Plumbing problem from Hell

[DGersic]

Now you’re making progress. Happy digging.

 

[larry4406]

Last year, I completely re-modeled the front bathroom, replacing the sink, toilet and tearing out the bathtub and put in a large shower. Having never had done this before, I screwed up and failed to hook up the shower drain to the sewer line before installing the shower, which left the shower unusable. The shower is a foot away from the East cleanouts and above the elbow that will be replaced, so in order to avoid having to crawl from the East access port to the work area, I got out the shovel and dug out a tunnel under the house.

Today we cut, replace and hook up drain lines

This statement is a little concerning that plumbing might be a little over your head.

I hope you really meant that the shower drain connection was intentionally deferred while your worked on other remodeling aspects...

Clogged sewers are a PIA.

 

[softailgarage]

This statement is a little concerning that plumbing might be a little over your head.

I hope you really meant that the shower drain connection was intentionally deferred while your worked on other remodeling aspects...

I'm not a construction guy, I have no experience with re-modeling, other than the kitchen I did before this. Plumbing is no problem, I learned during my first job out of high school building water treatment systems. That carried over to the plating industry, plumbing tanks on the line. I've installed toilets, sinks, faucets, etc. More of a "do it tomorrow" thing, suddenly its a year later.

 

[acer66]

Man that is a lot of work and I wish you the best and at least once you are done you should have a top notch drain.

 

[andyvh1959]

After you get the clog resolved its still a good idea to check the vent system. My kitchen sink would gurgle, burp, drain and repeat until it eventually drained. After clearing traps, etc, still gurgle and burp. So up on the roof thinking I could send drain cleaner and/or a snake down the vent. No success even with the nastiest strongest guaranteed to work drain cleaner. So I ended up cutting a hole in the ceiling of the room below the kitchen to access the drain plumbing, and then also up into the attic above the kitchen to access the vent line. Found the vent line was pitched wrong. Over decades of falling leaves, who knows what else, the vent formed a very solid dirt plug about 15' down into the vent from the top.

I got aceess into the vent at the top, and access into drain at the bottom and eventually dug out/broke up/flushed out the plug. I could actually feel the snake dig into the plug and bring pieces out. Once through I flushed gallons of water down from the top, into a five gallon pail under the open drain. Then all back together, and I made a cap for the vent stack that allowed air in but no leaves, birds whatever ****. I can slip the cap off to clean the vent if ever needed. Since then the sink/dishwasher drain like they should, no more gurgle/burp. I also created a nice framed panel on the ceiling of the den under the kitchen so I can access the plumbing if needed.

Point is, if the vent is clogged, even partially, it slows the flow from the sink/shower/toilet into the drain system under the floor and makes items that could clog more likely to not "go with the flow" and start to settle in the worst places.

 

[softailgarage]

After you get the clog resolved its still a good idea to check the vent system. My kitchen sink would gurgle, burp, drain and repeat until it eventually drained. After clearing traps, etc, still gurgle and burp. So up on the roof thinking I could send drain cleaner and/or a snake down the vent. No success even with the nastiest strongest guaranteed to work drain cleaner. So I ended up cutting a hole in the ceiling of the room below the kitchen to access the drain plumbing, and then also up into the attic above the kitchen to access the vent line. Found the vent line was pitched wrong. Over decades of falling leaves, who knows what else, the vent formed a very solid dirt plug about 15' down into the vent from the top.

I got aceess into the vent at the top, and access into drain at the bottom and eventually dug out/broke up/flushed out the plug. I could actually feel the snake dig into the plug and bring pieces out. Once through I flushed gallons of water down from the top, into a five gallon pail under the open drain. Then all back together, and I made a cap for the vent stack that allowed air in but no leaves, birds whatever ****. I can slip the cap off to clean the vent if ever needed. Since then the sink/dishwasher drain like they should, no more gurgle/burp. I also created a nice framed panel on the ceiling of the den under the kitchen so I can access the plumbing if needed.

Point is, if the vent is clogged, even partially, it slows the flow from the sink/shower/toilet into the drain system under the floor and makes items that could clog more likely to not "go with the flow" and start to settle in the worst places.

So what would happen of I poured water down the vent if the vent was the problem?

 

[reader2580]

So what would happen of I poured water down the vent if the vent was the problem?

If you run a hose into the vent it should eventually overflow if the vent is blocked.

