Trenchless Drain & Sewer Replacement in Toronto & the GTA
Advanced Plumbing & Drains replaces failed sewer laterals without tearing up your yard, driveway or basement floor. Two small access points instead of a trench across your property.
Trenchless drain replacement rebuilds a failed sewer line through one or two small access points instead of an open trench. There are two methods: CIPP lining, which cures a new jointless pipe inside the old one, and pipe bursting, which fractures the old pipe outward while pulling new HDPE pipe into its place. Lining suits a pipe that is cracked or root-infested but still structurally intact. Bursting is required when the pipe is collapsed, badly offset or needs to be upsized. A camera inspection decides which one your line needs — and there are cases where open-cut excavation is still the right answer.
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Advanced Plumbing & Drains provides trenchless drain and sewer replacement across Toronto and the GTA. Trenchless means the failed pipe is rebuilt from the inside, or pulled out and replaced, through one or two small access points rather than a trench dug along its entire length. In practice that means your interlock driveway, your mature maple, your patio and your finished basement floor usually stay where they are.
It is not magic and it is not universal. Trenchless is a set of tools that solve a specific set of pipe failures very well, and a camera inspection is what tells us whether your pipe is one of them.
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The candidates are easy to spot. Recurring main-line backups that a snaking clears for a few months and then return. Multiple fixtures backing up at once rather than one slow drain. Gurgling from floor drains or toilets when a washing machine discharges. Sewage smell in the basement. Sinkholes, soft spots or an unusually green patch of lawn tracking the line to the street. Roots pulled out of the line every time a cable is run.
Toronto's building stock makes this common rather than exotic. Large parts of the city were built with clay tile or cast iron laterals, joined every few feet, under streets lined with mature trees. Clay joints admit roots. Cast iron scales, corrodes from the inside and eventually loses its bottom. Both fail on a schedule, and much of the city is now on that schedule.
One thing worth knowing before you call anyone: the City of Toronto does not repair or replace sewer service connections on private property. That is the property owner's responsibility. If your basement drain backs up, the City's own process is to CCTV the City-side portion of the line, and if that side is clear you are advised to hire a licensed plumber for the private side. Knowing where the boundary sits changes what you are actually buying.
Everything starts with a camera. We run a CCTV inspection down the line to locate the defect, classify it, measure how far out it sits and how deep it runs, and identify every branch connection along the way. This is the step that determines the method, and doing it in the other order is how homeowners end up with a liner cured into a pipe that needed replacing outright.
Next we clean. Hydro jetting, descaling and root cutting open the host pipe back to its full diameter. A liner installed over root mass or scale is a liner installed badly.
Then we install, using whichever method the inspection called for.
CIPP lining, or cured-in-place pipe, inserts a resin-saturated liner through an existing cleanout, inflates it against the walls of the old pipe and cures it in place. What you end up with is a smooth, jointless pipe formed inside the original one — no joints for roots to enter, no seams to crack, and a slight reduction in internal diameter offset by a far smoother flow surface. The recognized standard practice for the method is ASTM F1216.
Pipe bursting takes a different approach. We dig small entry and exit pits at each end of the run, then pull a conical bursting head through the old pipe with a hydraulic winch. The head fractures the old pipe outward into the surrounding soil while new HDPE pipe follows immediately behind it. You get a completely new pipe, fused rather than jointed, and the option to upsize — a four inch lateral can come out as a six inch one. The standard practice for the method is ASTM F1962.
For a single isolated defect in an otherwise sound pipe, a short spot liner over just that section is often all that is warranted.
After installation we reinstate any branch connections, run a second camera pass to verify the finished pipe end to end, and restore the small access areas.
We will tell you when to dig. This is where most of the industry gets quietly dishonest, because a company that owns a lining rig and nothing else will find a way to recommend lining.
Lining cannot fix a pipe that has fully collapsed — there is no host pipe left to line. Lining does not correct a belly, which is a section that has sagged so the pipe now holds standing water; a liner follows the existing grade, including the sag, and you will still have a slow drain and recurring buildup. Severe joint offsets can prevent the liner from passing or seating properly. Pipe bursting needs room at each end for pits and equipment, and it needs a burst path that will not damage other utilities running alongside. Unstable soil may require shoring that erases the advantage.
If your line needs a change in grade, a change in route, or a new connection point, that is an excavation job. In those cases we quote conventional drain replacement and explain exactly why.
Most residential trenchless jobs are completed in 1 to 2 days including inspection, cleaning, installation and verification. Conventional open-cut replacement of the same line typically runs 5 to 7 days before restoration, and restoration itself can take weeks to look finished and months to stop settling.
Trenchless replacement in the GTA generally runs in the range of $120 to $275 per linear foot depending on method, pipe diameter, depth and access, which for a typical 25 to 40 foot residential lateral puts most complete jobs between $3,000 and $12,000. Isolated spot repairs run considerably less. Conventional open-cut replacement often carries a comparable or lower per-foot figure and then adds restoration, which is where budgets break: an asphalt driveway, an interlock patio or a mature landscape can add thousands on its own. Once restoration is counted, trenchless commonly lands 20 to 40 per cent below open-cut for the same result. We quote firm pricing after the camera inspection, not before it.
