My Basement Flooded, Need Advice / A Plumber

[Java]

About an hour or two ago my wife yelled up to me that the basement was flooding. I've figured out that it happens right away when the washing machine is draining; we can flush the toilet, run the shower or sink, but the washer floods it. Once the washer floods it the sink water will add to it. I think it is the volume of the washer, not routing, and I have a slow drain / partial clog in the main line, but what do I know. I should add that I've remodeled both of my bathrooms so I'm basically a Master Plumber. :erm: I opened the main floor drain and actually got the clean out plug out without cutting it, snaked it... opened the nasty cleanout that runs from upstairs, snaked that too. My snake is 15', all I got was some poo :thumb: and a little hair, but the water had gone down so I figured I had busted up a poo / hair clog, blamed it on all the corn I've had lately. Ran the washer again and it flooded right up again (I shut it before it got beyond filling the floor drain, so it didn't really flood out but it's clearly clogged). So I'm guessing it's time to call a router service... anyone know of one, or have any other suggestions? My wife is at the store right now getting some drain cleaner that were going to put down the washer drain, but I'm not too hopeful about that stuff... days like these I wish I was renting.

[Rick]

Do you have a tree in your front yard??? Roots are a *****!!!!! go to a rental place a get an Auger to clean your sewer pipe

[Java]

I do have a tree, but my house was built in 1986, I'm not sure if it's enough time to fill up a sewer line. It probably is, now that I re-read that, I'm just trying to hope it away. How do you do that? I've seen the augers before at a house I was renting, it's like a big powered snake on a cart with a cutting edge on the end instead of a spring, if I'm thinking of the right thing... where would I do it from? What does it cost to just have someone else do it?

[Java]

I'm watching this right now... it takes a special woman to snake the sewer line without gloves... but it looks pretty easy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-VzpLO4Qn4

[Patrolman]

I have a guy that I use for the drains. He comes out every couple years. $65 flat rate to snake any line in the house (even the main). He is a one man operation in a little white van. Nothing fancy, but can't beat the price. Here is his site:

Drain Cleaning Aurora, CO - D.W. Drains (http://dwdrains.com/)

If you call, make sure to leave a message. He rarely answers, but calls you back promptly.

[Rick]

Its very easy. Go rent one.... Find your clean out.... unscrew the cap and slowly start fishin.......they usually have a foot switch to control how fast it goes......estimate how far your tree is cuz you dont want to drop off into the main sewer line in the street cuz you could lose the tip!!!! go just a few feet past the tree then reel it back in and repeat

[Chris]

That sucks but a tree root is probable IMHO. There's been plenty og growth since '86 which supports the theory. I've had a collapsed main and the best thing I did was hire a pro and get it done. sooty I can't offer more...

[Rick]

My last house was 10 yrs old at the tree in the front plugged it up; it became routine once a year to clean it; also roots grow in the winter so come spring you have a mess

[Rick]

He comes out every couple years. $65 flat rate you cant beat that

[Java]

I have a guy that I use for the drains. He comes out every couple years. $65 flat rate to snake any line in the house (even the main). He is a one man operation in a little white van. Nothing fancy, but can't beat the price. Here is his site:

Drain Cleaning Aurora, CO - D.W. Drains (http://dwdrains.com/)

If you call, make sure to leave a message. He rarely answers, but calls you back promptly.

I just left him a message, I hope he comes to my area - 80212. That is a GREAT deal!!!!! :thumb:

[Patrolman]

If he calls you back and doesn't go to your area, ask for him to refer you to someone else. I found him on CL a couple years ago.

[mattzj98]

is your washer a top load washer?

[Java]

It is a top loader, came used but working with the house in 2003 and our plan was / is that as soon as it dies we replace it. The dryer died, but the washer seems to be immortal.

I haven't heard back from that guy, but rescue rooter is coming shortly, about 9:30, and they have an $88.00 deal. I'm surprised they came out this late with no extra charge, but she offered so I said sure. We'll see what he comes up with when he gets here.