 

[ChevyEFI]

So what would happen of I poured water down the vent if the vent was the problem?

I can't speak for your property, but dropping a hose with the medium blow bag down the vent and cranking the water wide open shouldn't hurt anything. Hope you get past this issue with the 90 and anything else, and your dedication pays off.

 

[softailgarage]

Days 19 & 20

Got a rip roarin start yesterday. I dug out the "hole" more for better access. First thing we noticed was an outlet, electrical outlet had been installed under the house. This is a mystery, nobody knows anything about it or how it got there. If you noticed the pvc piping on the wall, there was at one time a water softener there. I'm thinking the outlet was installed by the company to plug in a meter, I do know that it (the outlet) was burned up and melted. Story is that 10 years ago, this side of the house started having electrical issues, blowing fuses, so bad that a new fuse box was added outside and this side completely re-wired. I bet I can guess what the issue was...

We had decided to remove all the water softener lines as part of the project AFTER taking care of the clog. That plan changed when her brother inadvertanly kicked the inlet pipe, breaking it and sending water everywhere. Shut off the water and re-grouped. We decided the easiest, quickest way to resolve this would be plex hose and sharkbite fittings. Mobile home plumbing is different than a regular house. The majority of the lines coming in are plex and push fittings and it really ***** having to work with them. We put together a list of fittings and hoses, one being a transition from plex to pvc. This stuff is expensive, I walked out of HD about $85 lighter. Got it together and guess what, that transition piece leaked. No problem, its Sharbite, we'll just pop out the hose, no. Freaking thing will not release. I've got the stupid little orange tool, it don't work, I've got quick disconnects, they don't work. Cut the F'in line and start over. Instead , this time we go to Mobile Home Depot, a HD for , well, mobile homes. Its been about a year since I'd been inside and now they carry an off brand version of Sharkbite at a fraction of the cost Should have gone there first.

The whole day Saturday was a complete clusterfrick, but we did finally manage to get rid of the water softener lines, roots and all, got the shower drain hooked up and finally, finally got a shower. As it stands right now, we have one fully functioning bathroom and shower, can do laundry and use the kitchen sink without anything backing up. The master bathroom has not overflowed but is still down. Her brother brought up an idea, instead of crawling under and cutting the line, we couyld access it from above. remove the toilet, sink and vanity from the front bathroom, since its right above our target. Problem with that is, if there is an issue that puts a stop to the work, now we wont have a toilet or shower again and the way **** flows around here, you can bet there will be a problem. A few hours later that idea was scrapped. New plan, we know a guy that if we pay him, he'll go under and do the dirty work. Can you tell neither one of us want to go under there? To be continued...

 

[reader2580]

If you care, some of those cheaper push connectors for plumbing are one time use only. Menards here sells plastic push connectors that are pretty cheap, but I am pretty sure they are one time use. I wouldn't trust them long term, but I bought a couple of the caps once for temporary use.

 

[softailgarage]

SUCCESS!!!
Got the clog out without going under.

To be continued....(time for a shower)

 

[softailgarage]

Day 21

Walked out back this morning and was greeted by a large puddle around the West cleanout, overflowed. After about 30 minutes of "bladder control", I managed to partially (I say "partially " because it fills up again) clear the clog. This is the C/O that is last in line, about 50' from the street and city sewer line. I had been trying to borrow a snake from a maintenance guy and today it came thru. A 50', motor powered snake with a small but strong cable and big *** cutter. First I ran it down the West C/O to make sure it was clear. Then I stuck the hose down to flush out anything that got left behind. I let it go for 5 minutes, no issues, but as I retrieved the hose I noticed it had started to fill. No worries, I put a large amount of water down it, figured I had just overloaded it.

Next I took it to the bathroom, the problem bathroom and ran it down the toilet drain, toilet still off. The source or location of the major clog, the 90degree elbow that we were going to have to cut and replace is 34' from the toilet, so the 50' cable will reach. We had attempted this before with the HD rentals but the cable was too big to make the initial bend. This cable went right down and got to work. It took about 10 minutes getting thru smaller clogs until I reached the dreaded elbow. Another 30 minutes of cutting and finally made it into the elbow. At this point I pulled the cable and went out to the South C/O (the 2 C/O's next to the pit). The South C/O is about 20' from the elbow, I figured I would attack from the other side. I hit the clog and after another 10 minutes, I suddenly felt and heard the sound of water and debris rushing thru the pipes. **** yeah!

