Precision Root Cutting

Premier Drainage Services Limited can remove all manner of roots from your drains.

All sorts of roots manage to find their way into drainage systems through joints, fractures and broken pipe work. The roots do this as they seek out the water and nutrients inside the pipes, the roots then form a mass and the hair thin roots that initially entered the system can turn into tap roots that will break the pipe collar as they expand.

When roots manage to find their way into your drains the damage they cause can be quite severe. A root mass, once established in a domestic 150mm drain, will become tap roots and it’s not just a blockage that’s the problem, but cracking of the pipe collars which will require excavation and relaying of the pipework, potentially costing thousands of pounds.

If the root ingress is mainly through the joints and there has been no major movement to the pipe work the roots can often be removed using our root cutting techniques, so it is always best practice to call us in before the problem becomes to advanced.

Routine root cutting as a method of drain maintenance is a common procedure, particularly on larger sewer systems where the cost or disruption associated with a full repair is prohibitive, on domestic systems from 100mm to 225mm it is generally considered to be a false economy and a permanent repair such as drain relining should be considered to stop any future ingress, we can advise you on any aspect of our work so you are always fully aware of what is going on.

The reason we always advise drain relining in domestic cases is because the root cutting process will return the inside of the pipe work back to its original bore but the roots will still be inside the pipe joints ready to grow back stronger and thicker. Also, any water loss from the system will still continue which will encourage future intrusions and growth of roots and that will start the cycle off again, leading to drain pipe displacement and stepped joints within the drain system.

Removing roots with drain rods and attachments

Minor cases of root ingress to pipe joints can often be removed using drain rods with a plunger attachment on the end, we always use lock fast drain rods. When we discover serious root ingress within the drain system, we often employ steel rods with various cutting and retrieving heads to get the job done.

Removing roots with high pressure water

Roots that have found their way into the domestic drainage system can be removed using standard high pressure water jetting units but in order to restore the full bore of a system, specialist jetting heads and attachments are required, flail jets have chains at the rear which spin around chopping at the roots as they move through the pipework and there are attachments that have forward facing cutting heads that rotate with the pressure of the water being pumped through them.

We can also use specialist high pressure water jet cutting rigs that are so incredibly powerful that they will cut out concrete, masonry and intruding pipe work from a drainage system. These systems are particularly efficient at cutting through stubborn tap roots that would otherwise cause serious damage to the drainage system.

Removing roots with winching equipment

This particular method is used on larger diameter sewer and drainage systems with winching heads being pulled back and forth throughout the drainage system, increasing the size of the cutting head on each run.

Chemical root removal method

Although we don’t employ this method, it is where a solution of herbicide is introduced into a drainage system and the roots then wither and die. The reason we don’t use this method is because we are concerned about any potential risk to rivers and water courses, we always like to consider any negative impact on the environment.