Chronic Building Plumbing Backup Problem

Hi All,

I have a house with a chronic building plumbing backup problem. It occurs probably every 3 months. By now everyone in the 2 family house know not to flush paper towels, wipes, etc. to prevent it but it still happens. The clog always happens in the basement pipes leading out to the sewer line.

Different plumbers have told me it is because of the strange twist/turns in the plumbing of the house that causes backups. I would like to have long term solution for this.

Unfortunately the problem pipes are under the cement basement floor. Before have someone just jackhammer out the whole thing and replace the line, can anyone recommend a good plumber to assess the pipe problem and locate the exact place the clog is happening — most likely with a camera right?

Thanks so much.

citytime79

in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago

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brandonser | 7 years and 11 months ago

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I had a similar problem a couple of years ago, did my homework and finally determined that my sewer line had a sag in two different locations. I ended up hiring Harris Water & Sewer to do the work after a few referrals and all checked out well. I have not had any issues since the work was done.

evg25 | 7 years and 11 months ago

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clog in the line materials, there is a significant back up potential. Therefore have the waste line power cleaned and be vigilant. Anything else requires a line/gravity feed reconstruction.

best of luck!

RRG

evg25 | 7 years and 11 months ago

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Greetings. This issue may indeed be poor “old” engineering. I am involved with a property where the waste line to the street must routinely be cleaned out. The issue is a lack of adequate slope into out of the property. With cooking grease infiltration and the occasional

peaceout | 7 years and 11 months ago

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here’s your guys http://www.plumberinqueens.com/ They are honest and 1/2 the price of Roto Rooter. Check out their Yelp reviews.

aurelien | 7 years and 11 months ago

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I’ve had the same problem in my 2-family house. We called Roto Rooter for a camera inspection after having 2 clogs in 1 month. They aren’t cheap and charge an extra if you want a copy of the video, but their are pros. The guy told us that our sewer line was broken in at least 2 areas, it was as old as our house (terracotta pipe). We ended up hiring a contractor to replace the entire sewer line outside the house and spent $12k as we didn’t have any sewer line insurance.

resident2 | 7 years and 11 months ago

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How old is the sewer line?
I recently went to look at a Flip Sale house in Bed Stuy with a friend who was thinking of buying it. The sewer lines were pitched in all the wrong directions and as your plumbers have pointed out in yours; too many twists & turns.
Whoever buys that house will have major problems.

EJR | 7 years and 11 months ago

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It sounds to me like you need a sewer company, not a plumber. Any good sewer company will have a camera with a snake that should be able to identify the problem, assuming it is obvious. Perhaps you just need period root cleanings. I use: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nationwide-sewer-and-drain-repair-service-brooklyn