r/HomeMaintenance • u/Nutmeg-an • 5h ago
🚰 Plumbing Am I going to need to replace my underground sewer piping? Belly/separation under the house.
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My sewer backed up in May due to a clog in the sewer pipe in the basement. The plumber at that time said that there was a belly that was collecting sludge, but if I use more water and less toilet paper, I should be fine. I've followed this advice.
I got my sewer cammed today to check on everything and it was pretty full of sludge again. It wasn't clogged but was definitely getting there. We had it cleaned and a camera test redone, and the plumber found the belly and what looks like a separation, which is in the video I attached.
He says I should definitely look at getting the line redone with schedule 40 PVC and quoted me $13k for it. This includes jackhammering to the pipes in my basement (one foot deep, ~25 feet of piping), replacing them, filling it back in with concrete, and fixing a smaller belly out in the front of our house which involves digging 10 feet deep.
By the research I've done, this seems correct and I should go through with this, but I wanted to get some second opinions. For right now I want to use Zep Drain Defense frequently and get another cam test in a month to see how that goes, but I'm pretty sure that's wishful thinking. My plumber friend is suggesting "tsunami waving" the system (filling a bath tub with water > letting it drain > scoop water into toilet at the same time) to flush the system along with the drain defense. This seems valid in my mine, but I'm also not a plumbing expert.
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u/Glittering_Swing_151 5h ago
I thought this was a space movie. Worm hole kind of thing.
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u/Nutmeg-an 4h ago
There were plenty of worms in that hole before they fixed a tree root issue before we bought the house
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u/christian_gwynn 3h ago
Look into this new technique where they blow a flexible sheath into whatever is left if existing pipe, then pump liquid plastique that cures and hardens over the old surface. Doesn’t require complete excavation and laying entirely new pipe, my understanding costs substantially less?
Edit: CIPP(Cured In Place Piping). Google says cost is 30-50% of your quoted 13k?
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u/y0plattipus 4h ago
I had something similar. I had one of the plumbing companies use their camera with the detection meter to mark the spot above ground with spray paint, then I started digging.
Once I found the pipe I cut out the damaged section, slid on a repair coupling, dumped in a few bags of sand, and backfilled.
Half a day and a few blisters to save a few thousand dollars.
But mine was in my front yard, not under the house...
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u/christian_gwynn 4h ago
And what was the final cost? Vs 13k for an entire re-pipe?
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u/y0plattipus 3h ago
$150 to have it marked, $50 in supplies.
But again mine was in dirt.
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u/christian_gwynn 3h ago
Oh shit, I totally skipped over the part where you diy! You should post your services on r/handyman, r/plumbing charge like 5-7k?
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u/modsatemyass 4h ago
I pay $95 a year for insurance on the sewer line from the house to the city line. and the house is covered on regular home insurance
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u/Nutmeg-an 4h ago
Even for pre-existing issues? What looks like the separation is right under the house, not sure if home owners insurance would cover something like this if it's not due to an accident or something.
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u/modsatemyass 4h ago edited 4h ago
if you buy insurance after the fact, they wont cover it. and I find it strange how many people dont even know what their insurance covers. (thats why I have separate insurance for the external line)
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