Common Ground, September/October 2002
Pipe Dream

By Larry Gillanders
CEO, Chief Technology Officer
ACE DuraFlo Systems, LLC

What’s all this fuss over a bunch of microscopic holes? Try corrosion, toxic mold, and other water damage that can add up to thousands of dollars in repairs—not to mention severe health problems.

Leaky pipes are big right now. The Washington Post recently ran a series of articles on a “pinhole-leak crisis” that has surfaced in the District of Columbia area. In California, insurance companies paid out more than $2.5 billion in water-related claims between 1997 and 2001. One insurance company has announced that it will no longer write new homeowner policies in California, citing the increase in such water claims as the reason.

To top it off, the cure—cutting into walls and replacing or patching the offending pipes—can seem almost as bad as the disease.

Inside Out
Fortunately, there is a kinder, gentler solution: pipe restoration, a process that fixes your pipes within your walls, with no cutting or drilling.

In-place pipe restoration is based on corrosion-control techniques already used by water utilities and pipeline engineers. It attacks the problem from the inside out, by lining the interior of your pipes with an epoxy compound. Because the National Science
Foundation has approved the epoxy lining for use with drinking water, major plumbing codes throughout the country have adopted the in-place restoration process.

So, how does it work? Simply put, the epoxy coating actually creates a new pipe within an existing pipe.
There are a few simple steps:
1. The pipes are dried.
2. The pipes are cleaned using a sandblasting method.
3. The epoxy is injected into the piping system; after it cures, the water is turned back on.

The pipe-restoration process uses special compressed air and is connected to each tap end of your piping system, or to the specific section of piping to be restored. As a result, the entire procedure takes place within your existing piping system. The epoxy coating creates an extremely durable barrier on the inside of the piping system that is resistant to corrosion, the leading factor causing metal pipes to wear out.

The Restoration
That’s the whole process. There are pros and cons to any system, but, still, the benefits of pipe restoration, especially compared to traditional repiping, are numerous.
Time. Pipe restoration typically can be completed in less time.
Invasiveness. The process is far less intrusive than a repipe. Your home or building’s water won’t be shut off for long periods, nor will you have to deal with the tear-down mess associated with re-piping.
Expense. Pipe restoration costs significantly less when you calculate rental or income loss associated with a repipe. Indeed, in most cases, you won’t lose any income at all.
Prevention. With traditional repiping, even if you have brand-new copper pipe installed, the process of corrosion starts all over again. This simply doesn’t occur in pipes that have been restored with an epoxy barrier coating.

In-place pipe restoration has a successful track record in restoring water lines in single-family homes, hospitals, schools, office towers, hotels, resorts, multi-family townhouse projects, and entire apartment buildings.

If you’re worried about pinhole leaks, good. You should be. It’s no longer a question of if they will happen; it’s when, and how much the damage will be. But in-place pipe restoration offers hope in the battle against the high costs and hassles associated with traditional fixes. It’s time to think inside the box—er, pipe.

Larry Gillanders is co-founder of ACE DuraFlo Systems, LLC, in Placentia, California. Since its development in 1998, the ACE DuraFlo system has been used to restore the piping systems of schools, hotels, and residential and commercial buildings throughout North America.