Help with sewer line repair

[Gearhead22]

We bought our house a few years back. I was aware of this mess but hadn’t caused any issues yet so I let it go.

We have our 2 main sewer lines from the house coming into a tee, with the 3rd connection being the line that goes through the foundation and to the septic tank. The lines coming into the tee are 3”, one is pvc and the other is abs. The line going through the foundation and outside is 4” abs. The previous owner used a 3” Fernco tee to join the 2 3” pipes and then proceeded to use a small piece of 3” pvc for the third connection and shoved it in the 4” abs and used some type of silicone and tape to “seal” it. Of course, over time this started to drip. I’m trying to determine the best route to fix this. It’s in a tight spot and I don’t have room to cut any of the pipes other than the one 3” pvc coming from above as they’re just barely poking out of the foundation. I’ve attached photos. The lower pipe is my issue. There is a tee there and a pipe running through the wall to the right/behind the pvc pipe. You can’t see it at the angle i took the photo. The second photo is with everything disconnected and the pvc 3” pipe laying on top of the other pipe temporarily. Any help is appreciated. I can’t figure out how to connect all this together while retaining a Fernco for access if needed. My thoughts were:

1.) 4” Fernco tee with reducers to get to the 3” pipes and a small section of 4” abs to connect to the existing pipe going through the foundation and outside. But I won’t be able to get all of this in there and bottom out the connections properly for a good seal.

2.) keep the existing 3” Fernco tee and use a reducer that’s 4” OD on one end for the 4” connection going outside, and 3” on the other side to connect to the tee. Same issue with not being able to bottom the connections out because there’s no way to get all the pieces in there.

 

[CT18]

There are many issues in that area. Those fernco fittings are not allowed by code in many areas, nor is that homemade saddle fitting. If it were me and i was not a plumber i would get a reputable company in there to clean that up

 

[Gearhead22]

There are many issues in that area. Those fernco fittings are not allowed by code in many areas, nor is that homemade saddle fitting. If it were me and i was not a plumber i would get a reputable company in there to clean that up

Thank you for the feedback. At this time I just need to get it functional again. I don’t have the money to take care of a whole plumbing remodel at this time

 

[Geofd]

Hard to tell but it looks like the elbow is stretched over a bigger pipe, probably not a whole remodel just have someone look at it to give you a price

 

[Gearhead22]

Hard to tell but it looks like the elbow is stretched over a bigger pipe, probably not a whole remodel just have someone look at it to give you a price

The line going out of the house (left most connection) is 4” abs, which apparently has a different OD than PVC. no one around me sells abs so I’m stuck at the moment trying to find where to get it. The 3” connection coming out of the foundation to the right, can most likely be eliminated so I essentially only need to 90 the white pvc line into the 4” line leaving the house. Problem is, finding pipe to slide into the existing abs fitting on the left….

 

[RickFlorida]

I'm not an expert in "lateral lines". So I have a question based on the original post.

Isn't it unusual that he has two different lateral lines that come from the house and go to a "tee"? Wouldn't homes have one lateral line that goes to the city sewer? I've heard of septic tanks homes having two lateral lines because the owner might have two septic tanks.

Am I totally wrong that it's highly unusual he has two lateral lines on city sewer? That would suggest everything is out of code. I'd start fresh if you can.

 

[user 32496]

The line going out of the house (left most connection) is 4” abs, which apparently has a different OD than PVC. no one around me sells abs so I’m stuck at the moment trying to find where to get it. The 3” connection coming out of the foundation to the right, can most likely be eliminated so I essentially only need to 90 the white pvc line into the 4” line leaving the house. Problem is, finding pipe to slide into the existing abs fitting on the left….

Yes, you need a short piece of 4” abs to glue into the fitting on the left, then attach a 4” fernco elbow to it. Then use a pvc 4” to 3” reducer to connect your 3” pvc to the 4” fernco elbow. Fernco is a great way to transition from abs to pvc or cast iron.

 

[breplum]

Hello. Noticed the drains in the 2 bathrooms starting to get clogged and the toilet had some bubbling so I called a plumber to come out. I was at work, so I am not sure what all he did but the wife said he took off the toilet and hooked up a "vacuum" and the plumber said he was getting mud. He told her we have a busted sewer line and it needed to be replaced. The quote ($8800) is for the replacement of the entire line (65'). Does this sound right? I asked her if he used a camera and she didn't think her did. Would they need to replace the entire line or could fix the broken area? House is 80 years old, so I am guessing it is cast iron. Any advice would be appreciated.

I once had a subcontractor plumbing co say they pulled out "mud".
It was nonsense, we checked and the mud was just crud, no break found.
Not a way to evaluate condition without a video inspection.