St. Louis Sewer Repair Call about a sewer line 314-274-1839

How sewer pipe lining works

Cured-in-place pipe, or CIPP, is a resin-soaked tube that is put into the old pipe, pressed against its wall and hardened there. This is the whole job, from the first camera run to the last.

Section through a house sewer lateral running from the basement, under the yard and a tree, to the public sewer main under the street. A liner fills the old pipe. Drawing and animation copyright 2026 St. Louis Sewer Repair, https://stlouissewerrepair.com. All rights reserved. Detail A. Wet out, above ground Cleanout Branch line Drain under the slab Public main Street Owner's lateral, foundation to the public sewer © 2026 St. Louis Sewer Repair. All rights reserved. Crack Roots at a joint Offset joint Branch open again No joints for roots Smooth new wall Turned inside out by pressure Hot water, steam, UV or time
Fig. 1. Section through a house sewer lateral, from the basement to the public main. Not to scale. Drawing and animation © 2026 St. Louis Sewer Repair. All rights reserved. You're welcome to link to this page.

  1. Inspect

    A camera goes in through a cleanout and records the whole run. The video shows where the roots, cracks and offset joints are, how long the run is, and whether the pipe is still round enough to line.

  2. Clean

    Roots and scale are cut out and the line is flushed. A liner seals against a clean wall, so this step decides how good the result is.

  3. Wet out

    Above ground, a felt or fiberglass tube cut to the measured length is soaked through with resin.

  4. Install

    The tube goes in through the cleanout. If there isn't one, a cleanout is put in or a small access pit is dug. For a full run the tube is turned inside out into the pipe by air or water pressure, up to about 150 feet in one piece. A short section is pulled into place and inflated instead. Either way it ends up pressed against the old wall.

  5. Cure

    The resin is hardened in place with hot water, steam or UV light, or left to cure on its own. The method is picked for the job: pipe size, length, and how soon the water has to be back on. Once it sets, the old pipe holds a second, seamless one.

  6. Reopen

    Any branch line the liner covered is cut open again from inside with a robotic cutter, so nothing has to be dug up to reconnect it. Where a branch joins the line, a short connection liner can seal the joint.

  7. Check

    A second camera run shows the liner tight to the wall and the branches open. Ask for that video. It is the record of what you paid for.

Call about a sewer line314-274-1839