After recently buying a very old (111yrs) house with my mother, we've been having some sewer drainage problems. At first, the water would just bubble up in the shower or sink downstairs when the washer would drain upstairs. Recently, however, it evolved into a full out lack of drainage.

The plumber came and ran a 100ft snake down the toilet line, but couldn't reach any blockage. Next, my mother rented a snake and a 30' extension for it, and she could reach the blockage, but due to all the twists and turns, couldn't move it. Some opinions are that we have tree roots, but copper sulfate hasn't worked, so that must not be it. The plumbers said they would use stronger tools, but would need to do it through a cleanout and not through our toilet line.

Unfortunately, some genius past owners of the house built an addition, and when the old cleanout was in their way, they just cut the pipe and made it useless. So, we have an extreme blockage problem with no cleanout.

The plumbers said it would be $1500 to install a new cleanout. We turned them down, and my mother went outside, ripped up the deck, and found the main line coming out of the house about four feet down. It's a cast iron pipe, and now we're confronted with the issue of breaking it and installing a cleanout ourselves. Is this even plausible? If so, then how do we go about breaking a cast iron pipe and installing the cleanout? Any input on the matter would be very helpful.

This is doable! We can do this two ways. With 4" No-Hub Cast Iron or with a little moe work we can convert to PVC. Your choice! This isn't a big deal so if you have the will and some basic plumbing skills I can walk you through the process. The hardest part will be cutting the pipe and installing a tee or combination wye and eighth bend in the main to allowyou to install a short piece to bring you up to grade.. After that a clean out and you're home free. Still want to cut in a cleanout? Cast or plastic?? Let me know. Tom