After buying a home built in the 1950s recently, I had terrible drainage
problems exactly like the note that started this thread. My drains were
so bad, that it required three industrial snakings (actually five
snakings on three visits) in a period of three weeks to finally clean
it. Next to the clean-out was a PILE of roots that had come up. The
drain had NEVER been snaked, as was evidenced by the fact that it took
the plumber and I two hours to 1) find the clean out, 2) unbury it, 3)
try to open in, only to shear apart the pipe, 4) cut the pipe out, and
5) figure out a way to reseal it.
Now, I flush down a commercial root killer several times a year. I have
had no problems since.
Interestingly, check with your homeowners insurance before any large
plumbing job. Mine would have covered the entire cost of a new main
drain (minus the cost of the actual pipe, about $200) and even the cost
of a crew to come out and recover/reseed the lawn if I had needed it,
which is often the case with really bad roots.
Scott Whitehead
http://www.ameritech.net/users/swhiteh3/home.htm
Dave Williams wrote:
>
> -> this summer. they drained _very_ slowly. so I took them outside and
> -> armed with several bottles of cleaning/deliming chemicals and various
>
> We have a problem with tree roots, which periodically clog the pipe
> that runs out to the main sewer line that goes to the street. Estimated
> cost to replace the pipe is $1200. For the last eight years, we've just
> had the plumber come out and run the big snake down cleanout. It's
> about the size of an exhaust pipe, with a snowmowbile engine driving it.
> Takes him about five minutes. Charges us $50, but it lasts a couple of
> years each time.
>
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