Plumbing question

[SciFiJim]

I bought a home recently and had the flooring redone with tile before moving in. One of the flooring company employees decided that the best place to clean his equipment was the kitchen sink. It filled the garbage disposal and p-trap with sand/grout/cement. I've already replaced the garbage disposal and cleaned the piping under the sink that I can remove. I WILL be seeking damages from the flooring contractor.

My question is, what can be done to clear the sewer line under the concrete slab? It isn't completely clogged, but drains slowly. I've snaked it twice and the problem is still there. Other than ripping up the foundation to get at the plumbing, is there a way to clear the main plumbing line?

I am not sure what direction to head in. Chemical? Mechanical? Rip up the foundation?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

[Winger Ed.]

Find someone with a scope that can send it in there and look at what you're up against.

A snake is OK for a simple clog, but there is also commercial 'snakes' with a spinning cutter head that might be able to clear it unless
there is something like hardened concrete in there.

It might be as simple as mud in the 'P' trap.
You just have to get in there and look.

[BLAHUT]

Find someone with a scope that can send it in there and look at what you're up against.

A snake is OK for a simple clog, but there is also commercial 'snakes' with a spinning cutter head that might be able to clear it unless
there is something like hardened concrete in there.

Agree, The best way to handle this. See what you have ?? Get hold of a reputable pluming house and see what they can do for you ???

[redneck1]

I'll agree with get a plumber in this case since it's likely to wind up as an insurance claim of some sort .
If you do this yourself you'll probably be told to go pound sand by everyone involved .

[Johnch]

Find out who the insurance company likes and get them

A "Water Jet " pressure cleaner can push out or pull out sand

Also if the sand is in a 3" or 4" line
There are disks that can be pulled through the line
Last time I did it , I had #6 lime stone rocks in my main from another contractor cutting the main and not fixing it
So a LOT of stone washed in over several weeks
I dug up the main
Sucked out all the stone I could and fixed the main
I started with a 2" set of disks
After several trips
I used the 3" disks and finally the 4 ""

Took all day to remove about a yard of stone

If I remember right , that cost the other contractors insurance over $10,000

John

[rancher1913]

look for a jetter service. it does the same thing as a snake but in reverse and it cleans and flushes the stuff as it goes unlike a snake that has to fight its way through . a good jetter service will have a spinning cutter head that works like a well drilling rig, it chews through any and all clogs. as a side note, get rid of the disposer, its what caused the slow line to start with and is horrible on septics, lots of sewer companies also outlaw them due to the high bod they place on the system.

[Mal Paso]

Camera on a snake First! Most home drains are ABS plastic and cutters can go through the side of the pipe if diverted by cement.

[rancher1913]

not the jetter ones, they are made for plastic, they use a centering guide and only cut the obstruction, then flush it away as it keeps going. the snakes just keep grinding the obstruction into the sidewalls and do tear plastic up.

[Hannibal]

Just wanted to express my empathy for the OP. This exact type of ignorance is why I've done as many home and auto maintenance/repair projects as I could for as long as I can. Nothing irritates me more than to hire a 'professional' and have them do work I'd think a teenager could probably do better. Problem is I'm getting old enough that's not always possible let alone safe. Ladders are already a no-no, getting on my knees isn't far behind.

[gwpercle]

Professional drain cleaner ... like roto-rooter . It's probably hardened tile mud that the idiot dumped down the drain ... the motorized cutting tool cleaners will clear it .

We had a painter clean brushes and pans in our brand new kitchen sink ... He pulled back the visqueen I taped over it so he could do his dirty work dumped paint down the sink drain ... paint clogged up the main sewer line . Toilet backed up ... wife was a tiny bit upset !
My wife would have killed him if she could have got him ... she stayed mad for 7-8 years and I know better than speak of "Mexican Painters"

Gary

[BamaNapper]

Slab homes have plenty of benefits, but the inaccessible sewer line is a major downfall.

I've had the pipes in my old house cleaned a couple times by a plumber to remove grease and hair type clogs. they're metal pipes and he used the cutter on the snake. He gave me a tip, and it may help in this case. Get a cheap garden hose of sufficient length and cut the male end off, then hook it up to a bib. Now open up the sewer cleanout upstream, put the garden hose in and feed it in as far as you can with the water blasting. It's best to have a second set of eyes watching for backed up sinks or to turn off the water in a hurry if needed. The pressure at the end of the hose and a lot of water flow will help to push the hair, grease, and maybe even construction waste out of the system. It just provides a lot more water flow to wash the problem downstream than gravity will at the slope of sewer pipes. If it's any kind of greasy buildup he mentioned that it helps to hook the hose up to the drain on your water heater and shoot hot water instead of cold. His recommendation was to do it once a year and I'd never have to call him back for a clog. It also gives me a nudge to flush my water heater annually.

[poppy42]

Check your vent! A lot of kitchen sinks have a small venting device built into the plumbing closest to the drain. I would think the probability of such a device being blocked up by tile cement and grout much higher than the probability of that cement and grout being flushed all the way down to drains and into the sewer system where it solidified clogging the system. Also is it just the kitchen sink that drains slow or is it the whole house the drains slow? If it’s just a kitchen sink that would give more credence to my vent being clogged theory

[farmbif]

might call rotorooter. most those guys are no nonsense and have the right equipment and know what they are doing. no they are not cheap but they most always do the job right the first time.

[SciFiJim]

I've got a plumber coming on Monday. He has the camera setup to see what the problem is. I'll have to figure out what to do from there.