Went inside to inspect the problem toilet drain, it was clear. Brought the snake in one more time, to make sure it was clear. It breezed thru past the elbow. As I dragged the cable out onto the reel, I saw it had brought something with it. 2 Pieces, about 3"x 2" each, that appeared to be wood, like plywood. Not wanting them to slip back down to clog again, I stuck the wet/dry vac down to "grab" them. In my attempts to get them stuck to the hose, they started to break apart and swiftly entered the vacuum. What I thought were two pieces of wood was actually a thick sheet like crystal, as if minerals had crystallized and formed a wall. The desert water is terrible and full of lime and after years and years made itself a dam inside the pipe. Got the toilet back on, flushed like a dream. No backup in the shower, sink is good.

Started cleaning up and noticed the West C/O still hadn't drained, so I ran the snake down it again, the full 50' and still wouldn't drain, so I ran the large bladder and hit what felt like a clog at about 45', 5 feet short of the City line. 5 more feet and I could call the City and have them clear it. By now it was dinner time and I was done effin with this. In the morning I'll call the City, tell them there's a clog at the 50' mark and have them clear it. Screw it. Had dinner and then took a nice long hot shower in the new shower. To be continued...

 

[softailgarage]

Day's 22 & 23....The end.

I was on the phone with the Wastewater Department at 9:15 Tuesday morning. I explained what was going on, she remembered me and not sounding real excited, sent out a kid to check the flow. Kid said it looked fine and that's where any help from the City ended. I spent the day switching between the bladder and snake, nothing budged. There was nothing else I could due, so, I swallowed my pride and called a local septic company . $200 They would pump out the drain and clear the clog. Today they showed up about 5 and it took them a while, they had to go max psi, 4000 psi blew out whatever was blocking. Left a big mess too, which pissed off the neighbor that was out for the week. Spent the evening cleaning up, shoveling more dirt, filled in the pit. Hope you enjoyed the story...I didn't. Thank you for all the suggestions, idea's, etc. and thanks for reading, writing about it helps relieve the stress of dealing with it.

 

[PoorUB]

Geez, you have a lot more patience than me!

Occasionally our sewer started geting slow. I had it snaked once, (maybe twice?) and it worked fine for a couple years, then had to have it snaked again. The last time they ran a camera dow the line, and we found an issue with the main. Once I saw the video there was not discussion of the proper repair, just how much and when. We all knew it would plug up again, the only question was when? The next day I had a contractor come over and look at it, and they were there with the crew a couple days later and dug up each end and relined the main from the house the the city's sewer main. Less than a week spent, and $8500 and it has been fine ever since.

 

[DGersic]

Day's 22 & 23....The end.

I was on the phone with the Wastewater Department at 9:15 Tuesday morning. I explained what was going on, she remembered me and not sounding real excited, sent out a kid to check the flow. Kid said it looked fine and that's where any help from the City ended. I spent the day switching between the bladder and snake, nothing budged. There was nothing else I could due, so, I swallowed my pride and called a local septic company . $200 They would pump out the drain and clear the clog. Today they showed up about 5 and it took them a while, they had to go max psi, 4000 psi blew out whatever was blocking. Left a big mess too, which pissed off the neighbor that was out for the week. Spent the evening cleaning up, shoveling more dirt, filled in the pit. Hope you enjoyed the story...I didn't. Thank you for all the suggestions, idea's, etc. and thanks for reading, writing about it helps relieve the stress of dealing with it.

It’s the best kind of plumbing failure story. The kind that ends.

 

[softailgarage]

Geez, you have a lot more patience than me!

Occasionally our sewer started geting slow. I had it snaked once, (maybe twice?) and it worked fine for a couple years, then had to have it snaked again. The last time they ran a camera dow the line, and we found an issue with the main. Once I saw the video there was not discussion of the proper repair, just how much and when. We all knew it would plug up again, the only question was when? The next day I had a contractor come over and look at it, and they were there with the crew a couple days later and dug up each end and relined the main from the house the the city's sewer main. Less than a week spent, and $8500 and it has been fine ever since.

Patience AND tenacity. The one thing I regret not doing was getting a camera as suggested. Still may get one for routine inspection, plus I can use it for other things, like inspecting the wiring, etc.

 

[scooterbum46]

Did you consider replacing that 90 degree ell that was a source of trouble w/a pair of 45's?