A few weeks ago we notice a drip under the bathroom sink. It is an older house with mostly original plumbing. The plumber changed out the P drain but we saw while the pipes were out that the pipes further along were just rusted and falling apart. He changed parts into the wall until it looked OK, he said. He said it still may leak 'in the wall'. When he finished the sink backed up, so he used some white strong powder and the snake type tool. We had less pressure than before he repaired it, but no leaks under the sink.

We evacuated for a week due to Gustav, and after 2 days home this morning the sink is totally stopped up. This afternoon it overflowed onto the floor, with no one using it and no other water or appliance going in the house. We often wonder if we have some sort of connection with the other side of the house; it's a duplex owned individually.

How can the water come back up into the sink? (clear water)
So in looking under the sink we now see a leak from where the lever thing between the faucets connects to the main drain pipe under there.
There might have been a drip from the cold water valve, and maybe from the new brass connection going into the wall; not sure. It was all wet. It's mainly where that lever connects though. Could it possibly be something simple in where this connects?

The plumber shockingly, to us, charged $50hr and was here two days. Do you find that pricey? Does one pay each time though the problem may be related to the first repair? Not sure how that works. Thanks for any guidance!

He was there two days and said that it might still leak in the wall and the drain was still blocked? What did he do for two days? Is you house on a slab, do you have a crawl space or a basement. Suggest you never talk to him again.

Being a duplex, you probably share a main sewer line with the other half. Their sewage is backing up on you side. Need to talk to neighbors and have the main sewer snaked. Of course the whole city sewer system could have been over come by storm.

Remove everything under the sink, dry every thing. Lay a couple of layers of paper towels on the floor of the cabinet, then look for where leaks are occurring. The paper towels will let you see even one drop of water. Post back what you find.

Hi. No, the house is not on a slab, it's up off the ground. How can the sewer back up into the sink? The water does look clear, and it's so strange that it's an upstairs bathroom. You'd think the outflow, with gravity and all, could not back up into the sink.

I just checked, and it is overflowing again. How in the heck to stop this without watching it all night; any thoughts?

HI zoey...

If you guys weren't using water and water backed up and out your sink then the kitchen sink is not the only fixture on this drain line. Someone had to have used water next door and it backed up and into your sink... next time that happens just run and shut the water meter shut off (it will shut the hot water off as well) and that should stop the flood... except for what is left in other apartments sink/fixture... ;)

Clearly, the pipe is clogged and the pipes are very old. I am sorry to say but, most likely, this is not the plumber's fault. This is an accummulation of issues over the years and the drain will need to be snaked out and repairs made to pipes under sink/in wall... no getting around that at this point!

If the new work he installed leaked then he should repair that at no charge to you. And it sounds like he could have been more aggressive in snaking the drain, but also sounds like there is more involved than just your sink.. and obviously both you and him did not know this!

Anyway, get him or another plumber back, clear the drain line using electric snake (look for cleanouts)... see picture below. This can be tricky if pipes are old, but if repiping any part of the drain this will allow full access of pipe which will improve plumbers chance of doing good job clearing the drain (or could go on roof and snake drain from the vent pipe? ).

I would open the wall under sink and see what the rest of the pipe looks like as well. The plumber should also have insisted that you do this... but if there for 2 days (what else was he doing) he may have been afraid to increase your bill anymore that he already did. Fact is though that mold can begin to invade behind wall if leak present so head this off now and take a look in wall.

And so you know, in my area a plumber is charging from 75.00 to 125.00 per hour... so 50.00 is not too bad really!

Let me know if you have other questions here...

PS...what does this mean? "So in looking under the sink we now see a leak from where the lever thing between the faucets connects to the main drain pipe under there"..?

*EDIT* I just saw that they merged the posts as Harold suggested....tough when they do that sometimes!! Makes us look a little loopy...huh?? Ahhh well, as long as Zoey understands this**


MARK

Are you saying that you have water coming out a bathroom sink drain on the second floor, nothing coming out of the tub or any fixture downstairs? If that is correct , the only thing I can think of is that you share a comm sink drain with your neighbor, the drain is stopped up and your sink is slightly lower than your neighbor's. Is that sink on the wall next to your neighbor's bath. If so, visit your neighbor, tell them the drain is stopped and ask the not to use until you can have the drain snaked.

Confirm and tell us what kind of drain pipe you have and how much room you have between where the sink trap is connected to the drain pipe and the wall.

Mark,
See Zoey's other post, she posted twice. As it turns out this is upper floor. If plumber there two days, there should be lots of holes in the walls.

