Sydney Relining: Pipe Relining Sydney’s Properties
If you own or manage a heritage-listed or vintage property, pipe relining should be on your radar should anything happen to your plumbing. In this article we talk about:
- Sydney’s ever-increasing number of heritage buildings.
- Avoiding damage is imperative yet difficult with old-school methods
- Pipe relining avoids much of the risk.
- Whilst limiting disruption and ultimately – cost.
Heritage on the rise
Pipe relining is unlikely to be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Sydney’s famous skyline and beachside suburbs, and rightly so. But Sydney’s streets are getting older and their plumbing more and more susceptible to faults and defects by the day.
The number of heritage-listed properties is naturally on the increase, which along with the many “vintage” homes (likely to be heritage listed in the future) creates an increasingly complex task for those in the construction, maintenance, and building management industries whose duty it is to effectively renovate and rehabilitate in and around these properties. Not to mention the owners who typically get lumped with the heritage premium bill.
Prominent examples include The Sandstones situated on Bridge Street in the heart of the CBD, which is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation, and the stroves of Victorian terraces that litter our history-rich suburbs such as Surry Hills, Redfern, and The Rocks.
Unfortunately, in spite of their unique features and timeless beauty, many heritage buildings suffer from generations of poorly planned and ill-conceived renovations along with an inevitable and unavoidable decay of materials.
Pipe relining is unlikely to be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Sydney’s famous skyline and beachside suburbs, and rightly so. But Sydney’s streets are getting older and their plumbing more and more susceptible to faults and defects by the day.
The number of heritage-listed properties is naturally on the increase, which along with the many “vintage” homes (likely to be heritage listed in the future) creates an increasingly complex task for those in the construction, maintenance, and building management industries whose duty it is to effectively renovate and rehabilitate in and around these properties. Not to mention the owners who typically get lumped with the heritage premium bill.
Prominent examples include the The Sandstones situated on Bridge Street in the heart of the CBD, which is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation, and the stories of Victorian terraces that litter our history-rich suburbs such as Surry Hills, Redfern, and The Rocks.
Unfortunately, in spite of their unique features and timeless beauty, many heritage buildings suffer from generations of poorly planned and ill-conceived renovations along with an inevitable and unavoidable decay of materials.
An early century church building in Bexley.
This is particularly problematic when it comes to their plumbing, including stormwater, waste, and soil drains, which not only become vulnerable due to the delicate terracotta pipe work but difficult to reach with traditional dig and replace methods due to the fragility of the building’s foundations.
Quite often when working on properties that are entirely or partially (such as exterior walls and facades) heritage listed, simple excavations are simply not possible due to:
- The risk of heavy machinery on-site.
- The potential of ground movement or subsidence to cause more damage.
- Limited or restricted access to the damaged area.
Fortunately, pipe relining easily avoids all three issues.
The new way to rehabilitate old plumbing
Whilst undertaking pipe relining projects at heritage-listed properties do require an extra dose of care and attention, the technology and methods that we utilise mean that pipe relining naturally avoids the issues faced by using a dig and replace approach, along with all of the usual benefits that relining provides including savings on cost, time and disruption.
We don’t excavate – relining naturally avoids excavation – it’s kind of the point. So whether we’re working on a 120-year-old terrace or in the grounds of one of Sydney’s prestigious universities, it simply isn’t an issue.
- We’re light on our feet – due to the lack of excavation and the precision of our technology, we don’t need to operate heavy machinery anywhere near the site. Allowing us to reduce the risk and provide peace of mind from start to finish.
- We only need one access point – depending on the pipe relining technique we employ, we only need one access point either up or downstream of the affected area, allowing us to work from a safe distance and avoid disturbing the property.
“The Anaconda” – Tree roots removed from a stormwater frain at Sydney Uni’s Wesley College in 2020.
A single access point.
Rehabilitate without the risk
Avoiding damage is always priority number one for owners and managers, regardless of the property’s age. But where heritage and vintage properties are concerned, an extra layer of risk inevitably exists. Pipe relining reduces the risk of damage to heritage features by removing the necessity to excavate and use heavy machinery – whilst saving you time and money.
