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Hackfest · Dec 23, 2006, 02:33 AM

I had to call Roto Rooter because water keeps backing up into my tub and sink and toilet. They told me they couldn't find the access pipe and wanted to charge me $2,000.00 to put one in. Once they put one in, they could fix my clog. I told them "no thanks". I tried to snake the pipes, but it won't bend around all those curves under my house. I did find the pipe that goes under ground and pulled my house pipe off. I got the snake all the way down there, but it didn't help. Anyway, I know it's a lot but can anyone help me out here? Thanks so much.

speedball1 · Dec 23, 2006, 05:47 AM

" They told me they couldn't find the access pipe and wanted to charge me $2,000.00 to put one in."

By "access pipe" do you mean a cleanout? This is a unreasonable charge since they could have removed the toilet and snaked from there.
Unless you have a very old house, by a code mandate, we ALWAYS install a cleanout not over 18 inches off the foundation and bring it up to grade.
We need more details before we can help. Sewer or septic tank? How old is your house? Did Rotor-Rooter probe for a cleanout? Where did you attempt to snake from?
". I tried to snake tI did find the pipe that goes under ground and pulled my house pipe off.he pipes, but it won't bend around all those curves under my house." Did you snake with the flow or against it?"
Are you saying that you disconnected the house sewer from the outside sewer line? At this time did you discharge water into the house sewer to find out if it was clear? This would have told you whether the blockage was inside or outside your house. Back to you. Regards, Tom

Fr_Chuck · Dec 23, 2006, 07:56 AM

I will relate that my experince with Roto Router in Atlatna GA was bad, I was out of town and my wife and mother in law called them in, they did take the toilet out and run their machine for a minute of two in the drain and came back and told them that the pipe had fallen in and that there was no way to fix it except dig up the yard and put in new pipe. They said it was not roots at all.

I cam home and had a the pipe dug up ( not from their company) at that time I found out it was just some roots from the hedges, and the pipe was in good shape ( plastic).

I stopped payment on the check my wife had wrote Roter Router and threatened to sue them for the cost of digging the pipe out if I even heard from them about the cancelled check. *** I never did hear a word from them ever.

Now in my new house here in wonderful Sparta TN I was having some trouble with my septic, and did not have a clean out to the sewer pipe, so I hired a licensed plumber in our area the cost to find the outside pipe, dig down to it with shovels and put in a clean out was about 400 dollars, and I complained the entire time that was too high.

And yes after you take the pipe loose did you run water was it running free to where you broke it out ?

And if you are very mechanical you can rent one of the router machines at most tool rental stores, run it from where you took the pipe apart, take a toilet out and run it there also.

Also you can go to the roof and run the router though the vent pipe, this is a very, very common method for those with the larger machines that can not bring them into your home also.

And to put your own clean out in, you merely find where the pipe comes out from under the house, dig down to it, open it up and put in a clean out, ( it should not be anywhere near 2000 for it) If they get that much there, I still have my plumbers license I may just move there and actually start doing that for a living, heck a couple of those a month and I could take the rest of the month off.

jrussole · Dec 23, 2006, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by Hackfest

I had to call Roto Rooter because water keeps backing up into my tub and sink and toilet. They told me they couldn't find the access pipe and wanted to charge me $2,000.00 to put one in. Once they put one in, they could fix my clog. I told them "no thanks". I tried to snake the pipes, but it won't bend around all those curves under my house. I did find the pipe that goes under ground and pulled my house pipe off. I got the snake all the way down there, but it didn't help. Anyways, I know it's a lot but can anyone help me out here? Thanks so much.

Do you have a septic system? If you do, maybe the PVC pipe collapsed to the septic tank? Or maybe it needs evacuation? And or a treatment? The same thing happened to us. My husband was away on business at the time. He told me what I needed to do. I dug up the outside piping to investigate the matter myself. Found that the PVC pipe collapsed. I replaced it. And all was OK, after that. And it saved us a lot of money. And he was very impressed with my ability to handle things while he was gone. Although, now I have taken on the role of plumber in the house! Lol

speedball1 · Dec 23, 2006, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by jrussole

Do you have a septic system? If you do, maybe the PVC pipe collapsed to the septic tank? Or maybe it needs evacuation? And or a treatment? The same thing happened to us. My husband was away on business at the time. He told me what I needed to do. I dug up the outside piping to investigate the matter myself. Found that the PVC pipe collapsed. I replaced it. And all was ok, after that. And it saved us alot of money. And he was very impressed with my ability to handle things while he was gone. Although, now I have taken on the role of plumber in the house! lol

This confuses me somewhat. I have NEVER heard of schedule #40 PVC collapsing. It's possible that to save a buck and increase profits the installer substituted schedule #20 PVC which has a much thinner wall then #40 and that's the reason for the pipes collapse but in all the years of installing schedule #40 PVC we have never had a sewer collapse. Regards, Tom

jrussole · Dec 23, 2006, 09:35 AM

Tom, the sewer didn't collapse. The PVC pipe did. Over time and or with a certain weight subjected to the pipe itself. It can and did collapse. Now I am no plumber, but was able to do your job without much difficulty. And our system works beautifully now! The crap hasn't a problem reaching its destination! And to me, that's all that matters.

