[jeffw2006]

Hi all, I'm new to this place. I actually found this site when searching for information on this topic.

A couple months back, my aunt and uncle were having serious sewer problems. Their sewer had been giving them trouble for the past 5 years, and solutions such as liquid plumber would alleiviate the problem, temporarily. They also resorted to using augers (electric augers as well). This all worked out well for some time, until a few months back.

The seriousness of the situation after 5 years was finally realized, and we decided it was time that the lines outside the house be dug to inspect for the problem. Well, they were plugged solid, with you name it... roots as well. We tried for weeks to unclog the thing--from manual augers to an electric auger. Nothing was helping. It ended up that they had to replace the entire line that goes to the main--about 80 feet worth of pipe. They replaced the clay tile with PVC and removed the outside trap and installed a cleanout.

Here's where the interesting part comes in though... when they finally got all the clay pipe removed, they were all the way down at the main. However,. the main wasn't available. It was plugged shut entirely with plastic! It was a plastic covering going all the way around the hole in the sewer main. Our only guess is that when the city coated the main with plastic, it covered up the exit hole. There is really no other explanation that we can think of.

I just thought I'd share and ask if anyone has ever, in their entire life of dealing with plumbing, come across such a situation? The city finally gave in and re-embersed for damages (I would estimate 5 years of having no main access; oh, you should've seen the soil near the pipes... it was just BLACK from sewage).

To this day this situation surprises me and I'm the kind of guy that can come to expect really anything!


EDIT: I'm sorry for the lengthy message!

Best regards,
Jeff.

[andrewcocke]

Are you saying that for five years your aunt and uncle were living in a house, using a sewer line that literally lead to a dead end?

What a mess!

[jeffw2006]

Yup... it was literally a dead end. They work a lot, so that explains why it took so long to finally realize the problem. (They are only home early in the morning and late at night).