I found the only thing like a sewer line clean out outside my house, it's an iron pipe capped with a 5" or 6" round cap that has WATER cast into it. It has a 5 point nut holding it in, I don't have a wrench like that so I stopped there. If that's not it he'll have to go from inside the house, I guess. This kinda sucks, but so far it's just a couple of hours and a new useless snake from ACE, if $88.00 takes care of it I'm good. Thanks for all the input!!!!!!!!!!

[mattzj98]

if plumbing is too much issue, I can get you a VERY cheap front load washer.. much less water, no flood. We get a lot of old building at work with drain backing up, we change them out to front loaders and problem fixed.. unless its really bad

[Rick]

WATER cast into it. It has a 5 point nut holding it inthats your main water shut off; good to know in case

[Rob]

thats your main water shut off; good to know in case

I have one like that in my back yard. How is it different from the main shutoff in my crawlspace?

[Rick]

How is it different from the main shutoff in my crawlspace? it shuts off from the street to the house. sometimes you have to shut that off to replace "the crawl space " shut off

[Java]

thats your main water shut off; good to know in case

damn it. thanks. so I have no idea where, if anywhere, the sewer line access is outside... I've been all around the property and there's nothing anywhere that I can find. Guess that's just one more reason why I need a plumber, I'm useless.

[Rob]

Ahh, gotcha. Thanks for the info, Rick. By the way, I tend to hit that cap hard every time I aerate the back yard. Gives me quite a jolt.

[Rick]

my neighbor went to shut off his water in the basement and the knob broke shooting water everywhere.... I had to show him how to shut it off at the street

[Rick]

so I have no idea whereLook by your water heater or utility room; its a 4" pipe w/ a cap on it with a square looking built in nut on it.

[Java]

The guy is in my basement now, he's cool, Australian or New Zealander, looks like a powerlifter. There is no sewer access outside, it's the nasty one on the wall that I used my 15' snake on to no avail, he's running 100' of powered cable through it right now for $88.00. We'll see... but so far so good.

[mattzj98]

Sweet, hope it works out for ya!

[Java]

Obstruction between 30 and 40 feet from the clean out, the auger couldn't get past it. they're coming back in the morning with a camera; no additional charge, and no charge so far since they didn't clear it. Good service! Bad luck. we'll see what tommorow brings...

[Rick]

30 and 40 feet from the clean out,not to be a pessimist but you may be looking at getting the pipe replaced from the street to the house

[mattzj98]

Let's hope its not as bad as our water main!! The $15k bill sure put a dent in a wallet, copper pipes suck, digging out fundations sucked they had to bring excavators and cut concrete and a bunch of crap..


Sewer pipes are steel or plastic right? Cast iron?

[Rick]

lets hope!!!!!

[MelloYello]

Hope it works out for you!

[glacierpaul]

Sounds like a couple of things it could be. 1) collapsed pipe or fitting 2) gnarly roots 3) has any 'trenchless' utilities been done recently? 4) ice, doubtfull now, but it is a possibility. Cool they are going to camera, I always suggest this to folks having a drain cleaned, so if there is a compromise in the pipe you can plan for the replacement or repair, not just a yearly maintenance of rooter.
Cast Iron does deteriorate, hence PVC and ABS (white/black plastic) pipe and fittings now. Matt, some guy's have used galvanized pipe for drains, usually just sink/shower/tub drains, they will fail like cast iron.
Where is 30-40' in relation to the yard and the property line/sewer main? Could be the Wastewater districts side of things.
The plumbing in the house was most likely done to old codes, and the washer drain is too close to the floor drain, causing sudsing or flooding out of the floordrain. This can be exacerbated by a sewer line problem. If you still have this issue after the drain clean, you may want to get a different washer as Matt suggested, or there is a one way valve for the floor drain, but if there is a drain issue the back up would come out the next lowest outlet/inlet(toilet/tub/sink). New codes require a separation of the washer drain and floor drain. I.e. they cannot share the same branch line without a separation. I always have at least 20' of piping between my washer drain/sewer connection and the floor drain/sewer connection, eliminating this sudsing issue. Another new code is that we now have to have a sewer clean-out within 5' of the house outside, and have clean-out tees at every drain pipe coming thru the ground into the house. Most of the time a toilet has to be pulled to do the rooter.
Keep us posted Paul. Good Luck!!

