Here's the very short version of the story:
House was purchased in 2007, built in 1873. Until this month, we had had a few very minor drain issues that cleared up easily with some acid in the pipes. The drains tend to be noisy, and occasionally slow, but nothing major. After a big family gathering (i.e. 6-8 kids in the house) we usually get a clogged toilet, but that's about it.
Three weeks ago, after making pulled pork, someone (not me) flushed a couple pounds of grease down the toilet. Things have been bad since then. Very bad. Very very bad...
On Saturday, the 19th, we had a party and a house full of people and kids. Of course, the toilet got clogged. I did what I usually do - put some bleach in it, which dissolves the huge wads of paper stuck in the line and expected everything to be ok. Things went down. Then it clogged a second time. And a third...
Here's where things went from bad to worse. Monday, the PVC joints in the basement started dripping. So we had standing water in the pipes. Ok. So I ran cleaner down from the second floor tub, which I thought would take care of it. It appeared to work, but when we ran water to flush the lines, all of a sudden water started coming out everywhere. Eventually, that calmed down and the water appeared to go down the main line.
Then yesterday, my brain fell out. When we got home, it appeared that the lines had drained. So we decided to put cleaner down again, and clear out anything remaining. I don't want to get into what's going on now, but it's an unreal, disgusting mess.
I called the town sewer people to find out where our sewer lines are. I found out that our main line had been replaced in 2000. The guy remembered it distinctly because 30 years ago when the sewer was installed, they had run it over the top of the septic system, but had used a rubber coupling to attach the house main to the sewer line. Amazingly enough, the rubber had rotted through and the pipes shifted, resulting in the back being dug up and a new main line being put in. So they knew exactly where the cleanout was, and told me where to dig. I found it and opened it up, but the clog is before it. Of course, they also ran it directly under a tree for some unknown reason.
Now, here are a few important facts to add to the mix: the kitchen sink drain connects directly to the house main line under the cement floor in the basement. There is no cleanout on that pipe. I have two three inch vent stacks/drains. One has a one inch plug at ceiling height in the basement, and at one time had another pipe attached to it at floor level, which we removed and unfortunately did not replace with a cleanout (hindsight being 20/20 and all) Though it has a rubber patch attached to it which we could puncture but that would only add to my current misery...
So... since the kitchen drain won't empty, the clog must be between where it joins the main line and the outside cleanout. If it was farther up the line, then the kitchen drain would work. We're thinking that there are likely tree roots in the main line which coupled with the events of the last three weeks have created an immovable clog. Tonight I have someone coming in to scope and snake the line which will hopefully get things moving. We're also going to dig up the line between the house and the sewer cleanout and check to see if any tree roots have gotten in.
And finally, the question: If we're digging it up anyway, it seems logical that we should replace the cast iron and put in another cleanout outside that faces in the direction of the house. Is that as straightforward as it sounds? Cut it off, pull it out, couple a piece of 4 inch schedule 30 to the cast iron and be done with it? I'm going to get a price on the guy doing it for us, but I have a feeling it won't be a cheap quote.
Yes, I know we screwed up a lot along this little adventure... let's just talk about how to fix things....
House was purchased in 2007, built in 1873. Until this month, we had had a few very minor drain issues that cleared up easily with some acid in the pipes. The drains tend to be noisy, and occasionally slow, but nothing major. After a big family gathering (i.e. 6-8 kids in the house) we usually get a clogged toilet, but that's about it.
Three weeks ago, after making pulled pork, someone (not me) flushed a couple pounds of grease down the toilet. Things have been bad since then. Very bad. Very very bad...
On Saturday, the 19th, we had a party and a house full of people and kids. Of course, the toilet got clogged. I did what I usually do - put some bleach in it, which dissolves the huge wads of paper stuck in the line and expected everything to be ok. Things went down. Then it clogged a second time. And a third...
Here's where things went from bad to worse. Monday, the PVC joints in the basement started dripping. So we had standing water in the pipes. Ok. So I ran cleaner down from the second floor tub, which I thought would take care of it. It appeared to work, but when we ran water to flush the lines, all of a sudden water started coming out everywhere. Eventually, that calmed down and the water appeared to go down the main line.
Then yesterday, my brain fell out. When we got home, it appeared that the lines had drained. So we decided to put cleaner down again, and clear out anything remaining. I don't want to get into what's going on now, but it's an unreal, disgusting mess.
I called the town sewer people to find out where our sewer lines are. I found out that our main line had been replaced in 2000. The guy remembered it distinctly because 30 years ago when the sewer was installed, they had run it over the top of the septic system, but had used a rubber coupling to attach the house main to the sewer line. Amazingly enough, the rubber had rotted through and the pipes shifted, resulting in the back being dug up and a new main line being put in. So they knew exactly where the cleanout was, and told me where to dig. I found it and opened it up, but the clog is before it. Of course, they also ran it directly under a tree for some unknown reason.
Now, here are a few important facts to add to the mix: the kitchen sink drain connects directly to the house main line under the cement floor in the basement. There is no cleanout on that pipe. I have two three inch vent stacks/drains. One has a one inch plug at ceiling height in the basement, and at one time had another pipe attached to it at floor level, which we removed and unfortunately did not replace with a cleanout (hindsight being 20/20 and all) Though it has a rubber patch attached to it which we could puncture but that would only add to my current misery...
So... since the kitchen drain won't empty, the clog must be between where it joins the main line and the outside cleanout. If it was farther up the line, then the kitchen drain would work. We're thinking that there are likely tree roots in the main line which coupled with the events of the last three weeks have created an immovable clog. Tonight I have someone coming in to scope and snake the line which will hopefully get things moving. We're also going to dig up the line between the house and the sewer cleanout and check to see if any tree roots have gotten in.
And finally, the question: If we're digging it up anyway, it seems logical that we should replace the cast iron and put in another cleanout outside that faces in the direction of the house. Is that as straightforward as it sounds? Cut it off, pull it out, couple a piece of 4 inch schedule 30 to the cast iron and be done with it? I'm going to get a price on the guy doing it for us, but I have a feeling it won't be a cheap quote.
Yes, I know we screwed up a lot along this little adventure... let's just talk about how to fix things....