Pipe Rehabilitation in Berlin

We refurbish pipework throughout Berlin, from the Gruenderzeit building in Kreuzberg (Berlin's late nineteenth century housing stock) to the Plattenbau (prefabricated concrete panel building) on the edge of the city. Every quotation of ours starts with a camera inspection for 350 to 600 Euro, which we offset against the refurbishment costs when the order is placed. We do not name a price over the telephone, because the pipe routing in Berlin period buildings is almost never documented and only the camera survey shows whether refurbishment from the inside is possible at all.

Pricing is per linear metre and per method, separately for drinking water, heating and waste water. Added to that are the items other providers like to submit later: flushing, drying, isolation and recommissioning, the pressure test, sampling in the case of drinking water, and the handover documentation. Not included in the metre price are chasing work and the restoration of tiles, Estrich (floor screed) and paintwork. We show these trades separately and take responsibility for them as main contractor, from a single source.

Enquiries come from owners, owners associations and property managers. For resolutions of a WEG (Wohnungseigentuemergemeinschaft, the association of flat owners) we provide the quotation item by item and split by riser, so that the meeting can decide on individual sections. From the inspection through the choice of method to handover we allow one to three weeks, of which one to five days are for the work itself. Property managers receive one contact person for the whole process.

Whether refurbishment from the inside is possible is decided by the camera findings, not by the wish for the cheaper solution. We check the pipe material, the nominal diameter, the joints and whether the pipe is still structurally sound. In Berlin buildings up to about 1970 we mostly find galvanised steel pipes with a typical service life of 40 to 50 years, and from the 1970s onwards predominantly copper. Encrusted but structurally intact pipes are the classic case for a pipe-in-pipe system.

For the internal coating of drinking water pipes we allow 80 to 180 Euro per metre, and for the cured-in-place lining of waste water and underground drainage pipes 120 to 250 Euro per metre. In total, relining comes out around 30 to 40 percent below open pipe replacement, because chasing work, drywall and painting are avoided. For drinking water we only use systems in accordance with DVGW code of practice W 542, and we sample the pipe after curing.

We also turn work down. If pipes are broken, badly deformed or too narrow in cross section, a coating achieves nothing, and we then cost the open renewal at 150 to 350 Euro per metre. And if a new bathroom is being built anyway, replacement with the wall already open is usually the more economical decision, because the expensive incidental work is then already part of the construction sequence. You receive this assessment before the quotation, not later on site.

The real trouble spots in Gruenderzeit buildings lie beneath basements and courtyards: underground drainage pipes with cracks, root ingress and deposits. Refurbished without excavation, a linear metre of underground drainage pipe costs 150 to 400 Euro in Berlin, with the nominal diameter, the laying depth and the accessibility of the inspection chambers making the difference. For waste water pipes and the house connection up to the street, the total costs come to 3.000 to 20.000 Euro depending on length and depth.

In Berlin, access often matters more than the pipe. A courtyard inside a perimeter block is barely reachable with machinery, standing areas have to be agreed and paving has to be reinstated. Whether a short liner is enough for a single point of damage or a cured-in-place liner has to cover the whole section is something we determine only after the camera survey. The work takes one to three days per section, and the handover includes a second camera survey with recordings for the insurer and the property manager.

In a Strangsanierung (the refurbishment of a complete riser) we renew or reline the rising pipes across all floors. In occupied buildings we work in stages, usually one floor per week, so that nobody has to manage without water for longer than necessary. The isolation takes from a few hours up to a day per section, and residents can stay in their flats. We agree the dates with the property manager and give written notice of every section.

For the relining of one riser in an apartment building we come to 5.000 to 15.000 Euro, a complete pipe replacement starts at 15.000 Euro, and repiping a building with six units in full ranges from 40.000 to over 100.000 Euro. We cost each riser separately and propose an order based on urgency, so that an owners association can spread the work over several financial years. Pipe refurbishment counts as maintenance and can be commissioned by majority resolution; there is no dedicated BEG funding for it, and at most other measures within the overall package are eligible.