Did I make a huge mistake?
Hi All,
We just bought a 2 family townhouse in Brooklyn. The house was built in 1930 but we were told the plumbing was all new. We added a washer and dryer into the main house and had an issue with the first drain pipe we tried to attach it two.
Since we couldn't get it to drain properly, we dug up the back patio cement and followed the pipe a little way and found a big clog. We cleared that and have been happily washing clothes for weeks.
This afternoon, the bathroom in the walk-in apartment on the ground floor backed up. Both the toilet and the tub according to my husband.
The same guy that put in the laundry is coming with his snake to try to clear the line.
The previous owner of the house mentioned that he had to have Roto-Rooter come to the house a couple of times in the previous years. I also know from neighbors that the house had been illegaly subdivided into a 3 family (more wear and tear on the pipes) before we bought it.
During the past week, the toilet on the first floor (above the apartment) wouldn't flush twice. I thought because it was a 1.6 gallon toilet maybe I wasn't flulshing correctly or patient enough or something. Both times, I plunged and it cleared. Also during the week, we heard a lot of gurgling in the drain of the tub on the first floor. (above the apartment.)
Since we have moved in we have been using the dishwasher (which was new and unused when we moved in) regularly.
My question: We have added all of these "modern-day luxuries" in, are we over taxing the pipes? Am I going to have to dig up the apartment downstairs to re-work the pipes? Am I worried sick over a minor blockage?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!