repairing (or worse, replacing), my sewer line . Since I have bought this house last fall I have had to rent or call somebody to clean out my sewer line about 6 times. Just did it about 2-3 weeks ago and heard the kitchen sink hiccuping with the shower running the other morning. Went out front to the clean out and found standing water.

House was built in 1962. Pipe out front is plastic from what I can see. Pipe inside the house is metal and plastic. How much fun am I in for if the pipe is metal out front? I'm thinking about saying to hell with it and replacing the line from my house to the sewer line in the street. Will be digging with a shovel. Back yard wasn't to hard to dig considering this is Missouri when I put in a french drain.

Oh, and for added fun and enjoyment, the locate for my water line puts it about 1-2 feet from my sewer line. So much for a backhoe/mini-excavator.

TL/DR: Continuously stopped up sewer line, water line danger close to sewer line, WTF were people thinking in 1962?

When you install your new line, make sure you backfill with the correct materials, and also make sure to compact the bottom of the ditch as well as the stone you set the pipe on.  It'll prevent the line from sagging in the future.

Not in the tech forums. Warning issued.

~ZW17

Edited...

~ZW17


Wow, someone sure got up on the wrong side of bed this morning.

Edited...

~ZW17

Clicking that back button is a lot of work.  Imagine how much that guy will freak going into GD.

Everything depends on length and soil type but consider this. Get a good location on the existing water and sewer including hand digging in several locations to confirm . Then dig a new sewer line offset so as to not disturb existing water and sewer. This would likely require hand work at both ends where offset would be less.

This action would allow most of the new work to be done with a machine and you would wind up with the sewer and water to be mostly separate
which would simplify any future work.

Check with town or county to insure any local codes are being met.

I will most certainly do that. I'm curious to see what the condition of the line is in right now. I know roots have broken through but I don't know how much damage they have done. If I can avoid running a whole new line thats what I would like to do. Oddly my soil has a high sand ratio compared to normal Missouri dirt.



Haven't thought about the building permit yet for the city. I will call and make sure I don't need one. Thanks for the reminder. Might have remembered to late.

I'd recommend running a camera down to inspect it and spotting exact problem locations

This is worth it IMO.  $500 to find the source of the problem?  And on the metal pipe side, I have seen connections nearly 100 years old that had pristine cast iron laterals.

Definately send a camera down to check it out first.

There are companies who fix sewer pipes much easier than what you are about to do.

They dig up the sewer pipe where it goes into the house, and from the house towards the street, they send a very soft, epoxy impregnated fiberglass hose down the sewer pipe with compressed air. The hose is inside out while laying on the grass, and the air turns it inside out as its shot down the sewer pipe. Then they send hot steam down the hose which both blows up the hose and sets the epoxy. It basically lines the sewer pipe. I saw it on this old house once. All the guys from the show boasted about how good it was.

Look into it ..

i forgot to add, the contractor sends something down the pipe to clean it out first.

Some light reading for you.

What part of Mo.? We do them all the time.

+1 For a camera, I had a broken tile in a drain under a garden apartment in an apartment building I was working in. The plumber came and said it was right up against the footing but was not sure if it was inside or outside. Took a chance and removed the hardwood floor dug it all up only to have it located on the other side... Major headache!

The sewers on the main street were all lined where I live, like another poster said you should check it out, it makes a seamless liner that is very strong.

Google up trenchless pipe replacement or pipe bursting. You won't have to dig up your whole yard.

Here is a short video demo.

I'm in St. Louis County and was having issues with my sewer line backing up.  My front yard was also sinking in one spot.  After having it snaked several times over the years, I finally broke down and got someone out to run a camera down it.  The pipe had separated at a joint under my front yard.  I was afraid of this which is why I had put it off for so many years.



So the guy that did the camera tells me he will make a video and send to the county and they will be out to fix it soon.  Turns out part of the fees you pay for sewer covers repairing the line between where it enters your house all the way out to the street.  



The county had a contractor come out and dig up the line, replace with PVC, add a clean out, and backfill.  Took them 4-6 hours, seems like it was about a week and a half from when I had the camera done.



All it cost me was the camera guys fee, seems like $200, can't remember for sure.



