Commercial Trenchless Sewer and Pipe Repair
Trenchless pipe repair fixes a damaged underground sewer pipe with little or no digging. Pipe InterTech does it by pipe lining for restaurants and other commercial buildings in the Houston, Dallas and Austin areas, so the kitchen floor, parking lot or loading dock above the pipe stays in place.
Last updated October 2026
What trenchless repair means
In a traditional sewer repair, a crew digs a trench along the pipe, takes the old pipe out and puts a new one in. Everything above the pipe has to come up first: concrete, asphalt, tile, sometimes a wall.
Trenchless repair, also called no-dig repair, fixes the pipe without opening a trench along its whole length, so the building above stays where it is. For a business, that usually means less to rebuild and less time with a torn-up floor or a closed parking area.
Not every pipe can be repaired this way. A sewer camera inspection of the line shows whether yours can.
How we repair it: pipe lining (CIPP)
We repair pipes with little or no digging by lining them, a method also called cured-in-place pipe, or CIPP. A liner soaked in resin is set inside the damaged pipe and hardened there, so it becomes a new pipe inside the old one.
We line 3 to 8 inch pipes. The camera inspection shows the size and condition of yours.
Is lining a repair or a replacement?
Lining does more than patch a crack: it forms a new pipe inside the old one along the stretch that is lined. The standard for the method calls this rehabilitation of the existing pipe. Pipe bursting is a different method, often sold as trenchless pipe replacement, that breaks the old pipe apart while a new one is pulled in. It is not a service we offer.
Signs your building has a damaged sewer line
- Drains that back up again soon after they were cleared
- Several drains slowing down at the same time
- A sewer smell inside the building or near a cleanout
- Wet spots, sinking pavement or new cracks above where the line runs
If you see these, call before the line fails completely. If there is a strong sewer smell indoors or the ground is sinking, keep people away from the spot until it has been checked.
For a restaurant or other food business, a sewage backup is also a health matter. Texas uses the FDA Food Code, and when a backup may create an imminent health hazard it tells the business to “immediately discontinue operations and notify the regulatory authority”. That is whichever health body is “having jurisdiction over the food establishment”, which may be the state, the city, the county or a public health district. Get its approval before you open again.
Sources checked October 2026: Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, § 228.1, which adopts the FDA Food Code 2017 (§ 8-404.11 and § 8-404.12), and § 228.2 for who the regulatory authority is. Dallas and Austin sewer rules: see the guide linked in the questions below.
How a job works
1. Camera inspection
A camera goes through the line to show where the damage is, how far it runs and what caused it.
2. A clear recommendation
We tell you whether the pipe can be repaired without digging, and what that involves. If trenchless repair is not the right fit for your pipe, we say so.
3. The repair
We line the pipe with as little digging as it allows, so the floor, pavement and landscaping above can stay in place.
Who we work for, and where
Restaurants and other commercial buildings in the Houston, Dallas and Austin areas, including Richardson and the other Dallas suburbs. If the grease trap itself is cracked or failing, that is a repair we do too.
Round Rock, TX
Cedar Park, TX
Pflugerville, TX
Questions about trenchless repair
How much does trenchless sewer repair cost?
It depends on the pipe: how long the damaged section is, how deep it runs and what the damage is. The camera inspection shows that, and then we can give you a price for your line instead of a guess.
Is trenchless repair always possible?
No. A pipe that has collapsed along a long stretch, or one that cannot be reached from an opening, may need to be dug up. The inspection tells you which case you are in before any work starts.
Will my business have to close?
Trenchless repair keeps digging to a minimum. Whether any part of the building has to close depends on where the pipe runs, so ask us about timing when we inspect the line.
What size pipes can you line?
We line 3 to 8 inch pipes. The camera inspection shows the size of yours.
Who pays to fix a broken sewer line under a business?
It depends on the city. Dallas looks after the connection up to the property line; past that line, the pipe is the building’s own plumbing. Austin’s ordinance makes the property owner repair a defective private lateral once the city sends a notice. In Houston, ask Houston Public Works where the split is for your address. Our guide quotes the Dallas and Austin rules.
Who is responsible for sewer line repair on a commercial property in Texas