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Clay Sewer Laterals

In short

Vitrified clay was laid in short lengths with a joint every few feet, and it is the oldest lateral material still commonly in the ground. It does not corrode, which is why a fifty-year-old clay run can be sound along its whole length and failing only where the sections meet.

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Vitrified clay was the standard lateral material for most of the first half of the twentieth century, and a great deal of it is still in service. It went in as short lengths — typically two to three feet — which means a joint every few feet along the run.

How clay fails

Clay does not corrode. That is its great virtue and the reason so much of it outlasted the pipe that replaced it. What clay does instead is fail at the joints: the seal between lengths gives way, roots find the gap, and the run either blocks or drops out of line.

The City of San Luis Obispo states that clay pipes typically last for 50 to 60 years. That span has passed for every clay lateral still in the ground.

What a survey should show

On a clay lateral the survey is looking for root mass at the joints and for lengths that have dropped out of line. Roots at one or two joints can often be cut back and the run lined; a section that has parted usually cannot.

Whether it can be lined

NASSCO names pipe bursting, cured-in-place pipe, grouting, slip lining, spiral wound pipe and concrete and cementitious sprays among its rehabilitation technologies. On clay the practical question is whether the run still holds its line. A pipe with root intrusion at a joint or two can usually be cut back and lined. A length that has parted or dropped generally cannot — a liner follows the host pipe, so it reproduces the fault rather than correcting it.

Of those methods, only pipe bursting can increase the diameter, because it breaks the old pipe outward and pulls a new one through the space.

Get the run looked at

Tell us your ZIP code and what the drain is doing. We check it against partner coverage and put you through to an independent contractor who works that area. We do not do the work and you are never charged.

Call (866) 857-3202

Before anybody excavates.A camera survey is a different instruction from a repair, and the order matters. Tell us what the drain is doing and we will route you to somebody who covers your area. No charge to you, ever. Anything else the plumbing is doing can be raised on that call too.

Call (866) 857-3202