Forum Archive

Dear plumbing enthusiasts: Another coda to my recent posts about basement flooding in my Clinton Hill brownstone:

Roto-rooter gave our sewer main an expensive and painful colonoscopy this morning, and about 70 feet out–before the sewer-cam could make it to the city sewer pipe–we saw our enemy. Rubble, pebbles, etc. blocking fully half the pipe and causing pooling therein. This is the stuff that’s been catching the baby wipes (WHICH, AGAIN, ARE NOT TRULY FLUSHABLE, SO DON’T DO IT!).

Now, we could pay Roto-Rooter yet another $900 (!!!) to blast out this stuff with a high-pressure machine, but my concern is that A) if there is a hole or collapsed section in the pipe, which there pretty much has to be given this debris, the pressure washer would surely just disturb stuff more, plus B) obviously pressure washing does nothing to repair the breach. Just another 900 bucks down the proverbial drain. Right?

(Unless the debris came from my backyard drain over the years, or stuff flaking off from inside the pipe–is that possible/plausible? Me, I’m doubting it.)

So: I think I need a new sewer drain. Anybody have a plumber/contractor to recommend?

And for plumbers/contractors out there, can we use a trenchless system like those I’m reading about online, to minimize the amount of excavation?

Sigh. Good times. Thanks, all.