No-dig pipe repair on the Lower North Shore.
Cracked or root-damaged pipe repaired in place in St Ives Chase — sealing the line against the ground rather than digging it out of it.
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St Ives Chase sits directly against Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park at the northern edge of the plateau, and for many properties the park is the fence line. Mature native root systems are immediately adjacent to private drainage, and bushland runoff arrives on the same blocks after heavy rain. Both enter through the same openings, and one continuous liner closes them.
Roots and runoff, frequently in the same job — the park is the boundary for many properties, so there is no buffer between mature natives and private pipe.
Because the ground here is the problem, and digging into it makes it worse. This is the part of a drainage repair people do not price until an excavator is already on site.
Established gardens on post-war blocks with national park directly beyond. Excavation towards the boundary is constrained regardless of what reinstatement would cost.
A liner goes in through an opening that already exists. Nothing above the pipe has to move.
The northern edge of the plateau running straight into Ku-ring-gai Chase, taking bushland runoff after rain.
St Ives Chase sits in the Ku-ring-gai Council, postcode 2075.
Local figures sourced from: Ku-ring-gai Urban Forest Strategy — Ku-ring-gai Council · ABS 2021 Census QuickStats — St Ives Chase
Post-war earthenware around seventy years old, with joints that admit roots and stormwater equally readily.
No trench, no spoil, and nothing above the pipe disturbed. The whole job runs through an existing access point.
The line is inspected end to end so the damage is located and measured. Nothing is quoted from the surface.
Roots are cut out and the pipe wall is jetted back to bare material — a liner will not bond to a coated pipe.
A resin-saturated liner is drawn into position through an existing access point and inflated against the host pipe.
The resin hardens in hours rather than days, forming a new pipe inside the old one with no joints for roots to re-enter.
Any branch lines are cut back open robotically, and a final camera pass confirms the result.
Not every damaged pipe should be relined, and we will say so. These are the cases where it genuinely wins here.
No buffer between mature roots and private pipe.
Sealing the run is the repair.
Digging towards the park is limited.
Relining costs more per metre than excavation. It is usually cheaper overall, and this is why:
| Dig and replace | Relining | |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation | Trench the full length, remove and replace the pipe, backfill | None — the work runs through an existing access point |
| What comes up | Lawn, garden, paving, driveway or slab above the line | Nothing |
| Time on site | Days on a long or deep run | Usually one day for a typical run |
| Reinstatement | Priced separately and often the larger half of the bill | Not applicable |
| Result | New pipe, with joints | A jointless liner inside the host pipe |
| Design life | Depends on material and bedding | 50 years on a correctly installed liner |
The per-metre comparison is the one that misleads. Excavation quotes routinely exclude spoil removal and reinstatement, which is where a dig job gets expensive — and on some properties the reinstatement is simply not possible at any price.
These are typical ranges across the Sydney market — not Voyager’s price list, but a realistic yardstick to judge any quote against, including ours.
| Pipe relining, per lineal metre | $450 – $800 |
| Pipe relining, typical whole job | $4,000 – $10,000 |
| Patch repair, single damaged section | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Junction reinstatement | $300 – $600 |
| Excavate and replace, per metre | $300 – $600 |
| Driveway reinstatement after a dig job, per sqm | $100 – $200 |
| CCTV drain inspection | $250 – $550 |
| Cutting tree roots from a line | $400 – $1,200 |
Voyager prices by the job, not by the hour, so the number you approve is the number you pay. A camera survey happens before any figure is given — a quote for relining that has not looked down the pipe is a guess.
Most St Ives Chase properties that ring about relining need a camera first. We will tell you straight — including when clearing the line is the whole job.
A correctly installed liner carries a 50-year design life, and it cures in hours rather than days — so the property is back in normal use the same week rather than the same month.
One continuous liner closes both entry paths along the whole run rather than at the point that happened to fail first.
Roots come back through joints. A liner has none.
Voyager covers the whole Lower North Shore. These are the closest to St Ives Chase:
No. That is the whole point of it. The liner is drawn in through an existing access point — usually an inspection opening or shaft already on the property — and cured in place against the old pipe. It means no excavation towards a national park that is, for many properties here, the fence line.
Across the Sydney market, relining runs about $450–$800 per lineal metre, with a typical whole job landing between $4,000 and $10,000 and a single-section patch around $1,500–$3,000. Those are market ranges rather than Voyager’s price list. Whether the symptom is water or an obstruction. Both enter through the same joints, and only one of them responds to clearing.
Per metre, no — excavation is cheaper per metre. Overall it usually is. Excavating ground that is periodically saturated is slower, needs more support and backfills less predictably, and all of that is priced. On some properties the reinstatement is not possible at any price, which settles it entirely.
A correctly installed liner carries a 50-year design life. It outlasts what it replaced because it has no joints along its length — and joints are where roots get in, where ground movement opens a gap, and where old earthenware fails first. And because it is continuous, it keeps ground and storm water out along the whole run rather than at the point that failed.
A typical residential run is a single day on site, and the resin cures in hours rather than days. The camera survey happens first, either on the same visit or beforehand — nothing about a relining job should be quoted from the surface.
Most can, but not all — and we will say so rather than sell you something that will not work. A pipe that has collapsed completely, or lost so much of its shape that there is nothing left to line against, needs replacing. In St Ives Chase the host pipe is usually a good candidate: roots and runoff, frequently in the same job — the park is the boundary for many properties, so there is no buffer between mature natives and private pipe.
For many properties the park is the boundary — the suburb runs straight into Ku-ring-gai Chase at the northern edge of the plateau. That means mature native roots immediately adjacent to private drainage and substantial bushland runoff after rain, both entering through the same openings. Excavation towards the park is constrained; relining is not.
Through that section, yes. Roots enter at joints and cracks; a liner is continuous and seals them, so the entry point is gone. Roots can still find a different fault further along an old line, which is why the survey covers the whole run rather than only the section that failed.
Camera survey first, a fixed price agreed before the work starts, and no excavation.
Voyager Plumbing · NSW Contractor Licence 476657C
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Page reviewed and updated 20 August 2026
