stupid plumber tricks...

[Neal Clayton]

so i've had a recurring drainage issue with the sewer line from my house, that has taken many forms. the house is over 100 years old and like so many others from that era before washing machines and dishwashers and such, shared a community drain line before the main with a few other houses, which the city decided to upgrade last year. the first issue was water coming up in my yard through the old line, which they determined to be the fault of city's half drunk contractor failing to tie the house on the corner into the new main he'd just put under the street.

then i had backup into my basement, which the city determined to be a tree root growing through the old line before the new main, which they were able to push through with a roto rooter, and i thought at that point all was well.

as of a couple of days ago it's basement water again, and this time it seems to be beneath the house, not the city's fault.

ok, fine, i call the rooter service out myself, and we try to go through the floor drain in the basement, have trouble getting past the trap. maybe another tree root? so we pull the downstairs toilet and start from there, get a bit further down, run into something, guy says he can't get through, but the water starts to flow. back it out, try again, this time i go watch the clean out in the front yard, looking for debris, notta. then i hear grinding metal, yell "WHOA" at the top of my lungs, and he pulls it out again (thankfully).

not sure why we're hitting metal, he unloads his TV line and runs it down in there...

the verdict? the last rooter service that the previous owners had in here apparently broke off their snake in the pipe, and just left it there

so i guess the lesson is, if ya ever have a rooter service come out, look at the end of his machine before he loads it back up, if it's missing the hook, don't let him go!

[Stephen Tashiro]

I've noticed that homeowner's plumbing snakes come in two levels of quality. One type is the hollow spring. The other kind has a steel cable that runs inside the snake. I assume that's so if the snake breaks, you can still pull it out with the cable. I wonder if all commercial plumbing snakes have the cable.

[jerry nazard]

Plumbers and sewer lines quite often do not work well together ... ask me how I know this. In the building trades, I have met my share of blithering idiots, most of these morons being plumbers.

[phil harold]

Also if there is tree roots in a sewer line roto rooter is a temporary fix
Tree roots grow back...

[Caspar Hauser]

In the building trades, I have met my share of blithering idiots, most of these morons being plumbers.

Oohh, you've started one with that!

[Brian Effinger]

In the building trades, I have met my share of blithering idiots, most of these morons being plumbers.

Only a plumber knows how to hack away 90% of a floor joist for a sanitary line and think it is OK.

[Phil Thien]

I had a plumber drop not one but TWO bits from his snake in my sewer line.

He was running the 2nd one in an effort to push the first one into the city's main.

I was terrified that I was going to need to have the yard dug up but the next day the same plumbing contractor sent another guy that was about 350-pounds of muscle (he litterally picked-up the electric snake w/ 100' of coil a couple of times, rather than rolling it on the wheels).

Anyway, he pushed both bits into the city's main, and then scoped the line and showed me it was clear.

Sewers are so expensive to fix around here, I'm thankful he was able to fix it.

[jerry nazard]

Oohh, you've started one with that!

G'morning Casper!

Yep! I can point to an example up in your neck of the woods if you need help finding "plumbis moronis".

-Jerry

Edit: Seriously, the plumbers that corrected my "sewer problems" were excellent. Apparently the fellows that started the job thought it was OK to run the line out to the main without connecting the basement floor drain, kitchen, or half-bath. Ended up costing me $$$$$.$$.

[Caspar Hauser]

2nd most dangerous thing on a job site, a plumber with a saw.
3rd most dangerous thing on a job site, an electrician with a saw.
Most dangerous? A painter with a saw....(or a 19th century plumber)

[Neal Clayton]

Also if there is tree roots in a sewer line roto rooter is a temporary fix
Tree roots grow back...

yeah, like other things with old buildings, it's more abatement/maintenance than permanent fix .

having the rooter guy come out once a year to knock the roots loose avoids having to dig up two of the larger dogwood trees i've ever seen.

[phil harold]

yeah, like other things with old buildings, it's more abatement/maintenance than permanent fix .

having the rooter guy come out once a year to knock the roots loose avoids having to dig up two of the larger dogwood trees i've ever seen.

Yes and no

We had one job where it was rotor rooter and and every 2-3 weeks the roots of the maple tree grew back thru the old clay tile drain pipe


another job the root grew thru the the cast iron pipe and cracked it,
after rotor rooting, dirt rocks continued to fall into the pipe and clog the line after every rain

two other houses get rooted when women flush those 'things' down the toilet

[Steve Rozmiarek]

yeah, like other things with old buildings, it's more abatement/maintenance than permanent fix .

having the rooter guy come out once a year to knock the roots loose avoids having to dig up two of the larger dogwood trees i've ever seen.

Roots can come from ridiculous distances to find sewer lines too. Take out those dogwoods, and your neighbors trees may still be the problem!

[Jim Koepke]

Gee, this thread makes me feel much better about having done my own plumbing all these years, including digging up a yard in a previous home to install a clean out.

jim