Trenchless vs. Traditional Sewer Repair: How to Choose

Published August 27, 2026 · Howell Sewer & Drain

When a sewer line fails, you will usually be offered one of two broad approaches: dig it up and replace it, or repair it from the inside with minimal digging. Both have their place. The right choice depends on what the camera finds, where the line runs, and what is sitting on top of it.

The traditional method: open trench replacement

This is exactly what it sounds like. A crew excavates down to the sewer line along its full length, removes the old pipe, lays new PVC on a proper bed of stone, and backfills. For a line running under an open lawn at normal depth, it is straightforward work and often the most cost effective option.

Where it makes sense:

• The line is collapsed, badly offset, or has lost its shape completely, so there is nothing for a liner to bond to
• The pipe needs to be re graded because a sagging section, called a belly, is holding water
• The run is shallow and crosses open ground with no driveway, trees, or structures over it
• The connection at the city main has failed and has to be re made

The trade offs: your yard is opened up. Expect a trench two to four feet wide along the pipe, a spoil pile, and restoration work afterward, which means reseeding or sod and replacing any concrete or asphalt that was cut. In Michigan, frost depth means laterals are often four to six feet down, which makes the excavation bigger than people expect.

The trenchless methods

Trenchless repair covers two main techniques, both of which need only small access points rather than a continuous trench.

Cured in place pipe, or CIPP lining. A resin saturated liner is pulled or inverted into the existing pipe and inflated, then cured hard. It creates a new jointless pipe inside the old one. This works when the host pipe still holds its shape, such as cracked clay, corroded cast iron, or pipe with root intrusion at the joints.

Pipe bursting. A cone shaped bursting head is pulled through the old line, fracturing it outward while pulling in a new seamless HDPE pipe behind it. This works even when the old pipe is broken or, as with Orangeburg, too weak to line.

Where trenchless makes sense:

• The line runs under a driveway, sidewalk, mature landscaping, a deck, or a finished area
• The pipe is damaged but has not lost its alignment
• You want the shortest possible restoration afterward
• There is access at both ends for the equipment

The trade offs: trenchless is not always cheaper per foot, and the setup cost for the equipment means very short repairs sometimes cost about the same as digging. Lining also slightly reduces the interior diameter of the pipe, which is rarely a problem for a residential lateral but is worth knowing. And a liner cannot fix a bad slope. If the pipe is sagging, it will still sag after lining.

Cost comparison for a Livingston County home

These are 2026 planning estimates, not quotes. The camera inspection is what turns them into a real number.

The pattern: trenchless usually wins once there is expensive surface to protect, and open trench usually wins on a plain lawn or when the pipe needs to be re graded.

How the decision actually gets made

A good contractor will not quote either method until a camera has been down the line and the line has been located and marked. That inspection tells you the material, the depth, the condition, whether the slope is intact, and exactly where the damage is. From there the choice is usually clear, and often the honest answer is a hybrid: dig a short section to fix a collapse, and line the rest.

If you want to talk through which method fits your property, our trenchless sewer repair and sewer line replacement pages cover each in more detail, and a camera inspection is the place to start.

Howell Sewer & Drain repairs and replaces sewer lines across Livingston County. Call 810-484-0748 to schedule a camera inspection and locate.