DIY Drain lining - Is this crazy talk?

[tvrulesme]

I have a clay pipe which goes directly under an extention in the house. No issues with it, flows fine, it's a short length of just 3.1m and I can see clear daylight when I lift the manhole cover at the other side and get a rodding pole with 100mm plunger all the way down the length with very little effort.

 

It's currently very accessible with just a clay to PVC adapter temporarily in place.

 

 

 

We will soon be building an extention which will make this pipe far less accessible though clearly will have the required rodding points. As 95% of the water from the house goes through this one pipe (comined foul and rain) I was thinking about getting it lined as a precaution just for belt and braces and to smooth out the old clay joints but the quotes I have had are ridiculously high as they all have a minimum of 6 meters and want to do CCTV survey in advance etc etc. 

 

So being a cheapskate, I'm thinking about doing it myself or just leaving it alone and trusting that it's been there for 100 years so another 50 or so isn't going to do any harm.

 

I have found a local company that hires out DN70-100 Straight Packers for £50 a week and sells 1m pipe lining kits for ~£45 per meter. I already own an air compressor. 

 

Is it absolute madness to consider this DIY option, and has anyone out there done this successfully or unsuccessfully before?

 

[LiamJones]

Tangentially, could you simplify the joints, mostly to get rid of that flexi? Hard to tell from the pic if possible. 
 

that’d make me far more confident it’ll be fine.

[tvrulesme]

15 minutes ago, LiamJones said:

Tangentially, could you simplify the joints, mostly to get rid of that flexi? Hard to tell from the pic if possible. 
 

that’d make me far more confident it’ll be fine.

Thanks Liam, the picture is a bit decieving as it was taken by me sticking my phone camera to the end of the pipe (yuk). The run is actually pretty straight.

 

 

[Crunchynut]

What’s the inside diameter of the clay pipe and is there access to slide down a liner?

 

Asking because I had similar concerns as to the water tightness of the main clay pipe running to my treatment plant. Since that pipe was 8” (ish) I just slid 4” plastic down it, having first placed slip rings every 2’ or so to prevent the new pipe sagging between couplers. Did this about 12 years ago and no problems. 
 

May not work for you but might seed an idea in your mind.

[tvrulesme]

Just now, Crunchynut said:

What’s the inside diameter of the clay pipe and is there access to slide down a liner?

 

Asking because I had similar concerns as to the water tightness of the main clay pipe running to my treatment plant. Since that pipe was 8” (ish) I just slid 4” plastic down it, having first placed slip rings every 2’ or so to prevent the new pipe sagging between couplers. Did this about 12 years ago and no problems. 
 

May not work for you but might seed an idea in your mind.

Thanks for the reply. I did look at this but the inside diameter is 100mm and I had concerns about reducing this further and wondered if Building Control would have a hissy fit. I understand the resin liners reduce the diameter only by a few mm so what I would lose in diameter, I would gain from a smoother interior. At least that's the theory

[Crunchynut]

Ah yes. Unwise to reduce from 4” nominal. 
 

If the ground has been  un-disturbed for years and everything looks sound then I think I’d not worry about it. Another viewpoint is that you may insert a liner that for some reason degrades / goes wrong and then you have the problem you were hoping to avoid.