[Hannibal]

I've got a plumber coming on Monday. He has the camera setup do see what the problem is. I'll have to figure out what to do from there.

Best approach. Get some good information so you are certain what you're dealing with and then make a plan.

[MT Gianni]

I operated a family drain and sewer cleaning business in the 70's. The best equipment available then would not cut through set up grout or the charge would have been exorbitant as the cutters and cable would need replacing. See what you have with the camera but you're probably looking at replacement. If it were me with a slab, I would run around the exterior of the house to where the main exited and tie in there. { Assuming that like most the kitchen sink is near an outside wall.} Since sewer lines are set up to drain slow enough to wash things away without the water running away from it it will have had access to air and set up. If it was hard enough to hold tile it isn't coming out easily.

If I were the contractor that hired said tiler, I would argue that you had no idea how the drain operated previous to the employee messing up. I would attempt to have you pay a portion. Be prepared to deal with that. If the mud is left in the line it will never be smooth and catch anything that passes near it, requiring frequent snaking.

[SciFiJim]

$565 later the problem is solved. Thinking about the money is an OUCH, but it sure beats having to go through the foundation to replace the pipes.

The plumber use a camera system to see that there was cement/thinset closing down the 4 inch pipe to a one inch opening. He used this camera.
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To bust up the blockage, he poured muriatic acid down the toilet and then used a snake with a spade bit to break up the blockage.
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Anyway, the problem is solved and now my plumbing pipes are clean as a whistle.

[Winger Ed.]

Cool.
I like happy endings.

[elmacgyver0]

Jim,
I'm glad you found someone who knew what they were doing.
Unfortunately, that seems pretty rare these days.

[Hannibal]

Are you going to go after the plumber/contractor? I'd propose that they pay for repair costs and loss of use/aggravation or post your experience with them on every medium available to you. Not much they can contest as long as you don't exaggerate and portray the experience factually.

[john.k]

I would have tried hydrochloric acid too .....very cheap from the pool supplies.........but youd want to be sure there was no metal in the plumbing,and the acid wont work on any kind of epoxy grout .

[SciFiJim]

Are you going to go after the plumber/contractor?

The contractor declared bankruptcy the month after finishing my job. His brother and father quit the business before that and left him holding bag. I'll send him the bill and see if I can get anything out of him, but it is doubtful.

[Hannibal]

The contractor declared bankruptcy the month after finishing my job. His brother and father quit the business before that and left him holding bag. I'll send him the bill and see if I can get anything out of him, but it is doubtful.

Hard to imagine why the business went under given your experience. :roll:

[redneck1]

Doesn't matter if he went out of business if he had insurance when he did your job then his insurance company is still responsible for any potential claims ..
However if he wasn't insured then your probably sol

[Wag]

Insurance or bond.

--Wag--

[GregLaROCHE]

The contractor declared bankruptcy the month after finishing my job. His brother and father quit the business before that and left him holding bag. I'll send him the bill and see if I can get anything out of him, but it is doubtful.

There is probably someone overseeing the bankruptcy. Make sure you get a copy of the bill to them to get on the list of creditors. You may not all of it reimbursed, but you may get a percentage.

[buckwheatpaul]

I bought a home recently and had the flooring redone with tile before moving in. One of the flooring company employees decided that the best place to clean his equipment was the kitchen sink. It filled the garbage disposal and p-trap with sand/grout/cement. I've already replaced the garbage disposal and cleaned the piping under the sink that I can remove. I WILL be seeking damages from the flooring contractor.

My question is, what can be done to clear the sewer line under the concrete slab? It isn't completely clogged, but drains slowly. I've snaked it twice and the problem is still there. Other than ripping up the foundation to get at the plumbing, is there a way to clear the main plumbing line?

I am not sure what direction to head in. Chemical? Mechanical? Rip up the foundation?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

I would make it the problem of the company that did the install.....it is there problem for their irresponsible employee. I would also notify your homeowner insurance. If the install company says for you to get the work done and send them the bill....get it recorded, the person, date, and time you discussed the problem.

[gwpercle]

When you said ... Tile , I had a sneaking suspicion the Tile Setter had dumped enough mortar down the pipe to clog it .

Our Painter ruined our brand new kitchen sink and poured enough paint down the drain to clog it .
I'm glad my wife wasn't able to catch him ... she would still be doing time in Angola State Prison for killing the painter ... She's still hot about that subject !

Glad the man was able to clear drain without breaking up slab .
Gary

[.429&H110]

20 years ago my boss got the idea to map a campus sewer system. Yay.
He wanted to find the rain leaders- rain gutters dumping into the sewer. Double yay.

So he rented for me a GatorCam. With video tape VHS! so he could review the sewer later.
There are heads for power washers, three jets in back, one forward:
the three back jets propel the assembly like a snake down a hole (just like the snake it is)
We slither 100 feet, shut off the water, find the snake with the GatorFinder
mark the dratted rain leaders, easy to fix, but at the bottom of a crater,
paint the line on the ground and then drag the snake out watching the low def TV.
There was paint mortar concrete rocks and trash along with the usual.
Found some crushed lines. Took all summer.

That power washer head would clean 6" or 8" pvc down to the shine.
The big chunks usually would go around the bends.
Dratted sewer was eight feet down.

Then we field-painted lines over the water system and electric (red white and blue)
Campus looked like a demented labyrinth when the boss took a picture from a plane.

With practice I got really good at Dig-Safe. Yay.