[Will]

Yesterday when the washing machine drained itself the drain pipe backed up and partially flooded the back room. At the same time, nasty water started coming up out of the shower drain, which is at the other side of the house and is the lowest drain in the house.

With water backing up in drains at opposite sides of the house, I'm guessing I've got a partially clogged sewer line. Is there any good way to deal wit this myself, or is my best bet to have a plumber come out and run a snake through?

Any suggestions welcome!

[Chris65LeMans]

To do it yourself, you'll need to go rent a snake. Hopefully it's not tree roots - then you'll need a shovel, too.

[gary bennett]

are you on a slab or do you have a basement and do you have a septic tank or city sew

[Will]

House built in '44 - has what I'd call a "perimeter" foundation with a dirt floor crawl space underneath. Maybe this is technically considered post & pier? Hooked up to city sewer.

I was going to rent a power snake and give it a go myself but the transmission in my truck broke yesterday. With no truck, I can't haul the snake around, so called a plumber today. They haven't gotten here yet, I'll be curious to see what the estimate is. If it's ridiculously high I'll just go rent a Uhaul pickup and try myself...

[Jerry H.]

Roto Rooter usually charges $75 or so and gives a guarantee. They will be in and out and cheaper than a plumber most times.

[chrisp]

If you have a vent in the line outside heading to the St. you can use a pole plunger , cost is about $20.00 and works excellent on household matter clogs , if roots it will need to be cut with a power snake .

[Will]

Originally Posted by Jerry H.

Roto Rooter usually charges $75 or so and gives a guarantee. They will be in and out and cheaper than a plumber most times.

Whaaa???

I called "Rescue Rooter" and they charged $330 to come and run their snake down the line. They also sent a camera down to see what was going on. Unfortunately my line is in bad shape. There is one place where the pipe is broken at the side and that's underneath the concrete steps and slab for the side entrance to the house. A little further down there was a minor root intrusion and then down near the sidewalk at the front of the property there's a major root ball.

they got it opened up with the snake but there's still a lot of roots in there and they'll just grow back. I'm going to try pouring root killer down the line for now.

They want $9600 to replace the line via a trenchless process where they basically dig one hole and inject a new fiber & epoxy liner into the existing run. For that kind of money I'd rent a small excavator and hire a couple Mexicans from Home Depot and dig it all up and lay in new pipe myself and probably get it done for less than half that price, except for the fact that the sewer line runs under a really nice 20' tall birch tree and some other landscaping that I want to keep as well as the concrete landing and steps from my side door.

Hopefully some root killer will keep it open and flowing for awhile 'til I decide what I want to do and how much I can spend...

[rohrt]

I have my line snaked every two years. Mostly for maintenance. I get roots in mine too. They told me it doesn't mater what kind of lines you have you can get roots growing in them.

I done this job my self and it just not worth the hassle. Would rather hire it out. They are in and out in a hour and no mess and no breaking my back on that snake. As you found out it cost more to have the camera done. Cost more if need more line added too.

I have heard that root killer stuff can kill your trees. Not sure.

[Will]

Thanks rohrt. The guy told me the roots were so thick in the biggest problem area that they'd probably grow back and start clogging things up again in the next 3-4 months. He said the snake only opens up maybe a 2" hole at best.

I'll call around more next time. This company included the camera in the price, because of course they want to sell you on more work.

If I can get a company to run a snake through for cheap then i'll probably just do that on a regular basis. For $9600 I could pay someone to run a snake through for quite a few years...

[gary bennett]

or if you want to do it yourself could you run the new pipes in a slightly different direction to eliminate the big tree and steps. i feel for you

[Will]

Thanks Gary - no real alternative to the route the pipe takes now that wouldn't involve a LOT more work and expense to go under the house or break up the driveway slab.

Been thinking about this... The worst clog is about 15' away from the tree and in an area that would be easy to dig. Thinking maybe I just dig up that section and replace it with a PVC section. Have been planning to rent an excavator to do a bunch of landscaping work in the back as well as dig up and replace the main water line into the house (it's the original 70 yo iron pipe - amazing it still flows at all) so this would be just one more thing to get done while I have that rented.

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by Will

Whaaa???

I called "Rescue Rooter" and they charged $330 to come and run their snake down the line. They also sent a camera down to see what was going on. Unfortunately my line is in bad shape. There is one place where the pipe is broken at the side and that's underneath the concrete steps and slab for the side entrance to the house. A little further down there was a minor root intrusion and then down near the sidewalk at the front of the property there's a major root ball.

they got it opened up with the snake but there's still a lot of roots in there and they'll just grow back. I'm going to try pouring root killer down the line for now.

They want $9600 to replace the line via a trenchless process where they basically dig one hole and inject a new fiber & epoxy liner into the existing run. For that kind of money I'd rent a small excavator and hire a couple Mexicans from Home Depot and dig it all up and lay in new pipe myself and probably get it done for less than half that price, except for the fact that the sewer line runs under a really nice 20' tall birch tree and some other landscaping that I want to keep as well as the concrete landing and steps from my side door.

Hopefully some root killer will keep it open and flowing for awhile 'til I decide what I want to do and how much I can spend...

It's been a couple of years since my local Roto Rooter guy came out, but I dug out the bill and it was only $75.00. These deals are franchised; I guess they charge what the market will bear. I live in a rural area, that might be one reason for the price difference.

[Will]

^^Probably, Jerry. Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the country, aint nothing cheap around here.

