Pipe bursting a sewer lateral under New York's code
Updated October 30, 2026 · 3-minute read · Old House Sewer Lines
Pipe bursting a house sewer is allowed in New York only on gravity pipe 6 inches or smaller, replaced at the same nominal size with high-density polyethylene. The state plumbing code also requires a recorded camera survey before the work and a second one afterward, approved by the building official.
The method breaks the old line apart underground and pulls a new one into the space it leaves. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes it as fragmenting the existing lateral into the surrounding soil, which creates a cavity for the new pipe (EPA, 2004). It is not dig-free. EPA notes that excavated entry points are needed at both ends of the run.
What the code says
Section 716 of New York's statewide plumbing code governs bursting of building sewers and building drains (2020 edition, Chapter 7). The rules, as written in that edition:
- Only gravity drainage pipe 6 inches and smaller may be burst, and it is replaced at the same nominal size.
- The replacement pipe must be HDPE with a standard dimension ratio (SDR) of 17, made to ASTM F714. Fittings follow ASTM D2683.
- The existing pipe must be filmed with a recorded video camera survey before work starts, with cleanouts and connection depths noted.
- After bursting, a second video goes to the building official, who must approve it before the new line is pressure tested.
- Cleanouts that are missing must be added.
A newer 2025 edition took effect on December 31, 2025, succeeding the 2020 text quoted here. Ask the building department which edition and section numbers your permit will cite. For the wider code picture, see the 2025 code's sewer rules.
Size, material and the old pipe
NASSCO's pipe-bursting specification guideline defines it as splitting or fracturing the old pipe while installing new polyethylene of the same size or larger, by static or pneumatic tools (NASSCO guideline, 2020). That guideline is written for public gravity mains. For a private building sewer, the state code's same-nominal-size rule is the one a building inspector applies.
FEMA notes that many sewer laterals at older homes are clay or cast iron (FEMA Urban Flooding guidance). Either can be a candidate for bursting. Whether a given line qualifies is decided from the first video, which shows its size, route, depth at connections and how many cleanouts exist. The sewer camera inspection item explains what that survey records.
Cleanouts and the house trap
The state code requires a cleanout at the junction of the building drain and building sewer, or within 10 feet upstream of it, plus cleanouts no more than 100 feet apart along sewers narrower than 8 inches (§708). Many older southern Westchester houses still have a house trap. The NYS Department of State notes that such a trap sometimes serves as the only cleanout at that junction, so taking it out can mean new cleanouts must go in (NYS DOS). See removing a house trap.
Who does the work
Pipe bursting is licensed contractor work with permits. Plumbers in the county are licensed by the Westchester County Board of Plumbing Examiners, and Yonkers has its own rules, so check there. The entry and exit pits are excavation, so a location request through 811 comes first, and 811 does not mark the private lateral itself; see the 811 rule in New York.
Background: in its 2004 review of lateral rehabilitation, EPA ranked dig-and-replace, for part or all of a failing lateral, as the most common and proven fix for leaks into private lines. Bursting is one way to do that replacement. Lining and spot repair are others; compare them in sewer line repair options and spot repair or full replacement.
Video from NASSCO Inc., an outside channel: An animation shows a bursting head breaking an old pipe in place while pulling a new pipe in behind it between two pits. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Key facts
- Bursting of building sewers is limited to gravity pipe 6 inches or smaller, replaced at the same nominal size (§716, state plumbing code).
- Replacement pipe: HDPE, SDR 17, ASTM F714; fittings to ASTM D2683 (ICC).
- A recorded video survey is required before the work, and a second video must be approved by the building official before pressure testing (ICC).
- Bursting needs excavated entry points at both ends (EPA).
- Removing an old house trap may require new cleanouts (NYS DOS).