Trenchless sewer repair: pipe lining and pipe bursting

They solve different problems. Lining keeps the existing pipe as a shell and works when the pipe still holds its shape. Bursting replaces the pipe and can upsize it, but needs pits at both ends and room for the old pipe to split. A collapsed section rules out lining at that spot.

Manufacturers rate CIPP liners for decades of service. Real life depends on installation quality and on the host pipe being properly cleaned and prepared, which is why the post-lining camera recording matters.

A properly installed liner has no joints for roots to enter along the lined length. Roots can still enter at an unlined connection or where the liner ends, so ask where those transitions are.

Slightly, by the liner's wall thickness. The smooth, jointless surface usually offsets that for flow in a residential lateral.

Per foot of pipe it usually isn't. It becomes the cheaper option overall when digging would mean removing and replacing a driveway, hardscape or large trees.

Not by lining alone. A liner follows the existing slope, so waste keeps collecting in a sag. Bursting can sometimes correct grade; otherwise the low section is excavated.

Lining is designed around the host pipe's condition. Industry specifications distinguish partially deteriorated pipe from fully deteriorated pipe that the liner must structurally replace. Collapsed or badly deformed pipe is usually a candidate for bursting or replacement instead.