Ohio Contractor Finds Cost-Effective Solution for Leaky Pipe Bend

New liner system from Infrastructure Repair Systems, Inc. is specifically designed to repair small pipe elbows.
Ohio Contractor Finds Cost-Effective Solution for Leaky Pipe Bend
Infrastructure Repair Systems Inc.'s new 90-degree Elbow Spot Repair kit helped repair a leaky pipe bend for a utility in Etna, Ohio.

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With more than three decades of experience, Tony Conie of Flowline LLC in Columbus, Ohio, understands the challenges of cleaning and maintaining an aging sewer line. He joined Flowline in 2003 as operations manager and since then has used his expertise to help the company maintain and rehab collections systems throughout the greater Columbus area and outlying region.

“We’re constantly busy,” Conie says. “Developers, nearby municipalities and contractors all know us for the quality of our work.”  

Conie’s hire came with not only the expert knowledge of cleaning and TV inspection but also the reliable partners needed to help with those efforts. Among those contacts was Infrastructure Repair Systems, Inc. (IRSI), a manufacturer and supplier of patented trenchless pipe repair and manhole rehabilitation products. Conie says he has utilized IRSI’s no-dig, mainline and lateral Point Repair Systems on at least 50 jobs throughout the years. In each instance, the ambient cure trenchless repair system was successfully used to repair damaged 4- to 36-inch pipe up to 15 feet in length in less than four hours. The system features a fiberglass and felt liner with patented Velcro straps and closure system that is easy to wrap and creates a new pipe section within a pipe. All varieties of the IRSI Point Repair System are engineered to meet or exceed ASTM 1216 standards, are NSF 14 certified and have a 100-year life certification.

Conie’s relationship with IRSI proved beneficial recently when Flowline was contacted by the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District in Etna, Ohio. A CCTV inspection of a 6-inch PVC pipe revealed a crack in a 45-degree bend, causing a significant leak. Unfortunately, the pipe was located under Palmer Road, a heavily traveled state highway.

“This is a narrow thoroughfare with private residences on either side,” says Conie. “The township contacted us for a solution that didn’t entail the expense and great inconvenience associated with digging up the road and closing it down throughout the repair process. After years of working together, I turned to IRSI and was very pleasantly surprised that they had just introduced a new product designed specifically for this situation. I had never before heard of anyone offering an elbow repair product with an expandable liner in the middle.”

The patented Trenchless 90-degree Elbow Spot Repair kit was specifically developed by IRSI as a permanent no-dig fix for small pipe elbows as an alternative to conventional excavation methods. Any 4- to 6-inch pipe elbow reachable via TV inspection cameras can be repaired. The liner’s flexible center and strong fiberglass design expands on the outside and contracts on the inside of the curve, ensuring a smooth, unobstructed repair, while maintaining the structural integrity of the pipe. There is no disruption of the environment, whether it is flooring, roofing, walls, landscapes or roadways.

“It was 32 feet to the crack in the bend,” says Conie. “The entire job took five and a half hours for two of us to perform from beginning to end.“

Once the camera inspection was completed and the line cleaned, the Trenchless 90-degree Elbow Spot Repair took less than 30 minutes to install with a carrier. The epoxy cured in about two hours. Any other method would have taken at least two days and far more in costs to the township since the road would have been dug up and repaved, says Conie.

“It was just that easy,” he says. “No extra people were needed. There was no mess or broken asphalt to repair. We were pretty much in and out in little more than half a day. The homeowners who live adjacent to the project didn’t even realize we were there. Given the bend in the pipe and the position of the crack under the highway, there is no way we could have completed this project as easily and without at least some digging and excavation work. We highly recommend IRSI and its trenchless solutions.”

For more information on IRSI’s trenchless repair solutions and the company’s new Trenchless 90-degree Elbow Spot Repair system, visit www.irsi.net or call 877/327-4216.   



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