[Java]

It's a broken sewer line, about 5' behind my house, 8' underground and 44' from the cleanout in my basement. On the camera you can see the pipes are PVC... the one attached to the foundation is fine, the one it connects to has shifted, it's lower than the house one by about 1/2 of it's diameter, that's the area it's trapping stuff. It's still draining, just limited. He called it a "spot repair", and also scoped about 90' of the line, there is a low spot further along that he says can be handled with pressure cleaning every few years. The break is deep- I have to cut down 2 trees to get a machine in- apparently OSHA won't let them hand dig over 4'. It is going to be expensive... :mad:

My house is built on the site of an old apple orchard, there was a pond too, and they used a lot of fill dirt during construction that seems to have shifted. When I got it the front steps, (a long single pour of cement) had tilted and sunk, I had to rent a hammer and remove them. The front porch supports had issues too. Even though the sewer line runs out back to the alley, those were both clues, I guess. I should have had the plumbing scoped when I bought, stupid me.

[Funrover]

Crap, I am sorry to hear that.

[Chris]

As I mentioned I feared that may be the case, bummer for sure Paul. I guess I was lucky since my guys hand dug an 8' deep hole to fix it. Sad you have to lose trees. :frown:

[Java]

you called it, Chris. ARS wants $4390.00, not as bad as I expected. Zane at mydenverplumbing.com seems to be a cool local guy with lower overhead and is coming in at $2600.00. If anyone knows a plumber who can beat that, I'm still open. I'm even considering doing it myself, day laborers to dig a hole and some PVC repair parts are easily under $1000.00. It's a thinker... Luckily my drain still works for everything but the clothes washer, so it's not an immediate emergency.

Thanks for all the input!!

[Chris]

ouch! it is warm now, less clothes needed!

trying to find the silver lining...

[Jackie]

Sorry to hear about the troubles, Paul. I hate plumbing crap. Right now, our pipes decide to "breath" really loudly when they feel like it. What the crap Shut up! I have enough to worry about.

It's good you got a PRO in your corner. Keep us posted.

[Popsgarage]

rescue rooter

These guys did good work on my main sewer line from the house to the street. Ran the camera down the pipe, found the plug (tree root through the 1962 clay pipe), dug one hole by the house and one hole in the street. A hydraulic puller pulled the line from the house to the street. Done in one day. Here's hoping yours is a simple fix. Mine ended up costing around $7,000. By far the cheapest quote we found.

[Rick]

considering doing it myself, day laborers to dig a hole and some PVC ya think?????

[glacierpaul]

Paul, if you do decide to do it yourself, mind your hole and shore up the walls when going past 5', SERIOUSLY!!! That OSHA comment was true. A plumber that worked for my Dad's company years ago, was crushed and paralized a few years ago, in a hole with no shoring. Was supposed to be a quick easy fix:erm: Just use 3/4" plywood and 2x4 braces, or dig a really big hole. If I had nothing going on Paul, I would come help for sure!!

This is a great time to tell folks who are looking to purchase a home, have a camera sent down the sewer before you buy!! Robyn can attest to this!

[Java]

Thanks, Paul. Your advice is always a great resource. I've gotten over the $$ shock, especially since the talk has gone from "in the area of $10,000 to $15,000" to $2600.00 and done on Monday... I'm just going to suck it up and pay the guy. I was remembering digging post holes by hand and the $$ doesn't look so bad afterall.

I found this video, if you like hole videos it's a good one. (that may be the first time that sentance has been used outside of porn).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-t7KgBX08w&feature=related

[Java]

ya think?????

fortunately I thought twice. :D

[mattzj98]

I used that plumber yesterday morning. Im a pretty happy, in and out quickly, $65flat rate. Drain clogged 24ft into kitchen drain