OT Broken sewer line

Yep......Got the good news today.
My sewer was backing-up about once every 1-2 weeks, so I'd snake/plunge it out myself.
Today my tricks wouldn't work, so I called out the pros.
They snaked my line, and the claw came back with mud all over it.
First estimate......$3600 for a new sewer line.
Merry freaking Christmas to me !!!!
BAH HUMBUG !!!!

A close friend of mine broke off the snake thingy while doing the same thing recently. It turned the job into several more bucks being that his DIY project went awry and had to be removed from the line.

Nothing pisses me off more than a sewer problem. No pun intended.

Richard

Sounds like a lot of reindeer been using your sewer line ! Let's see now, if 3600 of your friends sent you a $1. each...........

TMD

[This message has been edited by TheMetalDoctor (edited 12-24-2003).]

If the break is on your property, you can do it yourself.

Call what ever authority you need to call before you dig, so they can mark out where any buried lines are, rent a small backhoe, dig till you reach the sewer line, clean the pipe well, figure what fittings you need, etc.

OTOH maybe $3600 is worth it.

I would do it myself if it was on my property.
Just my NSHO!

$3600 will buy a nice new mill or lathe. I think I would get the neighbors together and start the wife cooking steaks. Last one with a shovel in their hand gets to do the dishes. David from Jax

There goes my mill......down the sewer.

That's a crappy situation.

I would get a plumber to run a video camera down the line to see if it is one break or several sections or the entire line is bad.
Otherwise any estimate you get is based on worst case scenario, total replacement.

Les

All it takes is a back hoe, 4 inch PVC pipe and a can of cement. Done several myself, just do not forget the pitch for proper flow. Plain sewer lines area easy, just run pipe to the main sewer or septic tank.

A few years ago the drain field failed. Seems the previous property owner did a hurry up job with about 1/3 the drainfield area required.

Hired a dirt mover with a back hoe and a small cat. Put in a drainfield that was 3 times larger than required by current code. Hardest part of the job was waiting for the permit.

Sewer & drain field work is pretty simple.

Why's he need a back hoe???

When I fixed my broken pipe I dug down about 18" and cut it and put one of those rubber pathces on it. The one about 6" long and has two hose clamps.

took me 2 hours and about $20 bucks (for a few extra things I didn't need but didn't want to make two trips for and figured I'd use some other time so kept them.

Holly Smoke! $3600! I put in my whole septic system for less than that. Mud in the pipe indicates a serious break. Check for trees or large srubs within 20' of the line. Roots or soil shifting can break a pipe.

If this is a septic system, it indicates a poor build the first time around. Or an old one--The specs changed for leach beds.

Around here, there are two options....

One is to re-line with PVC, which isn't totally kosher, but can be done if you shut up and do it.

The other is to have it done by an approved plumbing firm, and get the 80% coverage by "sewer lateral repair insurance" which is part of the sewer bill.

Since normally the serwer department sends you a letter stating there is a problem and requiring you to fix it in 30 days or have your water shut off, the latter course is more normal............

How long is the run of pipe from the house to the tank?
It seems to me at 10 $ a 10 ft 4" PVC and a rented trencher would do the job nicely for about 1000 bucks and a day of Futsen with it. Beats hell out of hand digging and if the pipe is broken it most likely that old cast Iron Crap. You'll patch it and then a year or two later you'll have another section crack or collapse. PVC is a good 15 to twenty year fix if ot longer. A backhoe works well but you can rent a smaller trencher from a tool rental that’s allot cheaper for laying pipe. I graded the first 100 feet of my 300-ft driveway carving off 4ft of height just this past year. It was about 120 ton of dirt and put up a block retaining wall for about 3200 with drainage running about 400 feet out to the street drain. I even had a guy pave it for another $5000. Pain in the ba**s but the quote I got for the complete job from a contractor was $38500. I say if you can do it yourself do it. So I saved about 30-grand doing the bulk my self.
SWMBO Is just glad that Dam project is finished. The Biggest issue that started the whole project is a natural spring that the previous owner here and the former neighbor had laid drainpipe under the property line and my driveway to divert. This was done in the late 90's when the water levels were lower. When my old neighbor was trying to sell his house he had to connect to the public sewer and he crushed it. Needless to say it began to percolate in several places along the 300-foot drive. Not being paved it quickly became a mess. My sump pump was going on ever few minutes. Now it seems only once an hour but the spring is still coming out of the hill at the back of the drive and running over the pavement for about 50ft to one of the new drains. It keeps freezing. The New neighbor can’t even mow without the mower bogging into the lawn. He has water running down the entire length of his paved driveway to the street. Thank god we’er on a downward slope and he’s down hill from me. The lots are on an angularly pitched plane going rear-side (mine) down to front side (his). He is a landscaper and plans to trench along the back of my pavement across his yard and out to the front of his lot to drop black drain and gravel. All I have to worry about is a load of gravel. Says I’m welcome to use the Backhoe whenever I need it. This is since he knows nothing about welding and hydraulics and I saved him a bundle on a major repair to the bucket and scoop arm.
Long story short
Do It Yourself. Your wallet will thank you. Good luck
John
PS. I like the suggestion to Have a shovel BBQ. BEER STEAKS RIBS. That’s Great motivation. Hell with 50 guys might not even take two hours. I did my driveway alone and took 5 months between excavating, spreading the gravel, and building the wall.

The busted line is crap-PVC, laid back in 1972.
The plumber that snaked my line, told me that garbage PVC isn't even legal/up to code now-a-days.
I found another guy that will dig it up, and replace it with C-40 PVC (Supposedly some strong S#%T)...for $1300.
START DIGGIN BUDDY !!!!!!
Oh, I have 65 feet of pipe to lay, FYI.