Did I get hosed?

[plugged]

Hi all,

Our shower backed up both yesterday and today. I thought I had solved the issue with 30 feet of my hand snake. But it backed up again today, especially when a toilet flushed. Lots of icky stuff.

I called the home warranty people and they told me that, as long as the clean out was accessible, it would be covered. If not, the plumber would need to pull the toilet and that was not covered.

When the plumber arrived, I showed him the clean out, and he told me that this clean out was for the county. Mine should be closer to the home. The one I had found was 50-60 feet away from the house, and 25 feet below it (I live on a hill), but still on the property. Also, it was about a 3-4 foot drop to the main line from the cap. He wouldn’t be able to use it, he claimed, as the angle was too great to get his rooter up the hill.

We spent 20 minutes looking for another one, to no avail. He went under the house and found where the sewer line exited, but no clean out was to be found in that area. I have the plans, but the clean out wasn’t where it should be (neither was the inlet water source, so the plans aren’t quite right). I was stuck, he would have to pull the toilet, and I would have to pay the difference.

Though the drain works, I still have a feeling that I was hosed. Does any of the above make sense? Did the toilet really need to be pulled? Could the clean out that I found worked? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[johnjh2o]

With out being able to find a clean out he had no choice but to pull the toilet. The one you found may have been below the stoppage. In my area most homes are one story and we snake most lines from the vent on the roof.

John

 

[IPLUMB]

With out being able to find a clean out he had no choice but to pull the toilet. The one you found may have been below the stoppage. In my area most homes are one story and we snake most lines from the vent on the roof.

John

Hi John, How do you guys go about doing this? You don't take your mainline machine up there do you? Do you run some 3" up to the stack and leave the machine on the ground? We have done that before but have always wondered how others do it? Thanks

 

[johnjh2o]

We use a sewer machine similar to the K-60. The cables come in 6' and 12' lengths that are attached without tools. The machine itself is less the 40 lbs. The cables can be carried up loose or we have a carrier that will hold up to ten lengths of cable. It is a very slow RPM machine with a self feed. There are also small drums that can be attached to the same machine that we use for tub drains cleaned through the tub overflow. In my opinion it is a far better machine then any drum machine. If you should mess up a cable you just replace that section not the entire cable.

K-60 Sectional Machine - RIDGID Professional Tools

John

 

[LiQuId]

ooooooohhhhh, sexy machine. may have to get one of these.

off to rigs soon. this may be a new toy when i arrive back .

 

[plugged]

Thanks for the response. The clean out was indeed below the stoppage. As an amateur, not sure why that matters. I would have thought that the auger (for lack of the correct term) just needs to break through the plug.

Again, thanks. Any suggestions for finding a clean out, if there is one. I did listen as the auger ran through the line and know where it's buried. . . .

 

[KULTULZ]

With out being able to find a clean out he had no choice but to pull the toilet. The one you found may have been below the stoppage. In my area most homes are one story and we snake most lines from the vent on the roof.

John

Interesting. Learn something everyday.

Should he get a quote on a clean-out installation for future problems?

 

[JERRYMAC]

He needs a Plumber or Drain CO. To do a camera locate if there is a existing clean out the camera will be able to show it
but the camera also has a tiny transmitter sond that sends out
a 512 Hz signal that can be tracked with a locater
so you ether find the existing clean out or track the pipe and the depth to where you need one installed

#2 no you cannot run though clean outs backwards because almost
all the time they are one way directional tees that do not allow you to reverse the snake !

So the only other options are to go though the roof vent which I
have done thousands of times or pull the toilet

the best thing to do is get a proper clean out

 

[Mr_David]

We use a sewer machine similar to the K-60. The cables come in 6' and 12' lengths that are attached without tools. The machine itself is less the 40 lbs. The cables can be carried up loose or we have a carrier that will hold up to ten lengths of cable. It is a very slow RPM machine with a self feed. There are also small drums that can be attached to the same machine that we use for tub drains cleaned through the tub overflow. In my opinion it is a far better machine then any drum machine. If you should mess up a cable you just replace that section not the entire cable.

K-60 Sectional Machine - RIDGID Professional Tools

John

Hi John

We use the K-50 for 1 -1/2" to 2" lines and a K-75 or a K -1500 for larger.
I think the cable on the 1500 is 1-1/4"

Not recommended but I can drag a K-75 or a K-1500 up an extension ladder onto a roof.

I think those machine are great except they don't have a clutch system that pushes and pulls the cable in and out of the drain like the Spartan.
When you have 200 ft of K-1500 cable out it's a back buster pulling it back out
But I have never broken a cable. But got a couple stuck though.

 

[johnjh2o]

David, I can see were K-1500 has a advantage over our smaller machine. But in my area we very rarely have to run 100' of cable. Most of the lines are less then 50' from the home to the city invert. Even from the roof that would only add another 30'.
I guess we have it pretty easy. Are sewer lines are also very shallow and in the cases were it is a long run (which is rear) there will be a clean out every 50'.

John

 

[havasu]

Speaking about clean outs, when I dug up my water line to the street for replacement last year, I uncovered a buried clean out in my front yard. The workers reburied it after the water pipe install, and now I can't find it. I have used a long screwdriver stabbing the ground every 4" in the general area, but still can't find it. Is there a trick to finding this clean out?

 

[Mr_David]

David, I can see were K-1500 has a advantage over our smaller machine. But in my area we very rarely have to run 100' of cable. Most of the lines are less then 50' from the home to the city invert. Even from the roof that would only add another 30'.
I guess we have it pretty easy. Are sewer lines are also very shallow and in the cases were it is a long run (which is rear) there will be a clean out every 50'.

John

That's a nice machine. I like the fact you can use both the 7/8 and the 5/8 cable with an easy adjustment.

 

[LiQuId]

havasu...

I dont really know what to suggest but i DID think of the possibility of using a metal detector to pick up the inron filings that you flushed down the pipes. ( obviously you would have to put filings down the pipe ) and I suppose this would just gove you the location of the pipe and not the c/o location.... So.... upon further thought I would suggest a cable camera with a locator.

..good idea?

 

[havasu]

My phone has a metal detector and I had hoped to pick up the metal cap, but it is obviously just another junk app. I believe I will wait for a big rainstorm and try it again with a 1' steel probe. Carry on...............

 

[johnjh2o]

This is what we use. Less chance of getting jolted if you should hit a underground wire. Of course our ground is just sand. I don't think there is a rock in the state.
HISCO - Professional Tools Fiberglass Tough! - Products: Probes, Cable Trenchers & Undertakers (Page 2 of 2)

John

 

[LiQuId]

if it has a metal cap then rent a metal detector and it should be an easy find.

I phone apps are off for sure was in a parkade looking north ( for sure ) and my buddys phone app for compass said we were looking south west. unless somebody moved the north star then it was definatelly wrong.

 

[Otahyoni]

We'd break those probes around here. I've bent our steel probe a couple times.

We're just probing for plastic field tile though. No danger of hitting anything other than dirt, which feels more like cement at times.