The Job You Never Want To Do

[MatthewC]

Putting the rubbish bins out yesterday I noticed something odd when I passed the the foul 5" cast iron pipe on the side of the house. The small trench between the house and the path was filled with excrement! It was clear that the downpipe was blocked and so the stuff had somehow come up from the bottom of the pipe, so I immediately guessed that the old pipe had fractured.

My immediate job was to see what was going on under the inspection cover - it was clear! Happily we have two loos in the house and they go to the same inspection pit, so the other one is still useable. So the problem is in the three foot length between where the vertical pipe disappears from view and then enters the drain cavity.

So today I psyched myself up and started clearing the trench. The stuff covered about five or six feet and was a few inches deep. I did think of taking some photos but I thought they might put people off their tea! Once I had managed to overcome to urge to vomit, it was all cleared quite quickly and the cause of the trouble was revealed: at the bottom end of the 5" pipe there was a part of what was a cement collar; there was just a large cavity under the end of the pipe, and the pipe system from that point doesn't really exist, so at least it wasn't the cast iron pipe at fault. This bit of the system was something that I did not check when I did the house 9 years ago.

Happily I know an excellent groundworker who will come and fix it next week - I don't really care what it costs! :x

 

[Flyfisher]

Good catch . . . well, not ideally, but you know what I mean.

It will be interesting to know what the repair does eventually cost because it's actually a fairly trivial job; a bit of digging and a short replacement pipe - easily less than a day's work but it's a job most DIYers would want to avoid - plus there is some urgency - so who knows what premium that will command.

I've done a few jobs on our foul drainage. One was a simple blockage that backed up into a manhole about four feet deep, though I didn't notice the problem until the grass around the manhole cover was a bit 'squelchy so you can imagine what I was faced with when I lifted the cover that was full to the brim! I had previously invested in a 20m drain cleaning pipe for my pressure washer - one of those with back-pointing water jets that propel the hose along a drainpipe - so I tackled the blockage from the next downstream manhole adjacent to the septic tank. I didn't find out what had caused the blockage but the water jets alone were enough to free things up and the manhole quickly emptied. I then ran the pressure washer hose along the entire section of pipe to give it a good clean and have had no problems since (about six years ago).

A more involved job was a blocked pipe to our second septic tank, this time it was tree roots that had infiltrated a section of clay pipe. That was a rather more involved job involving a mini-digger, a replacement length of plastic pipe and a new inspection chamber. Even so, it didn't take more than a few days and cost very little in materials, though I wonder what a professional contractor would have charged. I think the septic tank itself was built in the 1930s and I suspect the offending tree was planted sometime later. That was March 2015 and so far so good. Hopefully the new pipe will see me out!

For anyone with a pressure washer, I can highly recommend the drain jetting accessory hose for these sorts of jobs . . . just be careful where you stand!

 

[Feltwell]

Hmm, clearing drains - must be everyone's least favourite job! I've got a set of old fashioned drain rods and regrettably have had to use them a couple of times.

A job that once completed then necessitates stripping down to pants at the back door, bundling clothes straight into the washing machine and bundling oneself straight into the shower!

I've got a run of drain across my front garden to dig up at some point - it is only for rainwater from the roof, so not too bad, but it's full of roots - running as it does under a hedge and next to trees. I get my hand as far as I can down the trap and I can pull handfuls of root out - I'm presuming they're coming in through the joints in the clay pipe. At the moment though water still seems to go down it OK, and it emerges into a manhole in my driveway OK, so I keep putting it off.

 

[Flyfisher]

I’m assuming you’ve got one of those two-pronged hook attachment for your drain rods? Might be able to remove some of the roots with that, clear enough for a good water flow anyway. But once roots have infiltrated through any gaps then such an approach is only a temporary solution, as I’m sure you realise.

 

[paulc]

Hmmmm.... Drains..... I also have a set of drain rods along with the corkscrew attachments and a brush. Had someone staying with me last Christmas (and beyond). I really don't know what she was doing, but I was having to rod out the drains on a weekly basis :shock: She has now left the building, and I haven't had to get the rods out again.

Noticed the toilet in the bathroom is weeping a little around the joint before the pipe disappears through the wall. Trying desperately to find a bag of enthusiasm to pull the pan out and fit a new coupling and extension piece.

 

[MatthewC]

My friendly groundworker popped by a few days later and has sorted it for me by fitting a new pipe from the vertical stack to the manhole. Normal service is resumed!

Curiously the old underground pipe had a small bend in it, even though it's only three feet to the manhole; the new one goes direct! I am always impressed by the speed of professionals, especially groundworkers who do in minutes what would take me hours.

 

[Flyfisher]

I used to think much the same thing but since my various ‘big’ diy adventures over the past 12 years or so I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s more a state of mind with practice/familiarity thrown in. Standing and staring at a job doesn’t get it done - which is why professionals, for whom time is money, generally get stuck right in.

Things like groundworks seem like major jobs because most of us have little or no experience (or confidence) so they usually need lots of research, thinking and planning, but, as you’ve just discovered, things like laying or repairing new drains are actually pretty simple. Yes, there’s a lot of digging involved (though mini-diggers are relatively cheap to hire) but once enough space has been made the pipe work pretty much just pushes together.

Having said all that, I only wish I had that approach to decorating, for which I’m a master of prevarication! Perhaps it’s just horses for courses?

 

[MatthewC]

As a follow on to this, I noticed a problem with both loos on Chrstmas Day, of all days, and the foul drain blocked again! This time the blockage was downstream of the inspection pit and, happily, a bit of prodding (on Boxing Day) with some drain rods had the desired effect.

But what caused this? Close inspection revealed that the earlier work was done well, but there was now a chunk of old concrete missing, adjacent to where they had applied cement around the new inlet pipe. Presumably they had failed to notice this being loose. I retrieved a couple of seriously large bits of concrete/stone with my litter picker from the trap immediately downstream and this has improved the drainage considerably. I have also re-done the cement, so I think it's fixed, but I will keep a close eye on it for a few weeks!

Today's free advice: if you notice a problem with even just one loo being slow to flush properly, then check the drains. When it's both loos in the house with a problem, it could be too late!