Bury new sewer pipe without killing tree roots ?

[Jim K..]

Get the existing pipe internally sleeved? How will trimming a few roots in a pipe kill a huge tree?

[Jim K..]

Told by the one who wants to drop your tree?

[Jim K..]

See rest of thread...

[George Miles]

There's a huge Copper Beech tree , twice the height of the house, but the old clay sewer pipe has roots in it.

So how to dig or bore a trench or tunnel for a new plastic pipe which will last another thousand years without chopping the roots and killing the tree?

It has to be 4 to 6 feet deep to be downhill from existing sewer pipes, and to get into the field.

One of the neighbors wrote yesterday: "Priority 1 is to stop the rain water flow into septic tank Priority 2, ensure sewage conduit to tank is not blocked (take down beech tree or find another conduit)"

Today I emailed the council to get a Tree Preservation Order.

There's a new septic law coming in next January:

"Under the GBRs, anyone with a septic tank discharging into a watercourse must replace it or upgrade it by 1 January 2020, or sooner if the property is sold before this date, or if the Environment Agency (EA) finds that it is causing pollution."

George

[George Miles]

[George Miles]

I think digging a trench for a new pipe would kill half the roots.

I'm told the pipe at 6 inches is a bit to thin for relining as it serves 7 properties

G

[tabbypurr]

Then you've answered your question, there is only 1 other option, reroute it

NT

[Chris Hogg]

How close to the tree does the pipe run? If it's on the edge of the tree canopy, then digging a narrow trench is unlikely to harm the tree. Remember that pipes carrying waste water attract tree roots because of the moisture, so the concentration of roots in the pipe doesn't reflect to concentration outside the pipe. But if it's close to the trunk, then re-route the pipe. Or get the pipe properly cleaned out by a drain-cleaning company, but expect to have to do it again in a few years.

[harry]

Not a problem (Only money) Horizontal boring machines. Eg:-

[Brian Gaff]

Well, I'm afraid the cheap option is indeed to remove the tree. If the roots use the pipe for water even if you route around it with your new pipe, the tree will probably have issues due to the lack of water supply. Its a tough one to call. Brian

[dennis]

Around here the cable company had to hand dig trenches so they didn't cut the tree roots with a digger.

It is quite possible to dig a trench and leave the roots crossing it and then thread the pipe through with minimal damage to the tree.

The same as they do with multiple services crossing the pipe.

It just costs money.

You may have to make the trench longer to get the pipe in.

[Roger Mills]

But there's no need for that.

Rubbish! Who told you that? Have you had the pipe surveyed with a camera? Chances are that there is a tangle of very fine roots which have got in through the joints in the clay pipe. These can easily be removed by rotating cutters which can be fed along the pipe from a manhole without needing any digging.

Then the pipe can be lined with a soft glass fibre-impregnated sleeve, fed in using air pressure, which than cures and makes a rigid lining. It doesn't reduce the diameter by much. we have a 4" pipe feeding into a manhole in our garden, which serves far more than 7 houses. This had to be lined a few years ago, with no ill effects.

[newshound]

That's what I did with mine. Got quotes from two firms, one offering polyester and the other epoxy (a bit more expensive). ALthough I would normally have gone with epoxy, the cheaper firm impressed me a bit more and I went with that. I was impressed how quickly they did it, and managing quite limited access. It's been fine for getting on for ten years.

[Steve Walker]

That's exactly what they did when installing cable in the surrounding roads here (after complaints when they just cut straight through every root in the way on the first couple of streets).

SteveW

[AJH]

There won't be many structural roots at 6ft below ground. National Joint Utility Group guidelines suggest how to excavate within the rooting zone of a tree, it was perceived wisdom not to trench within a radius of four times the girth of a tree. Even within that it should be possible to air spade short sections and pass the pipe under.

I don't know much about excavations and it must depend on soil type but I have heard of dragging a pipe along the route of an existing pipe by using a wedge to burst and expand the hole of the existing pipe.

Beech have a life of 150 to 200 years so if it's that sort of age may as well bite the bullet and fell it at the water company's expense.

AJH

[Rob Morley]

There are specialists who can clear a drain and line it with fibreglass to avoid the need for extensive excavation, or you could have a new drain installed using a similar technique. That way they only need an access trench at the end points. Google "drain moling".