speedball1 · Dec 23, 2006, 09:53 AM

I'm happy you solved your problem but I'm still confused and curious.
If it wasn't a sewer pipe then where was it? In the house system? If it wasn't in the house then it had to be the sewer line. How much weight was on the pipe? What schedule# was the collapsed pipe? I repeat my original statement. We switched over from ABS to PVC in the 60's in my area and in all the hundreds of condo buildings and single family homes we have never had a complaint about a PVC pipe collapsing. I just got curious because this is the first complaint of this order that I've ever got. The only possible explanation I can come up with is schedule #20 pipe, which has thinner pipe walls and is much weaker, was used instead of the regular schedule #40.
Again, I'm happy you solved your problem. I just have one more question, This pipe that collapsed was it part of a longer pipe? If so why didn't all of it collapse? Am I missing something? Regards, Tom

Hackfest · Dec 23, 2006, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by speedball1

By "access pipe" do you mean a cleanout? This is a unreasonable charge since they could have removed the toilet and snaked from there.
Unless you have a very old house, by a code mandate, we ALWAYS install a cleanout not over 18 inches off the foundation and bring it up to grade.
We need more details before we can help. Sewer or septic tank? How old is your house? Did Rotor-Rooter probe for a cleanout? Where did you attempt to snake from?
". I tried to snake tI did find the pipe that goes under ground and pulled my house pipe off.he pipes, but it won't bend around all those curves under my house." Did you snake with the flow or against it?"
Are you saying that you disconnected the house sewer from the outside sewer line? At this time did you discharge water into the house sewer to find out if it was clear? This would have told you whether the blockage was inside or outside your house. Back to you. regards, Tom

Thanks for the response. Yes, I mean a cleanout. I'm sorry I didn't provide more details. I have sewer, not a septic tank. The house was built in 1955. I suppose I tried to snake against the flow, since I snaked up towards the house. I also snaked the main line that ran underground, got the snake 20 feet in there, but I don't see what good that does. I am going to put my garden hose down the open main, to see if it clogs there. If it doesn't, I'm going to have my wife pour water down each opening so I can see where it's clogged.

jrussole · Dec 23, 2006, 10:12 AM

Can't tell you what kind of pipe it was or what I put in. All I know is that it works. And my husband was impressed with the job I did. Surprised actually. And he can fix just about anything without difficulty. So I guess watching him and helping him do things over the years helped. I just want to get out of fixing the leaky faucet, now! The house was built in the 1960's. So it is plausible that it was a #20. I replaced it with what home depot gave to me. Didn't really care, as long as it worked. I replaced about 15 feet of piping. Added gravel and cement underneath. As well as cement for the connector to the septic system itself. The PVC pipe itself collapsed. How? I do not know. It broke and I fixed it. Not the whole 15 feet, just about 3 feet of it collapsed. I just want to get out of fixing that leaky faucet! And now, I have no excuse! Lol

Hackfest · Dec 23, 2006, 10:35 AM

Well, the news isn't good. I put the garden hose into the main pipe that leads underground, and it's clogged. I snaked it to no avail. I'm guessing I'll need a better snake that is perhaps electric. The inside pipes are also clogged though, which I find sucky. I guess I'm calling a plumber, but does anyone have any idea what they'll charge me to professionally snake my main? Thanks so much.

speedball1 · Dec 23, 2006, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Hackfest

Thanks for the response. Yes, I mean a cleanout. I'm sorry I didn't provide more details. I have sewer, not a septic tank. The house was built in 1955. I suppose I tried to snake against the flow, since I snaked up towards the house. I also snaked the main line that ran underground, got the snake 20 feet in there, but I don't see what good that does. I am going to put my garden hose down the open main, to see if it clogs there. If it doesn't, I'm going to have my wife pour water down each opening so I can see where it's clogged.

You NEVER-NEVER snake against the flow. When you snake with the flow you know the cable's going to end up where it's supposed to. Against the flow you might come up under a toilet and break the bowl.
Rent a sewer machine,(see image) from your local Rent-All and snake the sewer line. Then take it up on the roof and snake from the farthest roof vent to clear the house main. $2000.00 to install a cleanout's not only a rip-off it's highwaqy robbery without a gun. Good luck, Tom

jrussole · Dec 23, 2006, 12:42 PM

Hack, you could call Home Depot and or a tool rental place and see if you can rent an electronic snake. It may do the trick.

jrussole · Dec 23, 2006, 12:44 PM

Sorry, didn't realize Tom already told you what to do! Hey Tom, want to come fix my leaky faucet by any chance? Lol

Fr_Chuck · Dec 23, 2006, 01:04 PM

Not sure of your area, but of course our family owns a construction company and it used to be a plumbing business.

They would get about 150 to do it. 75 dolloar service fee to show up and about 15 minutes and then it goes into a hourly amount.

Before I got one of my routers back here, my son had all of them, I had someone come out and do mine for about 80 bucks.

But if you already have it out, and you are going to use a rental machine, remember if it is roots, don't twist it too tight into the roots, ( it can break off the end of the cable) or get stuck and you can't get it loose and have to dig the pipe up to get to it.

This happens to professoinas sometimes even, I am sure speedball has never done it, but I am sure he knows people it has happened to.

Hackfest · Dec 23, 2006, 04:46 PM

I'm wondering if it is possible that over the last 50 years or so, the pipe has inclined through shifting in the ground to be on an angle coming back towards the house instead of away and down towards the city line. Anyway, I'm calling a plumber to come out here, because every time I rent something to fix anything, I end up having to call some one out anyway, being that I am so retarded about this kind of stuff.

EDIT* the main line that goes to the alley is clogged. It is full of water at the point where I disconnected the house plumbing.

speedball1 · Dec 26, 2006, 07:34 AM

First the main sewer line needs to be cleared and then the house needs to be checked to be sure it's clear. Good luck, Tom