Wish I had known that 10 years ago.



Don't know where in MO you are, but you might want to give the sewer company a call.

Had a plumber come out with a camera just now. About a foot-foot and a half from my clean out in the front yard next to the house it turns into orangeburg...and it has collapsed on it's self and he was unable to get his camera to get past it. Just called the municipal utilities company to have them come back out and do more than half a job. They did not specify where my lateral comes into their line in the street when they did the locate for the water. Woman I spoke to said somebody should be here with in the hour. Stay tuned sports fans.

*edit*

I can't win. Sewer is 17 feet up the road from the man hole that is a straight shot from where my clean out is. Which means the sewer line cuts the corner of my driveway. Will call the city code gurus and see if I can run a line straight into the man hole. Guy I just spoke to said he wasn't sure if they allowed that anymore or not.

*second edit*

They would prefer I not tie into the manhole area due to it being a pain to make the connection they want. They did say I could connect ahead of the man hole cover and they will provide the connection that goes on the main line, 8" as is the case in front of my house. Working on getting a backhoe lined out, buddy of mine's dad has one but it is not in town currently from what I am told.

Winter is coming....

Man, this situation sucks!  I was thinking of the new line pulled in.  No digging.  Saw it on Holmes on Homes.

Reminds me of Christmas Vacation..."Shitters full!"

Whoever invented orangeburg pipe should be tortured in unspeakable ways.  

I'm ready to visit a nursing home after my wiring episode and now this.

That's good of them to do the main line connection for you, that's the bitch part of it (which is probably why they do it so you won't screw it up).

I see Orangeburg all the time, mostly crushed, but I have seen it in almost pristine condition after 50+ years of service, if it was bedded perfectly.

It is still an approved material in Minnesota, and I have seen new Orangeburg fittings (remember plumbers tend to be hoarders, hell, my shop has a few orangeburg field lathes)

They said I can do it. But today I will talk to them and see if they will replace the line from the curb to the main. Its probably 8-10 feet in the ground and I don't know where the natural gas line is buried at. Having that located today. The section from the curb to the line is theirs. If it's junk I will have them fix it because it's their responsibility.

I ordered a cheap 30ft video scope off Amazon last night. I'm going to try and see how much of the pipe is junk and how much is still ok, if any. If I can avoid digging up everything and just replace 1-10 feet of the line that would be very nice.

Will also give a call or stop by my insurance agent and inquire about that $9 a month sewer insurance I have been paying for. He recommended it after telling me the area I live in has had issues in the past with sewer backups after very heavy rains. I know I agreed to it over the phone but I did not see it listed on my policy renewal paperwork a few weeks ago when it came in. Fingers crossed

Here's a thought for you.  If your water supply is in the same excavator as your sewer line, it might be worthwhile to look at the material and condition of the water supply.  The 60's is a little early for that blue plastic crap they put in my house.  If it's copper, you're in good shape.  If it's blue plastic I would consider running black well pipe or copper, because it could fail soon, too, and the incremental cost would be minimal.

What is blue plastic crap? All the current replacements in my area are done with cts, which is blue plastic.  Great stuff in my experience

The water line is in the same trench as the sewer line. Not sure what it is, at the meter it's copper, inside the house it's copper.

Did some digging this afternoon. Quickly found the issue, large root had broken through the top of the pipe and had exploded inside. Did a quick fix with S&D and some S40 with some rubber couplings. Its a cheap not really the right way to do it fix but it will get the toilet flushing on a regular basis. Damn cold outside with the wind. Monday is supposed to be in the mid 60s.

Will dig a little further towards the road and see whats going on. Camera I bought on Amazon isn't very good but it gets the job done. Looks to be clear for the next 8 feet after the section that I found collapsed. Hoping the rest of the pipe is still in usable condition. If not I will keep digging. Soil has a high sand mixture so digging is very easy. Not many rocks which I find weird considering this is Missouri.

If you water line is an old galvanized line, the same vintage as you stated above, and is as close to your sewer line as you say it is, I would seriously consider doing having somebody come in with a mini hoe or such and replacing your water line with some Poly line and your sewer line at the same time.  Could save you another excavation need on down the road.