Built to spec
Built to your engineered drawings, survey, and the real site conditions, not a one-size-fits-all approach forced to fit.
Pipe Bursting in Scarborough is trenchless replacement that breaks the old pipe outward while pulling new pipe through the same path.
Tell us what you need and we’ll get you a quote. Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
Built to your engineered drawings, survey, and the real site conditions, not a one-size-fits-all approach forced to fit.
Durable materials and methods chosen for the load, traffic, and environment on site.
Send specs, drawings, or photos and get a free, no-obligation site visit and estimate with no guesswork.
Installation and site work completed in accordance with Ontario requirements.
Static bursting pulls a tapered expander and replacement pipe through the fractured host using a rod or cable system. Pneumatic bursting uses a percussive tool in suitable ground and pipe conditions. Splitting heads are selected for ductile host materials that do not shatter readily. The method can replace or sometimes upsize a pipe, but it is not appropriate where utilities, rigid connections, ground displacement, bends, access, or host alignment cannot be controlled.
Step 1,
Step 2, We start with records, survey, utility locates, CCTV where the pipe can be inspected, and selective daylighting by vacuum excavation. Ontario One Call locate responses are treated as a starting control, then the actual utility position is verified where clearances govern the burst.
CCTV identifies protruding services, roots, scale, offsets, sags, obstructions, and partial collapse. We compare the recorded diameter with field measurements and trace material transitions because ductile iron, cast iron, vitrified clay, concrete, PVC, steel repairs, and encased segments do not fracture in the same way.
Step 3, The work plan defines the bursting head, expander outside diameter, pull length, pit geometry, rod path, pulling unit reaction, new pipe bend radius, fusion area, traffic control, bypass pumping or temporary water, and service interruption sequence. Canadian municipal guidance commonly limits the created annular space. Edmonton's municipal pipe bursting specification, for example, limits the design maximum space to 15 percent more than the replacement pipe outside diameter. That constraint matters because excessive expansion increases surface heave and utility displacement risk.
Step 4, We isolate flow, excavate and shore the pits, remove obstructions that cannot pass the head, and build the pipe string on rollers in a clean laydown lane. Fusible polyethylene is butt fused into a continuous string where specified, and each fusion is documented. During the pull, the operator maintains steady advance while the crew observes pulling force, pit reaction, pipe entry, ground movement, and exposed crossings.
A force spike triggers investigation rather than more power. After pullback, we allow the pipe to relax before trimming, coupling, or reconnecting. Gravity sewers receive post-installation CCTV and specified leakage or deflection checks. Pressure pipelines are flushed, tested, disinfected where potable, and commissioned under the owner's approved procedure.
Step 5, After pullback, Harrowgate checks the pipe ends, joints, line, connections, services, structures, and any observed surface response. Testing and final inspection are completed before pits close and permanent restoration removes access.
Have drawings for pipe bursting in Scarborough? Send them over and we will scope it.
Yes, pipe bursting can install a larger replacement pipe when cover, soil, utility clearances, host material, connection elevations, and bursting equipment support the required expansion. The increase is engineered for the corridor. Harrowgate verifies displacement risk and hydraulic geometry before accepting an upsizing plan.
Brittle materials such as vitrified clay, cast iron, and some concrete pipes are common candidates. Ductile materials, steel repairs, heavy couplings, concrete encasement, and unusual transitions need cutting, splitting equipment, or a point excavation. CCTV and record review determine whether the full route is burstable.
No. Pipe bursting reduces continuous trenching, but it still requires launch and receiving pits plus access at services, obstructions, valves, fittings, or grade corrections. The commercial advantage depends on how many excavations remain and how much pavement, traffic control, landscaping, and site operation disruption they avoid.
Each active lateral is located, disconnected from the host pipe, protected from the bursting operation, and reconnected to the new main using the specified fitting and seal. Harrowgate coordinates bypass or interruption requirements, documents every connection, and verifies the completed main by CCTV before acceptance.
Not reliably without direct correction. A replacement pipe often follows the existing path, so a sag can remain. When grade must be restored, Harrowgate places an access pit at the low section, corrects the bedding elevation, and controls the new invert before continuing the burst and post-installation CCTV.
We review records, obtain Ontario One Call locates, daylight critical crossings, assess soil and cover, control the expander size, and monitor exposed utilities and ground movement during pullback. An abnormal force increase stops the operation for investigation. Clearance is verified in the field where displacement could affect another asset.
Provide alignment and profile drawings, host pipe material and diameter, CCTV, service locations, geotechnical data, utility records, flow information, shutdown limits, surface restoration requirements, and available staging space. Harrowgate uses these details to define pits, equipment, replacement pipe, bypass needs, reconnections, testing, and restoration.
Acceptance depends on service. Gravity sewer work typically includes connection verification, post-installation CCTV, grade review, and specified leakage or deflection testing. Pressure pipe work includes joint records, pressure testing, flushing, and commissioning. Potable water sections also follow MECP disinfection and microbiological sampling requirements before connection.
Brittle host pipe is fractured and displaced into the surrounding ground while the replacement pipe occupies the path. Ductile materials may be split. The investigation must identify materials, repairs, encasement, and nearby utilities because fragments and ground movement affect risk.
Still have a question about pipe bursting in Scarborough? Ask our team directly.
Commercial and heavy-civil construction delivered for developers, contractors, property managers, and municipalities.
Send drawings, a site plan, or a description of the scope. Harrowgate Group is licensed, insured, and WSIB-covered.
Licensed, Insured & WSIB-Covered, work managed and documented on every job
Tell us what you need and we’ll get you a quote. Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
Harrowgate Group provides pipe bursting, delivered and installed with quote-ready support across Toronto and surrounding Ontario communities.
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Harrowgate Group delivers commercial and heavy-civil construction for developers, contractors, institutions, municipalities, and property groups across Ontario.
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