipe can be relined along its whole length, whether one section needs replacing and the rest can be relined, or whether excavation is the better repair. We carry out drain excavation and pipe replacement as well, so we can explain both options for the pipe in front of us.

Pipe Relining and Tree Roots in Illawarra Drains

Tree roots are one of the drainage problems we see most often in Wollongong. Many homes in older suburbs such as Figtree, Keiraville, Mangerton and West Wollongong still have their original clay drainage pipes. Over the years the joints between the pipe lengths loosen or crack, and roots find their way in because the pipe gives them water.

Jetting clears the roots that are in the pipe today, but it does not close the gap they came through, so the roots grow back. A relined pipe has no open joints along the relined section, which takes away the entry point. Our article on why tree roots keep coming back in Wollongong drains goes into more detail.

Sydney Water advises against planting trees within 6 metres of wastewater pipes. If you are planning new landscaping, keep that distance in mind.

Who Is Responsible for the Sewer Pipe You Want Relined?

In most cases the pipe is yours. Sydney Water supplies wastewater services to the Illawarra, and it says property owners are responsible for maintaining the pipes and fittings on their property up to where they connect to its network (Sydney Water).

Sydney Water owns the junction where your pipe meets its sewer, but the property owner is responsible for the connection to that junction and for clearing tree roots that enter at the point of connection (Sydney Water responsibility for repairs). If the camera shows the problem is in Sydney Water’s pipe rather than yours, we will tell you, and you can report it to Sydney Water on 13 20 90.

NSW Licensing Rules for Pipe Relining and Drain Repairs

Relining a sewer pipe is drainage work, and in NSW it has to be done by someone who holds the right licence. The NSW Government says you need a licence or certificate for any plumbing, draining or gasfitting work, whatever the cost and whether the property is residential, commercial or industrial. It defines draining to include the repair, renewal, maintenance and cleansing of any sanitary drain (Building Commission NSW).

You can check any plumber’s licence with Building Commission NSW on 13 27 00 before work starts. Our NSW contractor licence number is 39901C.

Pipe Relining for Rental Properties, Strata and Commercial Buildings

If you manage a rental property or a strata building, you usually need to see the problem before you approve a repair. Where the camera shows a bigger problem, we provide the footage and a report before any repair is approved, and we can send an itemised invoice for property managers.

Some strata buildings and commercial sites have shared sewer lines running under car parks, driveways and concrete, where digging disrupts the people who use the site every day. Relining can repair those runs with less disturbance to the site when the pipe is in a suitable condition. Our commercial and strata drainage page covers the other drainage work we do for body corporates and businesses.

How to Book Pipe Relining in Wollongong

Call us on 0416 101 022 or send an enquiry through our contact page. Tell us what you have noticed and where, for example a toilet that keeps blocking, roots in the gully or a smell in the yard.

We start with a camera inspection of the drain and show you the footage. Then we explain the repair options for your pipe, whether that is clearing it, relining it, replacing a section or a mix of these, and give you a quote before any work begins. There is no call out fee. Owner Sandro Contarin has been a licensed plumber since 1992, and we work across Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour, Albion Park, Kiama and the wider Illawarra. If a drain is overflowing now, our emergency plumbing service is available 24 hours a day.

$0 Call Out Fee | Contractor Licence 39901C | Available 24/7