Where the pipe runs into the City right-of-way, municipal permitting applies and adds both cost and lead time. We identify that during the inspection so it is in the estimate rather than a surprise.
Our team is fully licensed and insured, and we hold a valid City of Toronto business licence. All work meets the Ontario Building Code and City of Toronto requirements. We guarantee our work on parts and labor, and every installation is verified by post-work camera footage that we provide to you.
If your lateral is being replaced and your basement has ever backed up during a storm, install a backwater valve in the same visit. One mobilization, one round of permits, one opening of the floor. The valve is also the largest single item in the City of Toronto Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program at up to $1,600 per device on up to two devices, while the lateral replacement itself is not subsidy-eligible. Getting the sequencing right is worth real money.
Toronto's clay soil moves with the freeze-thaw cycle, which stresses rigid jointed pipe every winter. Combined with the volume of mature street trees over old clay laterals, root intrusion is the defect we find most often in this city. Trenchless work is available year-round, though winter conditions can require frost removal at the access pits or heated curing for liners, which we account for in cold-weather scheduling.
How long does a trenchless replacement last? HDPE pipe installed by bursting is commonly rated at 75 to 100 years. Cured-in-place liners are commonly rated at 50 years or more. Both outlast the clay and cast iron they replace.
Will you need to dig up my driveway? Not for the run itself. Bursting needs a small pit at each end, and lining usually works from an existing cleanout. That is the entire point of the method.
Can you line a pipe that has completely collapsed? No. A collapsed section needs bursting or excavation. If a company tells you otherwise, get a second camera inspection.
How Our Process Works
Camera Inspection
We CCTV the full line to classify the defect, measure depth and distance, map every branch connection, and determine whether lining, bursting or excavation is the correct method.
Clean & Prepare
Hydro jetting, descaling and root cutting open the host pipe back to full diameter so the liner seats properly or the bursting head runs clean.
Install & Verify
We cure the liner in place or pull new HDPE through as the old pipe fractures, reinstate branch connections, then run a second camera pass and give you the footage.
Frequently Asked Questions
CIPP lining inserts a resin-saturated liner into the existing pipe and cures it in place, forming a new jointless pipe inside the old one. It requires the host pipe to still be structurally intact and works through an existing cleanout. Pipe bursting replaces the pipe entirely: a bursting head is pulled through the old line, fracturing it outward into the soil while new HDPE pipe is pulled in behind. Bursting handles collapsed and badly deteriorated pipe and allows upsizing, but needs an access pit at each end.
No, and any company claiming otherwise is selling you something. Lining cannot restore a fully collapsed pipe because there is no host left to line, and it will not correct a belly where the pipe has sagged and holds water — the liner simply follows the existing grade. Severe offsets can stop a liner from seating. Pipe bursting needs physical room for pits and equipment and a clear burst path away from other utilities. When the line needs a new grade, route or connection point, excavation is the correct call and we will tell you so.
A CCTV camera inspection, before any quote. It shows us the type of defect, its location and depth, how much of the run is affected, the pipe material and diameter, and where every branch connection sits. The footage decides the method. Diagnosing from symptoms alone, or from whatever equipment a contractor happens to own, is how homeowners end up paying twice.
Usually, once you count restoration. The per-foot cost of trenchless is often similar to open-cut, but open-cut adds the cost of rebuilding whatever was on top of the trench. An asphalt driveway, an interlock patio or established landscaping can add thousands. Across the GTA, trenchless commonly comes in 20 to 40 per cent below open-cut on total project cost, and it is finished in 1 to 2 days rather than a week plus restoration.
The portion on private property is the property owner's responsibility. The City of Toronto does not replace or install water and sewer service connections on private property. If a basement drain backs up, the City's process is to camera the City-side portion of the line, and if that side is clear the owner is directed to hire a licensed plumber for the private side. Work that extends into the City right-of-way requires municipal permits.
HDPE pipe installed by bursting is commonly rated at 75 to 100 years or more, and it is fused rather than jointed, so there are no joints for roots to find. Cured-in-place liners are commonly rated at 50 years or more and present a smooth jointless interior that resists both root intrusion and scale. Both substantially outlast the clay tile and cast iron they typically replace.
Drain work generally requires a plumbing or drain permit, and any work extending into the City right-of-way requires municipal permitting with its own lead time and traffic requirements. We identify what your specific job needs during the camera inspection and include permit costs in the estimate rather than adding them later.
If your basement has ever backed up during heavy rain, yes. Doing both on one visit means one mobilization, one permit process and one opening of the basement floor rather than two. It also matters financially: a backwater valve qualifies for up to $1,600 per device from the City of Toronto Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program on up to two devices, while the lateral replacement itself does not qualify.
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