Saturday, March 29, 2014

Oy Vey!

For the last 2 days I’ve been without a bathroom.  Thursday morning I flushed the toilet and it backed up into the tub.

Friday I went through a ton of Liquid Plumber and then bought a drain snake and tried to snake out the drain.  To no avail.

Today the plumber came and cleared it out.  For a while at least, because I have roots growing into the sewer line that goes right under the house.

Monday or Tuesday he’s coming back with his drain camera to see how bad the damage is.

Best case scenario, which he says has a 75% chance, is that they can salvage the pipes and just power flush and root kill the drains.  Cost: $1,500.

Worst case scenario is the pipes are not salvageable and they’ll have to break up the concrete in the basement and replace the pipes.  Estimated cost: $9,000.  Right now, I wish I was a renter.

If I ever needed to inherit some money from a long-lost relative, this is the time.

6 comments:

Lisa Shafer said...

Oh dear.
I had my whole system back up once, but, fortunately, it just came up through the floor drain for the washing machine, so it wasn't too hard to clean up. The plumbers were able to flush it out, and it only cost me about $100.
Still, all my neighbors have had to have their sewer lines replaced, so I feel like the other shoe's waiting to drop.....
Good luck with this one.

Max Sartin said...

Let's hope that shoe doesn't drop, and we can still hope for the best case scenario over here too, ok?

21 Wits said...

Oh gosh that sounds just horrible! You might want a second opinion too. I'm only saying that because a couple of winters ago our septic system froze up and it all backed up into our basement. The septic repair crew came out, big men and their bigger machines and they saved the day. They also said we'd need an entire new system, (don't ask that price) because their fix wouldn't last. So far, so good and we haven't done another thing to it. BUT, I stopped using the great amounts of bleach, as it was killing the necessary bacteria in the septic tank. One big root was down there too, that we dug out. Good luck Max!

Max Sartin said...

Yeah, if they suggest the higher option, I'm going to get a second opinion, but I won't be surprised if it needs it. The house is over 100 years old, I've been here for 20 years and the pipes weren't new when I bought it. For now everything is working great, and probably will be fine for a year or so, until the roots grow back in.

Alexia said...

That sounds serious! Hope the best case scenario happens.

21 Wits said...

I am so happy for you! Also, it was awesome seeing you over at TP I've missed you. I also miss Lisa over there too, and her fun photos for it!