The plumber shockingly, to us, charged $50hr and was here two days. Do you find that pricey? Does one pay each time though the problem may be related to the first repair? Not sure how that works. Thanks for any guidance!

$50.00 for 2 visits ? It sounds like 70's all over again ! :D Your plumber charges were very reasonable. In our area, you would pay $136.00 for first 1/2 hour , than $84.00 for each hour aftterwards + parts.

We have to be realistic. Today, with gas at $4.00 a gallon, Workers' Compensation taking 30% of your gross, Liability insurance taking another 5%, ever raising Auto and Medical Insurance coverages, van maintenance costs, and tool usage - lady, that plumber did you a great favor ! He is a keeper !

You misread Milo, $50 an hour for 16 hours = $800. The rate is pretty good but it doesn't sound like the work was good. Looks like someone merged the two post

Yes, I certainly did... Thank you for pointing this out to me...

Anyway, it is not plumber's problem that customer has old plumbing. Drains should be serviced periodically to prevent unexpected expenditures.

What her plumber didn't do is that he didn't snake her drain right away.

Could be, but I suspect that they share a drain with neighbor, only way I can see for sink to be over flowing with out being used. What I would like to know is what plumber did for two days if there are no holes in the walls. Maybe there is.

Wow, you guys are on the ball. Your answers are informative, and make sense. I don't, however, like the part about how much plumbers charge. Geez! We live in south Louisiana. Sorry for the second posting; it's my first time here.

Yes, they did cut a section of drywall out under the sink, about 14in.x14in. and didn't put a permanent piece back so that we could see what would happen. It' was put on before the pipes were reattached, so maybe I should cut it out before he comes to save on his fees?
I forgot to mention that the plumber said something about the central a/c unit upstairs could be 'tied in'- I don't recall his words exactly- or related to the plumbing in the area causing a problem. Make any sense? We checked and don't see any water or leaks with that in the visible areas.

I'm not sure if the neighbor uses his bathroom sink upstairs very much. Can the water overflow problem still happen if it's not used often? He lives alone and is downstairs most of the day. Also, if we correct our problem, would his side still effect us?
We have a feeling the neighbor knows there is a plumbing issue related to his side from his reaction.

I was referring to the stopper earlier when I couldn't think of the word. I'm pretty sure the leak is coming from where the bottom of the stopper connects to the pipe under the sink.
So if the plumber vigorously snakes out the drain, and perhaps changes out the stopper set-up, do you think that might do it? (And investigate behind the drywall piece under the sink).
Thank you all so much.

OK, if the plumber tied the condensation drain from the A/C in the attic, that could be the source of the over flowing water if the drain is stopped up and its hot (and it would be in southern Louisiana) and the humidity is high (and it would be in southern Louisiana).

The leak under the sink sounds like a leak around the pop-up (stopper) lift rod and needs the curl nut around the rod tightened.

I can't imagine what the white powder was that he used when he snaked the drain. Can't imagine what he did for two days behind your sink. Maybe he cut out some galvanized drain and replaced with PVC, from floor of second story to attic and tied in A/C. Still two days seems like a long time. What bothers me the most is the "you may have leaks inside the walls". Unless he meant you may have leaks in the plumbing down on the first floor due to the age and condition of the pipes.


As far as cost per hour, that sounds about right for that area, or what I imagine the economy to be like in that area. It's all relative, in some area of the country, you make a lot more money but every thing cost a lot more and you pay a lot more taxes.

I take it that you have called him back. Let us know the outcome.

PS,
As far as cutting out the drywall to save, don't touch his work and in my opinion this should all be his responsibility.

The ac unit upstairs could contribute but is not the major volume of water causing issue here. Kind of like you said... maybe not the first time the neighbor has heard about this being issue... BUT even if he does know there has been an issue still probably not anything to do with him except you guys have pipes that are connected together. That is not that unusual in duplex plumbing systems.

You said he doesn't use sink often... maybe why this isn't overflowing more frequently! You need to get the drain snaked and that should clear this issue up as well as any issue related to your neighbor's sink. Have him repair stopper and look behind wall just like you said and hopefully this will be resolved for awhile!

Let us know what they find...

*EDIT* POSTING SAME TIME AS YOU HAROLD!! You beat me by two minutes!!

MARK

Mark,

Southern Louisiana, hot, tropical weather conditions, high humidity, A/C running 24/7. A lot of condensation. Those old boys down there can sweat 10 gallons a day. You Bostonians perspire, us southerners sweat. It's hot down there man.

Agreed on that Harold, but this has only happened couple times now... but could be!! Could be!

Zoey will have to tell us when plumber snakes the drain.

Good day all!