How Pipe Bursting Works
1. Two small access pits are dug — one at each end of the damaged pipe run, far smaller than a traditional trench.
2. A bursting head is fed into the old pipe and pulled through the line, fracturing the old pipe outward into the surrounding soil as it goes.
3. A new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe follows immediately behind it, towed into the exact same path as the old one — jointless, corrosion-resistant, and built to outlast the pipe it replaced.
The result is a brand-new, full-diameter pipe in the same path as the old one, without a continuous trench.
Pipe Bursting vs. Cured-in-Place Lining vs. Traditional Excavation
We run a camera first and let what it finds decide the method — not a sales pitch:
- Pipe bursting — the right call when a line has collapsed, is severely bellied, has lost so much diameter to corrosion or scale that flow is compromised, or genuinely needs to be a different size than the original pipe. A full physical replacement, not a reinforcement.
- Cured-in-place lining (CIPP) — better suited to a line that's structurally intact but cracked, root-intruded at the joints, or corroded from the inside; a resin liner cures into a new pipe within the old one, without replacing it outright.
- Traditional open-trench excavation — reserved for the rare line condition neither trenchless method can fix, such as a line that's shifted badly out of grade over a long run.
What Pipe Bursting Costs and How Long It Takes
What a full trenchless replacement — pipe bursting or lining — costs depends on line length, depth, and access. Most pipe bursting jobs are physically completed in one to two days once scheduled, since the method only needs those two small access pits rather than a full-length trench. We run a camera first and give you an exact price in writing before any work starts. It's a flat rate, not an hourly meter — if the job runs long, that's our cost to absorb, not yours. The only time the price changes is if we find additional scope once we're on the job.
Why Pipe Bursting Beats Digging Up the Yard
- Your lawn, driveway, and landscaping stay mostly intact — no long trench, no major restoration afterward
- Faster turnaround than a full-length open-trench replacement in most cases
- HDPE pipe resists the root intrusion and corrosion that took out the original clay or cast-iron line
- Works through two small pits regardless of what's sitting on top of the line — mature trees, a driveway, hardscaping
- The new pipe's diameter can be sized up from the original if the camera shows the old line was undersized to begin with
Sewer Line Repair vs. Pipe Bursting: Which Do I Need?
Pipe bursting is one of two trenchless methods we use for trenchless sewer repair generally — the deep dive on when pipe bursting specifically wins out over lining or a smaller spot repair is on this page; the broader service, spot-repair pricing, and root-cause reasons Treasure Valley sewer lines fail are covered on our sewer line repair hub. Not sure yet what's actually wrong with your line? Start with a sewer camera inspection — the camera decides which fix you actually need.
Pipe Bursting City by City
We run pipe bursting crews across the whole Treasure Valley and into Eastern Oregon: Boise, Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Eagle, Kuna, Middleton, Star, Garden City, Hidden Springs, Emmett, Fruitland, Homedale, Marsing, Mountain Home, Parma, Payette, Weiser, Wilder, Nyssa, OR, Ontario, OR, and Vale, OR.
Call (208) 366-5771 and a real person answers — days, nights, weekends and holidays. Family-owned, veteran-owned, licensed and insured on every job.
Frequently asked questions
How much does pipe bursting cost?
It depends on line length, depth, and access — a line under a slab or mature landscaping costs more to reach than an open yard. We run a camera first and give you an exact price in writing before any work starts. It's a flat rate, not an hourly meter, so if the job runs long that's on us, not you.
How long does pipe bursting take?
Most pipe bursting jobs are physically completed in one to two days once scheduled, since the method only needs two small access pits instead of a full-length trench. Permitting timelines vary by city and can add time before work starts.
What's the difference between pipe bursting and pipe lining?
Pipe bursting pulls a new HDPE pipe through the path of the old one while a bursting head fractures the old pipe outward — a full physical replacement. Cured-in-place lining pulls or cures a resin-saturated liner inside the existing pipe instead, reinforcing rather than replacing it. A camera inspection shows us which one your line actually needs.
Do I have to dig up my whole yard for pipe bursting?
No. Pipe bursting works through two small access pits — one at each end of the damaged run — instead of a continuous trench, so mature landscaping, driveways, and hardscaping stay mostly intact.
Can pipe bursting make my pipe bigger than it was before?
In many cases, yes. Because a new HDPE pipe is pulled in behind the bursting head, the replacement can be sized up from the original if the camera shows the old line was undersized or restricted by decades of scale and root intrusion.
