Radio | News week in plain Finnish | Saturday 3.5.2025

Plumbing repair

The topic of the week in the news is home plumbing renovation.

Traditional pipe repairs take a long time and are expensive. New, fast methods have not been sustainable.

Traditional plumbing repair

Finns talk a lot about plumbing repairs. Plumbing repairs, or line renovations, in a house are major repairs and cost a lot.

In a traditional plumbing renovation, all the water and sewer pipes in a house or apartment are dismantled and replaced. At the same time, the bathrooms and their waterproofing and tiles are renovated.

Renovation generally costs 500-1500 euros per square meter of an apartment. For example, for an 80 square meter apartment, the price can be around 40,000-120,000 euros.

New methods

The new technology of pipe repair means that the pipes are not replaced.

In injection molding, the surface of the old pipe is coated.

Another method is sock lining, which involves installing a surface that resembles a sock inside the pipe.

With the new technology, the bathroom does not need to be dismantled. Therefore, it is cheaper. Residents can live in the home during the renovation.

Real Estate Association about new methods

It has now been noticed that the coating of pipes does not last long. The Finnish Real Estate Association says that pipe repairs have had to be done again quite soon.

For example, a housing company in Mukkula, Lahti, is already undergoing a new sewer renovation. The previous renovation was done using injection molding 13 years ago.

Soon, leaks and blockages were noticed in the pipes.

Coated pipes cannot be recoated. That’s why a new renovation is an expensive traditional plumbing renovation. It involves removing all the old.

The housing company may still have a bank loan from the old renovation, while you will need to take out a new loan.

Technology is evolving

Yle has interviewed experts about the new methods of plumbing repairs. They say that the installation has not always been professional. The new method requires a lot of practice.

The Southern Finland Pipe Coating Authority says that there are now high-quality products and installers know how to coat the pipes correctly.

However, many housing companies prefer traditional plumbing repairs because they have a long history of experience.

The topic of the week in the news was plumbing repairs.

Traditional pipe repairs take a long time and are expensive. However, new rapid methods have not been sustainable.