This page is about the money: what relining costs against what digging costs, and why the gap swings so far from one yard to the next. Which method is the better fix for a given fault, and whether relining is worth it at all, are covered on our pipe relining vs pipe replacement page. On cost alone, relining wins when digging would wreck something you then have to put back, and digging wins when the pipe is shallow, short and sitting in open ground. Here is how the two prices stack up on a Gold Coast job.
Relining vs replacement: the pricing
| Method | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe relining (no-dig) | $400 to $600+ per linear metre installed | Liner, resin, cure and the reinstatement of junctions. No excavation, no surface repair |
| Dig and replace | Quoted on inspection | Excavation, new pipe, backfill and whatever surface reinstatement the site needs |
| CCTV drain inspection | $200 to $350 | The camera survey that decides which method suits. Often credited against a clear or relining job |
We do not publish a figure for dig-and-replace because no single figure would hold up from one yard to the next. Two pipes of the same length can cost wildly different amounts to replace depending on what sits above them, which is the whole point of this page.
Why relining usually wins under a slab, driveway or garden
The liner itself is only part of what you pay for on either method. The real difference is everything that happens on the surface. A relining job goes in through an existing access point, an inspection opening or a gully, and comes out the same way. The lawn, the driveway and the tiles never know it happened.
Replacing that same pipe means opening a trench along its full length. Where the pipe runs under a concrete slab, that is cutting and breaking out concrete, then pouring it back and waiting for it to cure before anyone can walk on it. Under a driveway, it is saw-cutting, carting the broken concrete or pavers away, and re-laying or re-pouring the surface so it does not sink later. Through an established garden, it is pulling out plants that took years to grow, moving retaining walls and irrigation, and putting back turf that will look patchy for a season. Around a pool, it is lifting the deck and coping, working carefully around the pool's own buried lines, and getting it all back watertight.
Every one of those steps costs machinery hire, labour beyond the plumbing itself, spoil removal, backfill and compaction, and often a second trade such as a concreter or tiler to make the surface good again. Digging also takes days rather than a day, and the yard is a worksite the whole time. None of that appears in a per-metre relining rate because none of it happens on a relining job. That is why a relining quote at $400 to $600+ per metre so often lands below the replacement quote once the replacement quote is honest about reinstatement.
When digging is genuinely cheaper
We reline a lot of pipe, but we do not pretend it is always the cheaper option. Digging wins when the pipe is close to the surface, the run is short, and the ground above it is open lawn or bare soil that nobody minds being disturbed. A failed joint just inside the boundary, a short section between the house and the first inspection opening, or a drain along the side of the house with nothing over it can be exposed, cut out and replaced with new PVC in a few hours. In that situation a liner is overkill, and we will tell you so.
Digging is also the right call when the damage is a single point rather than a stretch of tired pipe. Relining is priced per metre, so lining one bad joint means lining the section around it. If the rest of that pipe is sound, a spot excavation and a new fitting is the sensible fix.
Pipes a liner cannot save
A liner needs a host pipe to sit inside. If the pipe has collapsed, the liner has nowhere to go. If a joint has dropped so far that the two ends no longer line up, the liner cannot bridge that step without leaving a lip that catches everything flowing past. Crushed pipe, a section that has been pushed out of line by a slab movement, or a pipe that has lost its bottom entirely all need to be dug and replaced, or at least dug at that one point before the rest is lined.
This is why we camera the line before quoting either method. The footage shows whether the pipe is cracked but intact, which relines beautifully, or broken and displaced, which does not. A relining quote given without a camera survey is a guess, and a dig quote given without one is often a bigger job than the pipe needed.
How to compare the two quotes properly
- Ask for both quotes on the same length of pipe, from the same start point to the same end point.
- Ask the dig quote to itemise reinstatement: concrete, paving, turf, plants, retaining walls, and who is doing each part.
- Ask what happens if the excavation hits other services such as stormwater, gas or electrical, and who carries that cost.
- Ask how many days the yard will be open and what access you lose while it is.
- Ask about the warranty on each. Relining liners commonly carry long material warranties, and the workmanship warranty should be written on the invoice either way.
- Ask whether the camera fee is credited if you go ahead with the work.
How we handle it
Jieye puts a camera down first, at $200 to $350, and shows you the footage. If the pipe is a candidate for relining, you get a fixed per-metre price on the exact length that needs it. If a short dig is the smarter fix, you get a fixed quote for that instead. If the pipe is collapsed and only a dig will do, you hear that on the day rather than after a liner has failed to go in. The camera fee is often credited against whichever job you book.
Want to know which method your drain actually needs? Call Hills Plumbing & Gas on 0472 657 042 or book through our Pipe Relining service page. Camera first, then a straight answer on relining or digging.