Sewer Main Replaced Under Culver City Driveway Without Breaking Concrete

The Problem

A Culver City homeowner had been dealing with recurring sewer backups for two years. Each time, a plumber would snake the main and it would clear — for a few weeks. A camera inspection we ran revealed why: the original 1960s clay pipe had multiple cracks and a significant root intrusion section about 40 feet from the cleanout, running directly under the concrete driveway. Traditional replacement would have required breaking up the full driveway.

What We Did

We used pipe bursting to replace the full 65-foot clay main with new Schedule 40 PVC. Two small access pits were dug — one at the house cleanout and one near the street — and the bursting head was pulled through, fracturing the old clay and pulling the new pipe into place behind it. The concrete driveway was untouched. We ran a post-completion camera to confirm the new line was fully seated and flowing correctly.

The Result

The sewer main was replaced in a single day with no damage to the concrete driveway. The homeowner received a 10-year warranty on the new pipe and has had no backups in the months since. Total cost was significantly less than it would have been with traditional open-trench replacement.