Have you ever considered lining your plumbing pipes with epoxy? If you’ve only ever considered traditional pipe replacement as a solution for your plumbing woes, you could be doing your wallet and your Chicago building a disservice. Let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons to have epoxy pipelining in your Chicago building.
10 Signs Your Chicago Property Could Benefit from Epoxy Pipelining
If your property has experienced any of these problems, especially if more than one of these issues has come up in the last 12 months, you may want to consider getting your pipes lined with epoxy.
1. Recurring Clogs
When drain pipes are working correctly, water and waste flow away from the building and into the city’s wastewater treatment plants. Unfortunately, over time, drain and sewer pipes can deteriorate due to excessive wear and tear, old age, and corrosion. Sewer pipes are also at risk for root infiltration from trees. If your building is experiencing recurring clogs, it could be due to excessive corrosion, breaks or cracks in the pipe, or root infiltration. Epoxy pipelining can help stop corrosion and tree root infiltration.
2. Sewer Odors
Sewer odors can be extremely harmful to human health and give your building a bad reputation if you don’t take care of the problem in a timely manner. Sewer gas can infiltrate your building through cracks in the vent pipes and/or breaks in your drain pipes. Lining your drain and vent pipes can help seal cracks to prevent future sewer gas smells.
3. Corrosion
Metal plumbing pipes are prone to developing corrosion. Corrosion occurs when the water interacts with the metal of the pipe. Installing epoxy pipeliners helps ensure that water doesn’t touch the metal of the host pipe.
4. Leaks
How many leaks have you had over the last 12 months, and what have they cost you to repair them? Over time, plumbing pipes become more prone to leaking. If you’ve had to have multiple runs of pipe repaired due to leaks, you may want to consider epoxy pipelining.
5. Tree Root Intrusion
Tree roots tend to infiltrate sewer pipes due to the water and organic matter. The roots break into the pipe through cracks and gaps in the pipe. Then, the roots grow and expand inside the sewer line. This can create a tough clog. Epoxy pipeliners can’t be infiltrated by roots.
6. Low Water Pressure
Low water pressure can be caused by numerous small leaks. If you’ve noticed an increase in maintenance requests regarding low water pressure, getting your plumbing pipes lined with epoxy may help.
7. Visible Water Damage
Do you see visible water damage in your building? Water spots on walls and ceilings, black spots of mold, and the smell of mildew or dampness can all indicate serious water leaks. If those leaks aren’t repaired promptly, it could result in serious structural damage. The good news is that epoxy pipeliners can help stop leaks.
8. Frequent Repairs
If you’ve had to make frequent repairs on your potable water pipes, drain pipes, and sewer lines, you may want to consider having your plumbing pipes lined with epoxy.
9. Pipe Cracks
Experiencing numerous pipe cracks over a short period of time could indicate that your plumbing pipes are nearing the end of their useful lives. The good news is that epoxy pipelining can extend the useful lives of your pipes by as much as 50 years.
10. Flooding or Backups
If your building has experienced multiple instances of flooding or sewer backups, it may be time to consider epoxy pipelining. Drain pipes and sewer pipes that have excessive corrosion, root infiltration, or rough spots can develop complete clogs. This stops water from flowing down the pipe and can lead to dangerous water backups. Water from sewer pipes and drain pipes can contain bacteria and viruses that are harmful to human health. Installing epoxy pipeliners can help maximize the pipe’s internal diameter and create a smooth surface for water to flow down.
Epoxy Pipelining Can Help Rehabilitate Your Plumbing Pipes
Epoxy pipelining can help rehabilitate potable water and drain pipes. Potable water pipes are lined via an epoxy coating, while drain pipes and sewer lines are rehabilitated using epoxy and felt pipeliners.
Epoxy Coatings for Potable Water Pipes
Viscous epoxy coatings are used to seal small pinhole leaks and hairline cracks in potable water pipes. The epoxy coating can be blown in or brushed on. In fact, brush-cast epoxy is gaining in use and popularity. This is because it’s no-mix, which reduces the likelihood of messes, and it’s applied via a brush. The brush application ensures accuracy. The brush-cast epoxy can also be put on in layers in order to achieve the desired thickness. The end result is a smooth surface that has no breaks, cracks, or pinhole leaks.
Epoxy Pipeliners for Drain and Sewer Pipes
Epoxy pipeliners for sewer and drain pipes consist of a liner and a two-part epoxy. The process of preparing these durable liners consists of preparing the felt liner by scoring it. Then, the epoxy is poured down the liner and pressed into the material with a roller. Once the liner is fully saturated, it’s threaded through the pipe and pressed into place with an air bladder.
How Are the Pipes Prepared for the Epoxy?
In order to ensure maximum adhesion and longevity, the pipes must be thoroughly cleaned. This is accomplished via specialized pipe cleaning tools and/or grit. The pipe cleaning tools use blades or rotating chains to scrape the debris and corrosion from the sides of the pipes. The goal is to clean the pipes down to the walls and prepare them to accept the epoxy. This maximizes the internal diameter while helping to ensure maximum adhesion.
How Epoxy Coatings and Pipeliners Maximize the Useful Lives of Your Plumbing Pipes While Preventing Problems
Epoxy pipeliners and coatings create a pipe-within-a-pipe. This is often abbreviated as CIPP. Once the pipeline is in place, water no longer flows down the host pipe’s metal or plastic pipe walls. Instead, it flows down the cured and hardened epoxy. This makes the epoxy liner the new pipe, while the existing pipe becomes the host pipe. As a result, the host pipe doesn’t experience any further corrosion or deterioration from the water that flows through it. The interior surface is also smooth, which means it’s less likely to attract clog-making debris. Epoxy coatings and liners are also rated to last between 35 and 50 years. That’s comparable to the installation of new plumbing pipes, except it doesn’t come with the cost, mess, or interruption.
Epoxy Pipelining Is a Non-Invasive Solution
Epoxy pipelining doesn’t require the digging of trenches or the cutting of drywall. That’s because the pipelining technicians don’t need to physically reach the pipes in order to remove them. In fact, the pipes don’t need to be removed at all. They can stay where they are. The technicians only need to reach the access points, and if there’s no access point, one is created. The access points are used in order to connect the pipelining equipment. Once the pipes are cleaned and lined, the access points are capped, and the small doors are closed. This means that once the pipelining is complete, there’s nothing more you need to do and no additional contractors need to be hired.
Epoxy Pipelining with NuFlow
Epoxy pipelining is a fast process, especially when compared to the time it takes to replace plumbing pipes. Our pipelining technicians can line a pipe, wait for it to cure, and return the pipe to service in as little as two or three days. It’s also considered a green technology. This is because the carbon footprint for epoxy pipelining is lower than that of a traditional pipe replacement. There’s no need to mine new materials or create new plumbing pipes, and there’s no need to transport all of that heavy material. Lining pipes with epoxy doesn’t result in additional waste that needs to be transported to a landfill. This is because your original plumbing pipes remain in your walls as the host pipes for the durable epoxy liners. If all of these benefits sound good to you, it may be time to call NuFlow Midwest to get your questions answered and to schedule a building pipe assessment.
If you’re ready to have the lifespans of your existing plumbing pipes extended by as much as 50 years, give us a call at 815-790-9000.