The Straight Answer
Lining vs. Coating: The Comparison the Sales Pitches Skip
Some companies only sell lining, so every pipe “needs” a liner. Some only sell coating, so every pipe “needs” coating. We install both — plus spot repairs, tunneling, and excavation — so the diagnosis picks the method, not the truck that happens to show up.
- We install both — the camera picks, not a quota
- Coat where you can, replace where you must
- Free second opinion on any lining or dig-up quote
Open 7 days · 8:00am–10:00pm ·
Free Second Opinion
Holding a lining or excavation quote? The second opinion is free.
Bring the quote. We camera the line for $299 with a formatted written report — credited in full to any repair — and tell you honestly which method the pipe actually calls for. If the other company’s plan is right, we’ll say exactly that.
Get the Free Second Opinion
Lining vs. Coating, Side by Side
The honest comparison — what each method is, where it wins, and its limits:
| Epoxy brush coating | Best for: corrosion, stacks & complex geometry | NSF/ANSI 61 certified (4"+, white coat) · ASTM tested · 1.25"–12" · navigates bends easily · back in service ~4 hrs after final coat |
| Cured-in-place lining (CIPP) | Best for: confirmed slope & structure | Structural sleeve · Florida code requires continuous end-to-end installation (ASTM F1216/F1743) — no gaps at branch connections |
| Inner diameter impact | Coating: minimal · Liner: ~¼" (≈5%) | Why lining is not recommended in 2" lines — coating works down to 1.25" |
| Stress on old fittings | Coating: none · Liner: inflation pressure | Curing pressure can crack brittle cast iron fittings; brush coating applies none |
| Permits (Florida) | Coating: none required · CIPP: permit + inspection | Brush coating is rehabilitation/maintenance work under the Florida Building Code — same status as descaling and jetting |
| Tunneling / excavation | Best for: collapsed or slope-defective lines | The replacement paths — tunneling spares your floors |
| The wrong choice | Any liner or coat over a bad slope | Neither method fixes belly or back-pitch — that takes replacement. Anyone who says otherwise is selling you their truck |
A 10-year warranty is available on restoration work (10-year coating material warranty plus 1/5/10-year workmanship tiers); separately, the epoxy coating carries a 30–50 year design life.
Not combinable — customers receive the greater of any membership discount or promotional offer.
Three Options — You Choose
Coating Wins When…
Corrosion, not collapse
- Vertical stacks — corrosion problems, not structural failures
- Small diameters (down to 1.25"), tight bends, complex geometry
- Occupied buildings needing ~4-hr return to service
- No permit, no fitting stress, no gapping risk
Lining Wins When…
Structure confirmed
- Slope and structure verified on camera
- Long horizontal runs with localized cracking
- Installed continuously to ASTM F1216/F1743 — never gapped
- A structural sleeve is genuinely needed
Replacement Wins When…
The pipe is done
Financing available
- Collapse, severe bellies, lost slope
- Tunneling under the home spares floors
- Sometimes the honest answer is a new pipe
Warranty
Why You Can Trust the Recommendation
We have no method quota to hit: brush coating (the Picote system), lining, spot repairs, tunneling, and excavation are all on our trucks. The camera evidence is shown to you, the reasoning is explained in plain English, and the price for every viable path is flat and in writing.
The Honest-Options Promise
No Scare Tactics. No Quotas.
We show you the camera footage, give you three options and real prices. No scare tactics. No sales quotas. Rejecting fear-based selling is Kyle Plumbing’s stated company mission — and the reason 50,000+ South Florida customers have trusted this team.
What Happens After You Call
-
1 ~1 hour
Camera the line
$299 with a written report, credited — or free on-screen with any service call.
-
2 Same visit
Read the evidence
Wall condition, slope, structure — the three facts that pick the method.
-
3 Your timeline
Choose with real prices
Every viable method quoted flat. No pressure — the pipe isn’t going anywhere.
The Question Nobody Asks Their Bidder
“What happens if my pipe’s slope is bad?” A liner is a sleeve: it follows the host pipe exactly, bellies and back-falls included. Coating is a surface: it restores the wall but adds no structure. Neither fixes slope — only re-laying the pipe does. A bidder who never mentions slope is selling you their method, not your fix.
Then ask about gapping. Since April 2024, the Florida Building Code has required CIPP lining to comply with ASTM F1216/F1743 — a continuous liner, end to end, with no gaps at branch connections — and a February 2025 Florida Building Commission declaratory statement confirmed that gapped, start-and-stop, and hybrid lining methods do not meet code. Yet gapped installs were sold across South Florida for years: unlined gaps where old cast iron keeps corroding, liner edges that snag debris, entry points for roots and infiltration — and milestone and SIRS inspections are now surfacing them, with documented failures already on record in Palm Beach County. Our CIPP compliance audit exists because of exactly this.
Coating sidesteps the controversy entirely — there is no liner to gap, no inflation pressure to crack brittle fittings, and under the Florida Building Code brush coating is rehabilitation/maintenance work requiring no permit, the same status as descaling and jetting. Its honest limits: it is not structural, and like lining it cannot fix slope. Coating a collapsed pipe wastes money; so does excavating a line a four-hour coating would have restored.
One more thing your bidder should tell you: a lined or coated pipe changes how the line is serviced afterward. Cables and snakes damage liners and are excluded under coating warranties alike — future maintenance belongs to careful jetting and the installer who documented the work. The method should be the last decision, not the first. Camera first, evidence on screen, flat prices for every path that genuinely fits — then you choose.
Board or property manager? The building version of this decision has its own page — including the CIPP compliance audit.
Condo, HOA & CommercialFrequently Asked Questions
Is coating just cheap lining?
No — they’re different tools. Coating rebuilds the wall of a structurally sound pipe and reaches places liners can’t: diameters down to 1.25", tight bends, multi-branch stacks — with minimal diameter loss, while a liner takes roughly a quarter inch. Lining adds a structural sleeve where one is genuinely needed. Price follows the pipe, not the label.
What is “gapping,” and why does it matter?
Gapping is installing liner segments with unlined gaps left at branch connections — faster and cheaper for the contractor, and non-compliant: Florida code requires continuous liners to ASTM F1216/F1743 with robotic reinstatement at every branch. At each gap the old pipe keeps corroding, liner edges catch debris, and roots get in. Gapped installs are now being flagged in milestone and SIRS inspections — it’s exactly what our $650 compliance audit documents.
Does coating need a permit?
No. Under the Florida Building Code, brush-applied epoxy coating is rehabilitation and maintenance work — the same status as descaling, jetting, and camera inspection. CIPP lining, by contrast, requires a permit and post-installation inspection in Florida.
How is a coated or lined pipe serviced afterward?
Carefully — and by the installer. Cables and snakes damage liners and are excluded under coating warranties alike. Maintenance shifts to jetting with appropriate pressure and the documentation trail from the install. It’s one more reason the method decision deserves evidence up front.
Do you actually install both?
Yes — brush coating, targeted and full-run lining, spot repairs, tunneling, and excavation. That’s the point: when every method is on the truck, the diagnosis has no thumb on the scale.
Someone quoted me a full-length liner. Should I worry?
Not necessarily — full liners are the right call for confirmed-slope, confirmed-structure runs. Worry if nobody cameraed the line first, nobody mentioned slope, or the quote arrived before the evidence. The free second opinion settles it either way.
What warranty applies to each method?
Restoration work has a 10-year warranty available: the coating material carries a 10-year manufacturer warranty, with written workmanship tiers of 1, 5, and 10 years. Design life is a separate number — 30–50 years for the epoxy coating.