In our minds, pipe relining is always preferred to traditional methods. But where heritage and vintage buildings are concerned, it really is a no-brainer.
Want to know more? Contact the team at Sydney Relining
Pipe Relining
How does pipe relining work?
Think of relining as feeding an inner tube into the current pipe, then hardening and sealing that tube until it’s stronger than any clay, terracotta, or plastic pipe.
Rather than excavating and replacing the damaged pipe, causing mess and disruption to your property (and your bank balance) – we reline from the surface.
Using the best available Watermark accredited tech and using ultra-strong, impenetrable EPOXY resin, we cause a minimal fuss, often maintaining services and completing most projects within a single day.
The process
- Investigate – Using CC.TV technology, we investigate the problems and provide you with an itemised quote for the work that needs to be done, taking the time to explain where the budget is being spent and why arming you with the information you need.
- Prepare – We take time to prepare above and below ground to ensure we cause minimal disturbance by establishing safe work zones and diverting any plumbing systems where possible, avoiding service disruptions.
- Reline – Only then do we cure and install our impenetrable EPOXY resin using state-of-the-art relining techniques that allow us to accurately pinpoint the damaged section of the pipe, drain or sewer and navigate any bends or junctions.
We create and install a guaranteed 50-year solution with our superior relining products & materials coming with a life expectancy of 50 years and up.
We’ve had a relationship with Ranelagh for over 15 years now. At first, they asked us to reline their nine-inch boundary trap. Since that time, we have relined most of their subsoil exterior drainage. Over time, the building realised that they were actually starting to develop issues with the cast iron stack drainage. Cast iron is now defunct material, and it actually rust from the inside out.
Some of the symptoms that the residents were experiencing in relation to the dilapidated cast iron network were smells, leaks, blockages, and in the most extreme case, flooding. It would have been best if we could actually move the residents out of the building. Because that was logistically impossible, we had to break down the project into individual length reline shots. We brought on our friends from Time to Reline, which enabled us to have two inversion teams and two junction robot teams doing two shots per day and also cutting out all the junctions as necessary. We were able to reline over a kilometre of drainage, do 800 cuts, and remove one and a half tonnes of metallic silt within a six-week time period.
“We’ve had a relationship with Ranelagh for over 15 years now”
If you’re a manager of a building that was built in the ’60s and ’70s, you will have cast iron sewer drainage. Sooner or later, this will leak, break, and cause major issues for the building. Now is the time to have a look at it and see if we can provide you a solution.
Our reputation supersedes any issues that the residence or building itself might actually have. No problem is too big or small. I’m extremely proud of this project. It’s the biggest residential project of its kind in Australia and possibly the world. It’s been a great opportunity not to showcase to the industry what our skills and capabilities are, but also to other building managers and committees alike in Sydney that are experiencing the same issues with cast iron pipe work.
Frequently Asked Pipe Relining Questions
The Advantages of Pipe Relining for Efficient Pipe Repairs
Pipe relining is a modern, trenchless method for repairing damaged or leaking pipes without the need for invasive excavation. This innovative technique involves inserting a flexible, resin-coated liner into the affected pipe, which is then inflated and cured to form a new, durable pipe within the existing one. The result is a seamless and corrosion-resistant pipe that not only restores the structural integrity of your plumbing system but also improves flow efficiency. By choosing Pipe Relining, you can extend the lifespan of your pipes, prevent future damage, and minimise the risk of costly repairs down the line.
Embracing Pipe Relining as a preferred solution for pipe repairs offers several benefits, including reduced costs, minimal disruptions, and enhanced environmental sustainability. Since there’s no need for large-scale digging, Pipe Relining helps you save up to 50% in repair expenses compared to traditional methods, while also reducing the time and resources required for the job. Furthermore, the trenchless nature of Pipe Relining significantly lessens the impact on your property and the surrounding environment, preserving your garden, landscaping, and infrastructure. By opting for Pipe Relining, you’re investing in a long-lasting, efficient, and eco-friendly solution for maintaining the health of your plumbing system.
