Plumbing Help Needed - Recurring Toilet Block

I’m in a new construction. Been here 2+ years, have had to get toilet snaked three times, and now it’s slowing again. The blockage is very deep down, so the little 5′ snakes from Home Depot are no help. I’ve put nothing down drain but TP (Scott). Toilet is tall narrow Kohler “Persuade”. Last time snaked we found a couple cloths – now I’m wondering if my drain is shared with neighbor, perhaps that’s problem. So — recommendation? Anyone know a really good plumber who won’t just snake but can help diagnose the problem? (Do I need a harder-flushing toilet? A camera to check out situation?) I don’t want to just snake again. It’s getting expensive. Would really like to finish problem for good. Willing to replace toilet if nec’y but would hate to do that just to find problem still exists.

bcnyc

in About Brooklyn 12 years and 1 month ago

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nalusurf | 12 years and 1 month ago

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An adventure to say the least! Yes, our summer electric was over $200/month and being on the ground floor the apartment tended to be cooler and we were away all weekends. So, our use of a/c was minimal. We were very close to our neighbors who had the identical ground floor unit as ours and when I asked him he said, “Our bills are great, like $45!” He had his a/c set at something like 62, you could hang meat in there! Con Ed came out to confirm what I suspected and actually would up giving us a substantial refund for over a year’s worth of incorrect charges. Based on where you are you may very well be snaking other unit’s debris. I think your approach to bringing it to other’s attention is a good start. Also, lean on the management company to get someone qualified to look into it from the the “common area” stand point. We kept ourselves self-managed so it was easier to get things done and get good contractors.

bcnyc | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks for great response. Yes, I’m in new construction. 5 floors, 9 units. Toilet is on ground floor but no sump pump (we have one for basement bathrooms, so far so good on that.) No schematics, original developer went belly up and second developer provided nothing. Based on your recommendations I’ve already asked mgmt company to send msg to all tenants. But may also print out toilet instructions (no feminine products, wipes, etc) and leave under doors. Since I’m ground floor, problem may start with me, not higher units. Interesting about electric. My bills have been quite high – tonight I’ll pull my breakers, see if meter still runs. Yes, new construction in Brooklyn is an adventure.

nalusurf | 12 years and 1 month ago

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We were in a new construction building for about 6 years and found out the hard way the new constructions= poorly built, corners cut and almost nothing built properly. How big is your building (total units), what floor are you on, do you rely on a sump system to get the discharge from your problem toilet to the main sewer system (in other words, is this toilet below grade)? We had an issue with our building’s sump pumps continually failing and the sump pit overflowing. After finally draining the tank and installing brand new pumps with check valves we discovered that the contracotrs basically used this sump pit as a garbage disposal! So all of this debris was burning out the pumps. We also had an issue where our unit’s electric meter was crossed with our neighbors. So, what does this mean? Basically that anything is possible in terms of how the plumbing is constructed. You may very well be connected at some point down stream with a neighbor, eventually all lines with come together to empty into the sewer discharge line from the building. Are any of your other neighbors experiencing similar problems? If they are this may indicate a problem is closer to the discharge point. See if you can get a schematic of the plumbing from the sponsor/contractor or DOB. This will give you an idea of how things were supposed to be installed (doesn’t guarantee that they were installed that way though). If you found cloths, I would suspect that you have someone in your building flushing items that should never be put in a toilet. If that is the case you may need to have a management meeting to address and post a list of things things that can go in a toilet (this should really only be toilet tissue). Many people feel that those flushable baby wipes can go in toilets, but they really shouldn’t (despite their name), and feminine products (tampons, etc…) should never go intoilets as well. Good luck!