Trenchless methods
Sectional point repair in Atlanta
If the camera finds a single offset joint beneath the driveway and sixty feet of otherwise sound pipe, relining the whole run is more than the problem calls for. A sectional repair cures a short structural sleeve at the defect alone, in a few hours, through the cleanout.
Serving Atlanta · Fulton County
Fletch Barney Trenchless, LLC
CIPP Verified installer. Camera inspection before any quote; permits and inspections handled. More about Fletch Barney Trenchless →
Why fix one spot
Sewer defects are not evenly spread. A lateral in Atlanta may be sound from the house to the sidewalk and have one problem where a water oak root lifted a clay joint, where a PVC coupling pulled apart as the fill settled, or where a driveway was poured over the trench and cracked the pipe under its weight. Relining the full length addresses that one defect by replacing everything around it, which is sometimes the right answer and sometimes more than the pipe needs. A sectional point repair treats the defect itself. The rest of the line is left alone, and the cost and time scale with the problem rather than with the distance to the main.
How the sleeve goes in
The crew begins with a camera survey, noting the distance to the defect and locating it from the surface with a sonde. The line is jetted clean around the spot. A fiberglass mat saturated with a structural resin is wrapped around an inflatable packer, the packer is drawn into the pipe on a cable with the camera following, and when it is centered on the defect it is inflated. The resin cures against the pipe wall, usually in an hour or two at ambient temperature, with heat applied when the ground is cold. The packer is deflated and withdrawn, leaving a hard sleeve bonded in place. A final camera pass documents the result. Access is through the cleanout; the slab, the yard and the street are untouched. the verified installer doing point repairs in Atlanta performs point repairs across metro Atlanta and north Georgia.
What a point repair solves
A sectional repair is made for an isolated structural fault in a pipe that is otherwise serviceable: a cracked or broken joint where roots are entering, a small offset where one section has settled relative to the next, a hole rusted through a short length of cast iron, a single crushed spot under a driveway or a utility crossing, or a weeping joint that admits groundwater. It is also used before a full liner to restore the shape of a section that is too deformed for the liner to pass through. In Fulton County, where the wet-dry cycle of the clay opens one joint at a time, the first failure is often exactly this kind of single-point problem.
What it does not solve
A sleeve cannot fix what it does not cover. If the camera shows roots or cracks at many joints, scale and corrosion along a long run of cast iron, a belly where a length of pipe has sunk, or Orangeburg that is deforming, a point repair is a patch on a line that is failing everywhere, and a full liner or a pipe burst is the honest recommendation. It cannot correct slope, cannot enlarge a pipe, and cannot be installed where the pipe has collapsed so far that the packer will not reach the defect. A contractor who proposes several sleeves in a short run should be asked why a liner is not the better answer; the methods are compared at the CIPP reference.
Time, access and disruption
A point repair is among the least disruptive jobs in the trade. Setup, cleaning, placement, cure and the final video typically fit in a morning or an afternoon. Water use is suspended for the cure, which is shorter than for a full-length liner. Nothing is excavated, so no plumbing permit for open-cut work or right-of-way permit is triggered unless the defect is under the public street, in which case the contractor confirms the rule for Atlanta on who owns that section and what paperwork applies. Summer heat shortens the cure; a cold snap lengthens it slightly. Either way, the house is back in service the same day.
The record you should keep
Insist on the before and after recordings with the defect's footage and depth noted, a written description of what was found and what was installed, and the warranty on the sleeve. That record tells the next plumber or the next owner exactly what was done and where, and it shows that the rest of the pipe was inspected and judged sound at the time. The installers listed at the verified installer directory provide that documentation as a matter of course.
Estimates are free. Call now: (877) 959-0155.
Other trenchless services in Atlanta
Trenchless Sewer Repair Atlanta
Repair or replace a failed sewer line with little or no excavation.
Sewer Pipe Lining (CIPP) Atlanta
A resin-saturated liner cured in place forms a new, jointless pipe inside the old one.
Pipe Bursting Atlanta
A bursting head splits the old pipe while pulling new HDPE pipe in behind it, through two small pits.
Sewer Camera Inspection Atlanta
See what is actually wrong before anyone quotes a fix.
Hydro Jetting Atlanta
High-pressure water strips roots, grease and scale so the pipe can be inspected and lined.
Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Atlanta
When a line cannot be lined: spot excavation or trenchless replacement, chosen from the footage.
Questions we hear about sectional point repair
How long is a sectional repair sleeve?+
Most are between two and six feet, long enough to span the defect with sound pipe on either side for the sleeve to bond to. Several can be installed in one line if the camera finds two or three isolated problems. When defects are spaced every few feet, a full liner is the better job.
How does the crew put it in the right spot?+
The camera marks the defect by distance from the cleanout and a locator fixes its position above ground. The sleeve is wrapped on an inflatable packer and pushed or pulled into the line with the camera watching until the packer is centered on the defect, then inflated to press the sleeve against the wall while it cures.
Is a short sleeve as strong as a full-length liner?+
Over the length it covers, yes. Sectional sleeves use fiberglass and a structural resin and are designed to carry the load on their own if the host pipe around them fails. The limit is coverage, not strength: the rest of the pipe is as good or as bad as it was before.
Can a point repair stop groundwater leaking into my line?+
If the water is coming through one joint or one crack, yes; the sleeve seals that opening. Red clay holds water after winter rains and the pressure pushes it through every gap, so if the camera shows weeping at many joints, a full liner is what stops the infiltration, and in the older in-town areas under the consent decree the utility would rather see that done.
How do I get a quote?+
Phone us or use the form. The camera goes in first; if it shows a single defect in otherwise sound pipe, a sectional repair is proposed, and if it shows more, you will be told why a liner is the better choice. Estimates are free; call now.