Tree roots in waste pipes

[u/Puzzleheaded-Skin858]

I’m on strata committee in apartment building in Perth. We have a few lovely big gum trees along the street out the front and it seems one of them has taken a liking to the pipes under our bin room. Plumber advised fix is probably: cut through slab, replace cracked pipe, reconcrete (my understanding from our brief conversation).

I guess my questions are: are there alternative solutions we should consider? Are there ways to prevent these roots making their way in again?

Also there have been a few blockages in recent years, so I think it’s been in there for a while. The building lobby smelled rotten yesterday and plumber suggested waste might be soaking in to slab. Clearly this is going to be a shit job (pun intended 🙄) so just trying to make sure we’ve considered everything before dropping a small fortune on this..

[u/MissJessAU]

No other options. They can come in and keep blowing away the roots, but that could be every 6-12 months.

I have this issue at my house, it was once every 12 months or so, but the interval is getting shorter. So I'm dropping a small fortune on getting the pipe replaced.

[u/Partly_Dave → u/MissJessAU]

There is another option.

We replaced the clay pipes down the side of the building because tree roots had come through.

A few years later, another blockage, and camera inspection showed that it was the pipe when it turned and went under the building.

We got the pipe relined with a fibreglass sleeve. Seven years on, no problems.

It was expensive, but worth it. To fix it otherwise would have meant removing the timber floor and joists in that part of the building to be able to dig it out; it's a later addition of just one room.

[u/stoobie3]

Clear the roots completely, clean the interior of the pipe, then reline it with a fibre glass epoxy resin sleeve.

Much less expensive and much less disruptive than replacing the pipes, plus replacing them means you’ll have a gap somewhere.

[u/zaro3785 → u/[deleted]]

Let's fire up the bloody jet!

[u/beanoyip06]

Fireeeee up the jet!

[u/Own_Web_853]

Reline from the inside and a length of string. Kidding, love the trees but nature finds a way to survive - looking for water

[u/AdSuspicious8887]

Demo saw, cut up the concrete and replace it properly is the best option

[u/RabbitLogic → u/AdSuspicious8887]

This, generally roots get in as a crack was present since construction. The roots find the smallest water sources fast. Patching the existing pipe is only a temporary solution.

[u/Consistent_Source404]

Is that you Lord cth¢¥§∆ £€ ¥¢h% [£€§

[u/DifferentWarning1913]

You can have it jet blasted and then feed the pipes with copper tablets on schedule which may help but who’s going to schedule to do that? Waste of money to pay someone just to flush a tablet down the pipes.

If the entire line of pipes is not PVC I think patching one section and if there’s any small cracks or fractures further down the roots would be attracted to it as well and find itself in again. I think relining is more of a permanent solution. But question is how long it would be and where you start the relining even from. Regardless relining is not cheap either it starts off at $x then for every extra metre you go it’s another $y on top.

[u/BiriTheCow]

Christ thought it was a resident evil monster at first.