Sewer Line Repair: Spot Repair, Lining, Bursting or Replacement

Let the video decide the method

Every option below depends on details only a camera shows: where each defect sits, how deep the pipe runs, whether it has lost its round shape and whether it still slopes the right way. What a sewer camera inspection shows explains how to read the video and what to ask for.

The plumbing code makes video part of the job, too. Georgia has adopted the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) with Georgia amendments (Georgia DCA). DCA's most recent announcement (December 2025) gives January 1, 2027 as its effective date, while an earlier DCA memo said January 1, 2026, so ask your city or county building department which edition it enforces (DCA announcement). The 2024 IPC requires a recorded camera survey before and after pipe bursting or relining, and for relining, the code official reviews the "before" video before issuing a permit (2024 IPC, Sections 716 and 717).

Four repair options compared

Spot repair

If the video shows a single problem, such as one cracked section or an offset joint, and the rest of the line looks sound, a spot repair may be enough. The contractor either digs at that spot and replaces the damaged piece, or installs a short sectional liner from inside; the 2024 IPC requires sectional cure-in-place repairs of building sewers to follow the ASTM F2599 standard (Section 718.1). A spot repair does nothing for other weak joints, so ask what the rest of the video shows.

Cured-in-place lining

Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) builds a new pipe inside the old one. An uncured, resin-filled tube is inserted into the damaged pipe and hardened with hot air, hot water or ultraviolet light so it fits against the old pipe wall. The goal is to reduce or eliminate the cracks and holes that let rainwater and roots in (Florida Department of Health).

The 2024 IPC limits relining to gravity drainage pipe 4 inches and larger, relined at the same nominal size. The pipe must be descaled and cleaned first. Relining isn't allowed where the video shows backgrade or too little slope, complete pipe-wall deterioration, or complete separations such as those caused by tree roots or poor support; those sections must be dug up and repaired with new pipe and fittings (Section 717). EPA also notes that lining reduces a pipe's inside diameter (EPA).

Lining has an air-quality side, too. The Florida Department of Health says chemicals released during setup and curing can reach nearby homes through plumbing, open windows, doors and cracked foundations. If you notice an unidentified odor and feel ill near a lining job, it advises leaving the area, seeing a doctor if needed and reporting it to your local health department (Florida DOH).

Pipe bursting

In pipe bursting, a cable pulls an expansion head through the existing line, pushing the old pipe outward until it breaks, while the new pipe follows right behind (EPA). For a home's building sewer, the 2024 IPC limits bursting to gravity pipe 6 inches and smaller and requires the replacement to be the same nominal size, made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE, SDR 17). Cleanouts the code requires must be added if missing, and the new pipe must be pressure-tested (Section 716).

EPA's fact sheet lists the trade-offs: an insertion pit usually has to be dug, the method isn't recommended in soils that don't compress (such as rocky or sandy soil), shallow pipes can make the ground heave, and nearby utility lines can complicate the work.

Open-trench replacement

The traditional method digs along the entire length of the pipe, removes it and lays new pipe (EPA). It's the most disruptive option, and under the relining rules above it's the usual answer for sags, backgrade, collapses or a route that has to change.

Georgia's amendments require the trench for a building sewer to stay open until the piping has been inspected, tested and approved, and call for rock-free backfill tamped in 6-inch layers (Georgia DCA, Sections 306.3 and 306.5).

Permits and inspections in Georgia

Georgia's amendments delete the IPC's administration chapter and leave it to local governments to write their own administrative procedures (Georgia DCA). So permit and inspection rules come from your city or county building department, and they vary.

Check your own building department's website before work starts. Licensing is covered in how to hire a drain cleaning company in Georgia.

If your line lacks cleanouts, expect the job to add them: Georgia's amendments call for building sewer cleanouts no more than 100 feet apart, plus one within 10 feet of the public right-of-way (Section 708.1.2).

Georgia 811 and digging safety

Georgia's dig law says no person may excavate with mechanized equipment, or blast, until a locate request has been submitted to Georgia 811, and "person" includes individuals, so a homeowner renting a mini-excavator is covered (O.C.G.A. § 25-9-6). The notice period starts at 7 a.m. on the business day after Georgia 811 receives the request and runs at least two full business days, so for a request received Monday morning it generally ends at 7 a.m. Thursday, holidays aside. A ticket covers work for 30 calendar days past its effective date.

Georgia 811 calls contacting it the correct first step for any project that involves digging, but marks won't show everything. Its member utilities locate public lines only; private lines, including the sewer line between your home and the public sewer, need a private locator (Georgia 811). Under the law, sewer providers must help mark laterals only up to the edge of the public right-of-way, using records that may not be accurate (§ 25-9-7).

The trench itself is the bigger danger. OSHA requires a protective system (sloping, shoring or a trench box) for trenches 5 feet deep or more, and says no one should enter a trench unless a competent person has inspected it and cave-in protection and a safe way out are in place (OSHA). Those rules apply to employers, but the cave-in risk is the same in a backyard. Don't dig or climb into a sewer trench yourself, and keep children and pets away from open excavations.

Questions to ask before you sign

Get the scope in writing. Trenchless methods generally need less restoration than digging the whole line (EPA).

1. Can I keep the recorded video and a written list of each defect with its distance and depth?
2. Why this method for my pipe, and why not the other three?
3. Who pulls the permit, and at what stage will the inspector see the work?
4. Who submits the Georgia 811 request, and how will private lines, including my sewer line, be located?
5. For lining: what length will be lined, with which resin and curing method, and how will vapors be kept out of the house?
6. For bursting: where will the pits go, and will cleanouts be added?
7. What restoration is included (lawn, driveway, sidewalk, plantings), and what is excluded?

Next step

Get the recorded video and a written finding before you compare repair quotes, then ask each contractor to point to the defects on that video that justify the method they propose. To compare prices without guessing, see what drives drain and sewer cleaning costs. This guide is general information, not legal advice; your local building department, a licensed plumber and your sewer provider can tell you what applies to your property.