Can you re-line Orangeburg Pipe?

First let’s start with what Orangeburg pipe is. Back in the Second World War all the iron supply was directed toward the production of weaponry, which meant that a new material had to be developed for plumbing to replace the missing cast iron.

As a result a new material called “Orangeburg” consisting of wood fibers (like paper) mixed with tar and was manufactured in Orangeburg, PA. This material was the used to make sewer pipes, millions of miles of it. It is estimated that Washington DC has 200,000 miles of Orangeburg pipe under their floors. Everything seemed OK with Orangeburg for a while, but then some serious issues started to arise.

Any solvents like nail polish remover, paint thinners and rubbing alcohol that went down the drain would dissolve the tar, weakening the sewer pipe. Usually the bottom of the pipe would go first. On sewer pipe video inspections, the bottom of the Orangeburg sewer pipe appears to bulge upwards. These bulges create blocked drains as debris is captured in these areas.

The next common drain problem with Orangeburg pipe is root intrusion. Root intrusion with cast iron pipes and clay sewer pipes (VPC) usually occurs at broken, cracked or pipe joint areas. But with Orangeburg pipe, the tree roots grow straight through the pipe walls anywhere, creating blocked drains and backups. Video’s of pipes under Chicago show the characteristic oval egg-shaped cross section of these pipes created by the load on top of the pipe flattening it out over time.

Orangeburg pipe can be re-lined, but pipe bursting is more commonly used, where a new pipe is pulled through the old pipe cavity using a pointed conical “head” that breaks up the old pipe to make way for the new pipe pulled in place behind it for pipe replacement.

There is a wonderful pipe lining E-Book that can be downloaded for free from www.craftsmanpipelining.com, which is also a very helpful website about drain lining in general for residents in Illinois.