Plumbing woes

[sabotg]

Recently I've had an issue with my mainline sewer backing up. Fun! It turns out that I've got roots in my sewer pipe that connects with the mainline. My home was built in 1963 so after sending a camera down the line it looks like the pipe needs to be replaced. The first plumbing company that came out wanted to charge 14k to replace just the piping that's on my property not what runs under the street. I was just wondering if anyone's dealt with something similiar and what it cost to fix. I'm currently getting quotes from other plumbing outfits but was wondering what is considered a good cost or if there's any alternatives to digging out the whole sewer line. Looks like no home theater upgrades for a while. :(

[danger boy]

oh man.. i hope i never face that.. but shop around... 14K? i don't think so. are you talking about replacing the sewer all the way from your house to the street? how long of a run is that?

[SKsolutions]

You can run a snake with at bit down it yourself. Cost for rental around a hundred bucks. I'd try it first. May not work, but may buy you another year or two. I've done it with a spade bit through a root, and it lasted over a year.

There is an outfit here, that I know for a fact, uses the same 'video' footage as proof of a complete 'logjam' in the waste line, so I wouldn't take much at face value.

What is the length of the waste line to the street, and is it more than four feet down?

[sabotg]

The whole line runs 166ft to the main line sewer. About 45ft of that is in my yard(before hitting the sidewalk) The sewer pipe starts at 3 1/2 feet at the house foundation ( I know because I had a clear out installed) but heads pretty quick to 6ft and towards the sidewalk hits about 15ft. This all according to the first plumber who was out here. The price quoted by the plumber (14k) was just to replace the 45ft of pipe that is in the yard. They were really eager to start and offered to finance the job at 16% :D yeah right!!! I won't be calling them back no matter what.

[SKsolutions]

That's a big run, and you don't want to dig that by hand:eek:

I'd try the biggest snake you can find with the sharpest bit you can find, and power through that root until you can get someone reasonable and trustworthy in there to get it done right. Measure off the distance, and mark the snake, and work it like crazy. You could also blow the tree up, and just dig out the section to repair.:D

You should be able to boot both sides of the pipe and repair the section so you don't have to do the whole run. You should consider losing the tree or relocating the run.

[BAD ASP]

First thing to do is contact your local building and zoning dept. They can tell you what your "invert" is. The invert is the difference between the depth of your sewer line as it leaves your house and the depth that it "taps" into the main sewer line. Armed with this knowledge you can now get some bids. What your faced with is certainly a large problem given the time of year and not having functioning waste piping but you can arm yourself with a call to the B and Z for your community. They can also give you names of plumbing contractors who are licensed to do this work in your community. The relationship these local contractors develop with your building dept. can force a more competitive bid as they won't risk losing the recommendations. In the Chicago area we have a number of companies that specialize in rodding out sewer lines that have roots. This is a relatively common occurence in the older cast iron pipe. The name Roto Rooter comes to mind and I believe that they are a franchised company. Their equipment probably is more capable then what you would rent yourself. I would certainly look to have the pipe rodded before tackling its repacement. Whatever you do, good luck.

[mrbigbluelight]

^^^^ What Badasp said.

Unless you're comfortable with snaking out sewer lines, you stand a better-than-average chance, IMO, of kinking the snake cable.

You kink the cable, you buy the cable.

Let a bonded/insured sewer outfit come out and do the dirty work.

It'll cost a little more up front but it'll save you time, money, and frustration in the long run.

We have a chemical powder that we dump down our grease trap lines at work that has eliminated having to route those skunk pits out every 4 months. I'll try to get the name of it; the vendor says it'll clean out root-infested lines also. I don't believe that, but I do believe that if you get your lines cleaned out, this stuff will keep them clean and clear of roots.
It's bio-friendly, and all that stuff, btw. Doesn't smell bad and safe to handle by hand.

[BaggedLancer]

Replace the line. Keeps people like my Dad in business. :D

Kidding...not really. But anyway, good luck with it. Maybe you could rent a machine and dig it up yourself then just have a plumbing outfit come in and replace it.

[tonyb]

Seeing that I am a sewer and water guy,get a motorized snake,with a 2 in bit and run that thru a few times.Word of caution though,it will make a mess,so if your cleanout on the inside is in a finished area,move furniture,cover walls,have something to catch water when you unscrew the clean-out.14 g's is way too much for 45 ft.Should be roughly half of that.Cost will go up the deeper they have to go though.The snake is easy to operate but go slow.As the snake turns,push it in about a foot at a time and use a back and forth motion as you go so you don't get it stuck.It really is fairly easy.Also when your done and you have to coil it back in,the motor has a reverse,wipe the coil with a rag so you don't spin black sludge all over.Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.Oh,and if your going to replace the pipe,call a sewer outfit,not a plumber.

[sabotg]

My wife called an outfit this morning that came out and rootered the line for $90. They are going to come up with an itemized quote for a line replacment this week. Thanks for all the input from everyone. The joys of home ownership :D

[sucks2beme]

I had an outfit want at least $9300 (or more) to do a job in 4 days
under my foundation.
2nd guy did it for about a third of that in a day(they did have to come back and set the toilet after the concrete dried, about 20 minutes of day 2).
It always pays to get a second quote.

[sabotg]

Second Quote came in for $5400. That's much better. I still have to have a tree on the property removed first :( Man, just when I was looking at a new Panasonic Plasma. This crap always happens when I want a new toy :)

[danger boy]

that's a better quote.. get another one or two even...

[BAD ASP]

Be absofrigginlutely sure that the contractor you hire has a current insurance policy and insist that he give you a copy before he starts. Read it! Make sure it is current.
If your sewer line is as deep as you said earlier then the trench has to meet osha regs with a 1/1 cut back after 5'0 of depth. In other words if your trench is 10'0" deep from the bottom of the trench up 5'0" can be vertical. From 5'0" deep and up the trench needs to widen at a 1 to 1 ratio making your trench 1/2 again wider at the top then the bottom. This is to protect workers from cave ins. Also be clear as to the detail work on your landscaping when the work is done. Once the ground is excavated it usually expands and will leave a pretty good mound and spoil haul off can be an additional expense to a smaller contractor who's bid may seem great until you really compare work scopes.

Again Good Luck!

[Airplay355]

and try getting them to compete against eachother

[4406bbl]

Most important,NEVER plant a tree in front of a house.

[tonyb]

Be absofrigginlutely sure that the contractor you hire has a current insurance policy and insist that he give you a copy before he starts. Read it! Make sure it is current.
If your sewer line is as deep as you said earlier then the trench has to meet osha regs with a 1/1 cut back after 5'0 of depth. In other words if your trench is 10'0" deep from the bottom of the trench up 5'0" can be vertical. From 5'0" deep and up the trench needs to widen at a 1 to 1 ratio making your trench 1/2 again wider at the top then the bottom. This is to protect workers from cave ins. Also be clear as to the detail work on your landscaping when the work is done. Once the ground is excavated it usually expands and will leave a pretty good mound and spoil haul off can be an additional expense to a smaller contractor who's bid may seem great until you really compare work scopes.

Again Good Luck!

Most the time,they use a trench box for protection,but knowing sewer outfits,they will try and get by without it.If your pipe is not broke,worst case is every couple years you rent a power rodder and do it yourself.You can spend all that coin replaceing the pipe on your property,but that doesn't mean you won't have future problems with the City's side.Believe me when I tell you,most city's are not quick to rectify these problems.You should still get rid of the tree though.