Method and apparatus for installing a liner material into a host conduit such
as, e.g., a sewer pipe, hydrocarbon pipeline, gas line, water line, industrial
chemical pipe, or a saltwater line. The liner material may include a compression
liner and/or a preliner that is attached to the inner wall of the host conduit
to repair or reinforce the host conduit or separate the host conduit from materials
transported within the new liner formed from the liner material. Curable resin,
slurry, or cement can be placed between the liner material and the host conduit
to affix the liner material into place. Before and during curing, a fluid such
as air or water can be used to inflate the compression liner outwardly toward the
host conduit. Spacers positioned between at least a portion of the liner material
and the host conduit may be used to (i) calibrate the thickness of the liner material
and curable material that is cured to form the new liner, and (ii) form communication
channels adapted to house devices such as wire, cable, fiber optic cable, telephone
lines, power lines, etc. The spacers and channels can be selectively inflatable
to various sizes to allow calibration of the liner thickness and to form communication
channels having a selected width or height. Additionally, the liner material may
be formed into a one-piece, tubular lining member having an inflatable enclosure
defined between an inner and an outer layer of the lining member. The enclosure
can be selectively inflated to (i) calibrate the resulting thickness of the cured
liner material, and (ii) form communication channels running along the length of
the host conduit.