Clogged drain (video) Tree root?

[myuserid519]

Hi folks,



I've got a problem that might end up being costly, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice.


We recently bought a 50 year old house (plumbers tell me it's got 4” clay pipe). Last week the sewer backed up in the laundry room. We called a plumber and he ran a 1/2 snake through with an approximately 1” triangular head. Watching the clean out, the snake pushed out some grey sludge. He went back and forth a few times, and some thick grey greasy sludge went through. I asked him about roots, and he said he didn't think there were any, as the snake went through cleanly.


A couple of days later, another small backup. Made arrangements for another plumber and a camera. Plumber put through a big headed snake (looked to me like 2.25 or 2.5 inches in diameter). Went through cleanly, with some grey sludge. Water flowed well again. This plumber said he thought it was “grease”, but we'd throw a camera down and have a look. They couldn't do it that day, so I had to wait until today.


Before the plumber got here today, I ran a bunch of water through and when there was a big flow I heard some glugging. With all the previous info, it seemed to me that there was a big organic mass in the pipe still, and the snake broke through the bottom. Camera seemed to confirm this:


drain dec 2011 - YouTube


My main question is: Is what's on the video evidence of tree roots? To my untrained eye it looks like a big organic mass, but I don't really see evidence of tree roots. Is there any chance that it's a long-term buildup of greasy sludge that can be cleaned out?


Plumber recommended inserting a liner for 3k. Are there other reasonable options? Can I try to snake it some more and add some Bio-clean?


Thanks for any info.

 

[vectra65]

get your drain jetted out mate thats the only way to clean it then put camara down and have a look may only be a build up of fat and grease or a bad joint holding waste dont just go for lineing until its clean out may save you money doing this first a rod will only put a hole in blockage

 

[Paulus]

Hi

I have run the video a couple of times but its not very clear. Usually if it is tree roots you see a fibrous mass which I can't in this case. Before spending loads of dosh on liner I would do as vectra says.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i agree get it jetted before anymore cameras go down. i wouldn't get a liner put in without jetting and certainly without getting further quotes for the work if it is needed.

 

[myuserid519]

i agree get it jetted before anymore cameras go down. i wouldn't get a liner put in without jetting and certainly without getting further quotes for the work if it is needed.

Thanks for the replies.

What are the chances that jetting damages the clay pipe? I don't know much about it. Is that a concern?

 

[PlumbBobBob]

jetting shouldn't damage the clay pipe unless it is already broken

 

[stevetheplumber]

depending on where it is and how deep ,it might be cheaper to dig it out

 

[REDSAW]

obvious question is, do you have any trees or big shrubs above the pipe?.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

not necessarily above the pipe roots can travel quite a way seeking water. could be a few feet away but in vicinity.

 

[anz]

If the house was built pre 1937, its classed as a public sewer and is therefore the responsibility of the water company.

Might be worth checking out.

 

[myuserid519]

Thanks for all of the replies and opinions. I'm thinking that jetting is the way to go.

The mass in the pipe of the first video is about 2.5 or 3 metres underneath the house (towards middle of basement). We have a very large tree in the front yard that could be extending down there.

I have another shorter, clearer video that was taken that day in a different pipe:

Drain with buildup (and tree root?) - YouTube

The plumber seems to think that what is in this video is roots as well, but this doesn't look anything like roots to my untrained eye.

Any thoughts on this clearer video?

Thanks again.

 

[Paulus]

Again, it is difficult to tell but it looks more like a build-up of gunge than roots. Although fibrous roots can gel into a mass I would expect to see at least some small strings of root.

I still think jetting is the way to go as a start. If you have it jetted there should be a manhole that these pipes empty into where you should be able to see what comes out. Whatever you find there will dictate what to do next. Hopefully nothing.

 

[vectra65]

i was led to believe that the height of the tree equals the length off the tree roots

 

[vectra65]

looked at video thats not roots just build up ive worked for all the big drain firms inpast ang done many drains

 

[vectra65]

sorry and

 

[PlumbBobBob]

it is possible that one of the sections of drain has dropped slightly thus creating a lip which is catching debris and building up over time causing the blockage.

 

[REDSAW]

thats fat that is,