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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: mikebw
Date: September 18, 2023 01:14PM
Original post - [forums.macresource.com]

I had a plumber come out last week to clear the floor drain. He had a pretty serious plug-in sectional drain snake tool (Rigid K50) with the typical wire auger attachment which did nothing. He switched to a more aggressive sawtooth style cutter attachment and was able to get through after several minutes of work. He stopped at one point to say he thought the pipe might be damaged and would need to be dug out and replaced, but then went back to it. He said he was able to get it in about 7 feet or so, well beyond the trap and into the main line.



Hearing the sound of water flowing through that drain for the first time ever made the $400 charge worth it! /mastercard

I also had him snake the main sewer from a 4" clean-out on the main stack. He used a much larger wheeled auger for that. No issues there, but then we've never had a problem with that so no surprise. I had wanted to just do a camera inspection but the company said they would only run the camera after the line had been snaked, to ensure it would be clear enough to see, and to avoid getting their camera stuck of course.

The main sewer snaking job was another $400, and that came with a complimentary camera inspection!

Camera guy came today *trigger warning for any colonoscopy enthusiasts*- [www.youtube.com]

He said no emergency issues. No obvious damage, misaligned pipe or intruding roots. But there is a section with more standing water than there really should be, (at about 17 feet in on the video). He says that is a spot where a blockage would most likely occur since it doesn't slope down like it should. Makes sense.

He seemed surprised that we have not had any backups in the 5 years since we moved in. Of course he recommended replacing the whole line, but admitted that it was kind of a tough call. Estimate to replace the whole line is $12K, w/10 year warranty on new PVC pipe.

We both agreed that it would not get any better on its own. I imagine if we really flushed out the line on a regular basis that a serious blockage will be avoided as it has not happened in 5 years, I'm not sure it ever will.

We talked about if re-lining the cast iron pipe might be an option (trenchless repair), but that would not remedy the slope issue so that doesn't make sense here.

I don't think we will do anything at this time, but rather take this one data point and probably come back to it next year to compare against.
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: cbelt3
Date: September 18, 2023 01:16PM
Super Mario Brother Leader !!!

Congratulations on This Old House repair not costing an arm and a leg.
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: Randalls
Date: September 18, 2023 01:44PM
Glad the plumber was able to get it open. With the main blockage remedied you might want to consider some preventative maintenance to keep things running smoothly. Cheers!
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: Ombligo
Date: September 18, 2023 01:51PM
Given the cost to replace that line, I would just make either jetting or snaking an annual home project. That may even justify buying a better snake since it would be used regularly.



“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: richorlin
Date: September 18, 2023 01:52PM
Gee! You got some polyps there, mate. Better get them checked out. LOL



Rborlin.substack.com
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: mattkime
Date: September 18, 2023 01:54PM
I think I'd just keep an eye on it and put off the work for a long as possible. As long as it seems like its draining well enough, it probably is.

Oh, and be prepared to pay for a replacement at any given moment.



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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: jdc
Date: September 18, 2023 02:37PM
Quote
Ombligo
Given the cost to replace that line, I would just make either jetting or snaking an annual home project. That may even justify buying a better snake since it would be used regularly.

Same. Its now just a yearly expense. Setup a date, have it done. Maybe a lot less $ since its just a simple snake, not a full blown cleanout.





Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.
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Re: Basement floor is blocked, UPDATE
Posted by: John B.
Date: September 18, 2023 03:52PM
If you've got some potential time before replacement, you may want to investigate whether you can get a sewer line repair rider added to your homeowner's insurance. It's becoming a thing here locally....wasn't generally available when I had to have mine done.
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