[limejudge69]

Are there any clean outs on the line? Is there a city owned clean out near the sidewalk? I work in public utilities and there are usually 2 clean outs. One near the house that is owned by the homeowner, and another near the road/curb where the city takes over and maintains to the tap at the main. Did you call the city and have them come and look? Replacing PVC sewer pipe isn't very hard to do. I am amazed at what folks are charged and pay for repairs. If you can pinpoint the location of the roots, dig it up and replace the bad part. A stick of pipe and rubber repair boots are cheap and available at any hardware/home improvement store. Most times a bad spot is caused by another utility damaging the line, especially phone and cable contractors

[fyrffytr1]

The drain line is 72 years old. I would bite the bullet and replace it all now. It will only cost more as time goes by. Is there a way to tunnel under the tree and install PVC? I have had PVC sprinkler lines installed and they tunneled under my sidewalks and driveway to install parts of it. How deep is the line?

[Inogame]

Root Kill can work. When I moved in had to clear the line 2 years in a row at $150 a pop. Then the next spring I started using the root kill... have not needed the plumber out the past 3 years.
Is that scientific? No, but $15 a year for the past 4 years beats $150 a year all day long.
Bottle says some drains can go once a year other might need 2 applications a year, still $30 a year is a better deal than you've got.

[sdbob]

R.R did sewer repair for elderly couple I know. Approx 25FT Digging 25FT bust concrete,inside-over 7K gulp she told me.I could have done it for alot less,I know for a fact. I just dug up 100 ft of french drain line to side road,roots in it and redid septic lines,roots also 2 1/2 days for excavator and helper.I supplied all stone,32ton,and pipe. 1800.00.I did cutting pipe and 'top man',running for stuff.I'd plan and dig as much as possible. While ditch open.Find excavator who will help you get job.I'm glad I waited for the guy I got he saved me time and money.

[Will]

Originally Posted by limejudge69

Are there any clean outs on the line? Is there a city owned clean out near the sidewalk? I work in public utilities and there are usually 2 clean outs. One near the house that is owned by the homeowner, and another near the road/curb where the city takes over and maintains to the tap at the main. Did you call the city and have them come and look? Replacing PVC sewer pipe isn't very hard to do. I am amazed at what folks are charged and pay for repairs. If you can pinpoint the location of the roots, dig it up and replace the bad part. A stick of pipe and rubber repair boots are cheap and available at any hardware/home improvement store. Most times a bad spot is caused by another utility damaging the line, especially phone and cable contractors

The only cleanout is next to my house, owned by me. That's what the plumbers used to get their snake and camera down into the line. The cleanout was added at some time in the recent past as it is PVC. The city's responsibility ends at my property line and the problems are definitely on my property.

The line is old clay pipe from 1944. Presumably the roots are growing in at the joints which have probably shifted and lost their seal over time.

As mentioned above, there is one area where the root clog is really bad and that area would be easy to dig up. Replacing that section with PVC and rubber boots is exactly what I plan to do and I can do it myself.

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

The drain line is 72 years old. I would bite the bullet and replace it all now. It will only cost more as time goes by. Is there a way to tunnel under the tree and install PVC? I have had PVC sprinkler lines installed and they tunneled under my sidewalks and driveway to install parts of it. How deep is the line?

There is no biting the bullet here, I simply do not have the kind of $$ they want to do a trenchless repair/reline and I'm not going to go into debt for it. I've had some health issues since December that kept me from working for two months and will likely have me out of work again after this week. Hospital bills and living expenses have already turned into a fairly large pile of debt I'm going to have to figure out how to pay off. As mentioned above, i can fix the worst of the problem pretty cheaply and easily by myself, or maybe with the help of a couple Mexicans from Home Depot. For the $$ they want to replace the entire line I can rent a snake and pour root killer down it for many, many years.

Originally Posted by Inogame

Root Kill can work. When I moved in had to clear the line 2 years in a row at $150 a pop. Then the next spring I started using the root kill... have not needed the plumber out the past 3 years.
Is that scientific? No, but $15 a year for the past 4 years beats $150 a year all day long.
Bottle says some drains can go once a year other might need 2 applications a year, still $30 a year is a better deal than you've got.

My next door neighbor, who's house is the same age as mine has dealt with the same issue and has had the same experience as you - he told me how he had to have the line snaked a couple times and since then he's been putting root killer down and hasn't had any more problems. Sounds like it's worth a try!

Thanks for the input everyone! Ah, the joys of homeownership...

[limejudge69]

Clay pipe is bad about getting clogged with roots. The pieces are short, with many joints and the roots get in there and grow. Short term fix is to use root killer and replace the bad sections. The best solution is to rent a mini excavator and lay a new line from clean out to property line. PVC pipe is cheap and easy to install. You can abandon the old line in place or put the new line in the original ditch. The slip lining deal is too much $$$. Even municipalities will lay new pipe over the cost of slip lining unless it's in a really bad place and difficult to get equipment into. You can install multiple clean outs and a backflow to help with any future issues. Good luck dude!!

[Will]

Thanks! Apparently you missed the part where the line goes under the concrete landing for my side door (which, after looking at it, I think it's part of the foundation of the house), under part of the driveway slab, and under a nice big Birch tree I don't want to kill.... Realistically, there's no other good route for it. I'd have to draw the layout of my house & driveway to fully explain it, but trust me, digging it all up would be an immense amount of work and would involve breaking up part of the driveway slab, killing that tree, and trying to work under the side door landing.

But, as mentioned, I can take care of the worst of the issues by replacing one section that's pretty easy to get to with PVC.