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clueless2 · Apr 24, 2007, 09:06 AM

My husband wants to install our sewer clean out himself. I don't want it to sound like he is not handy, but... Anyway, the sewer repair technician quoted a price of $1300 to do the job. My husband says he can do it himself. He talked to a friend of his that is a plumber who told him what parts he would need, etc. Has anyone done this who is not a professional in the field? If so, can you give me any pointers or advice? I'm thinking if it costs that much for a pro, there must be a reason. Our main line is only 3 feet underground, so my husband would at least like to do the digging himself to maybe save some money.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks.

ballengerb1 · Apr 24, 2007, 10:59 AM

It doesn't sound like this will be a great choice for a clean out, under ground. Is it possible to reach your main drain line before it exits your foundation? I don't know if your sewer is an iron pipe or PVC and that would make a big difference in the difficulty of cutting into the line. Could you get back with the answers to these two questions? Boy, if I had a buddy who was a plumber I think I'd take him for a steak dinner first and then maybe ask for help.

speedball1 · Apr 24, 2007, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by clueless2

My husband wants to install our sewer clean out himself. I don't want it to sound like he is not handy, but..... Anyway, the sewer repair technician quoted a price of $1300 to do the job. My husband says he can do it himself. He talked to a friend of his that is a plumber who told him what parts he would need, etc. Has anyone done this who is not a professional in the field? If so, can you give me any pointers or advice? I'm thinking if it costs that much for a pro, there must be a reason. Our main line is only 3 feet underground, so my husband would at least like to do the digging himself to maybe save some money.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks.

Three feet underground, huh? Yeah we can help. Cut in a wye into the main and bring it up to grade with a short piece of pipe topped off with a threaded clean out. Just answer Bals question about what material the pipes are and if the plumber can't help we can walk hubby through the job. Sound like a plan? Cheers, Tom

clueless2 · Apr 24, 2007, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by clueless2

My husband wants to install our sewer clean out himself. I don't want it to sound like he is not handy, but..... Anyway, the sewer repair technician quoted a price of $1300 to do the job. My husband says he can do it himself. He talked to a friend of his that is a plumber who told him what parts he would need, etc. Has anyone done this who is not a professional in the field? If so, can you give me any pointers or advice? I'm thinking if it costs that much for a pro, there must be a reason. Our main line is only 3 feet underground, so my husband would at least like to do the digging himself to maybe save some money.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks.

This is the info that I have via the rooter man: Inside in the basement is a sewer line with a cap that they have been going through to clean it out. It is a 4 inch cast iron pipe from there, under our garage floor , and outside. About 4 feet past the garage door, it turns into a 6 inch PVC pipe. (we have determined this from having a camera down there) It is at this point that we were told that the line is approx. 3 feet down, and that we should install a clean out pipe so that the rooter man could go directly through that clean out into the 6 inch pipe as going from inside the house through the 4 inch is not totally cleaning out the tree roots (the sewer line goes straight out under the garage floor and turns slightly and goes dead center under a 40 foot tall blue spruce).
I hope this answers some of the questions.
Thanks for your responses!

speedball1 · Apr 24, 2007, 02:30 PM

Letvme give you some help with the roots. For immediate relief and to kill the existing roots and prevent further growth you can purchase RootX or Robics Foaming Root Killer that contain Dichlobrnic.
A less expensive way would be to call around to garden supply stores and ask for fine grain Copper Sulphate. Put a 1/2 pound in your toilet and flush it down. Repeat in 6 months. Good luck, Tom

Marine01 · Jan 27, 2012, 04:49 PM

I just had this done about a month ago. It cost $1,056.00 to locate and install a double cleanout. One that runs a snake towards the house and the other that runs into the main swer at the street. The cost for the cleanouts it's self was $855.67. Mine was a steel pipe.