Sewer rehabilitation Basel – Professional renewal of sewage pipes, without a construction site and without a budget shock

Renovation becomes mandatory when your house or property drainage is no longer watertight – meaning wastewater is leaking into the ground or, conversely, foreign water is entering the pipe. The Basel-Stadt Civil Engineering Department, Drainage and Watercourses Division, typically orders renovations as part of public sewer renovation projects in the respective street, for renovations requiring sewer applications, or after a reported condition survey. In the municipalities of Basel-Landschaft, the respective municipal administration, in cooperation with the cantonal Department of Construction and Environmental Protection, assumes this role. Other typical triggers include damp damage in the basement, recurring backflow problems, or conspicuous findings during camera inspection.

In über 90 % der Fälle nicht. Das grabenlose Inliner- und Sprayliner-Verfahren erlaubt einen Eingriff allein über bestehende Schächte und Revisionsöffnungen – keine Öffnung von Strasse, Vorplatz oder Garten. Genau deshalb setzt auch das Tiefbauamt Basel-Stadt bei eigenen Kanalsanierungsprojekten in der Innenstadt zunehmend auf dieses Verfahren. Voraussetzung für die grabenlose Ausführung ist ein geeigneter Zugang zur Anschlussleitung, beispielsweise über einen Kontrollschacht oder eine Putzöffnung im Keller. Ist dieser nicht vorhanden, wird er punktuell erstellt – was weit weniger aufwendig ist als eine komplette Aufgrabung.

From inquiry to the start of construction, you typically need to allow two to four weeks – depending on how quickly any necessary sewer permit is issued by the civil engineering department and whether coordination with public renovation work on the respective street is required. In an acute emergency with backup or pipe rupture, our deployment teams will be on-site within an hour. The renovation itself is completed within 1 to 3 working days for approximately 70 % of our Basel projects – correspondingly longer for large properties.

The technical service life of a professionally installed liner is 50 to 70 years, and significantly longer with moderate stress. The warranty is provided according to SIA Standard 190. Especially interesting for Basel property owners: The hydraulic performance of a liner-repaired pipe is usually better than that of the original jointed pipe due to the smooth, seamless inner surface. For commercial connections – for example, in the area of Basel's chemical and pharmaceutical companies – we use liners with increased chemical resistance, ensuring that even demanding wastewater compositions can be managed long-term.

Yes, a current camera inspection is a basic requirement for both technical and regulatory reasons. The Civil Engineering Office of Basel-Stadt requires, for sewage requests, a condition assessment according to VSA guidelines with damage coding according to EN 13508-2 in conjunction with DWA-M 149-2. If you do not have a current TV report, we will carry out the inspection with our high-resolution camera technology and create the complete inspection report as expected by the Basel and Basel-Landschaft authorities. We will consult documents from the property archive of the Civil Engineering Office, such as older sewage plans, upon request.

Generally yes. With renovations on the exterior pipe from the house to the public sewer, you as a resident will notice practically nothing. With Sprayliner work on vertical pipes inside the building, the affected pipe may be out of operation for a few hours – usually between half a day and a full workday per section. Especially in Basel apartment buildings with often two to four stories on one vertical pipe, we coordinate the work so that residents and tenants always have access to at least one functioning sanitary unit. Moving out has never been necessary in practice.

This depends on the trigger and your insurance situation. In the event of a sudden damage event – such as a burst pipe with water leakage and consequential damage – the building insurance of Basel-Stadt or the building insurance of Basel-Landschaft will usually cover the settlement of consequential damages. However, the canal rehabilitation itself is often classified as maintenance that preserves the value of the property and is the financial responsibility of the owner – in return, it is generally tax-deductible. In the case of age-related damage, there is usually no insurance coverage. In any case, we will provide complete documentation that your insurance company needs for damage assessment: TV report, damage assessment, photo documentation, and detailed invoice items.