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This forum seems a best place as any to post since my googling for this issue and others has often brought me here.
I'm having problems with an underground clay drain pipe and I don't know the best way to proceed now, so I thought it best to try and get some experienced opinions.
I have drain rods with a plunger attached which has become stuck in this underground clay drainage pipe. There is no movement whatsoever. It cannot be twisted (clockwise!) and no amount of brute force will see any movement at all. I had been rodding the pipe as I believed there was a partial blockage allowing water but not other waste to pass through from the soil stack which connects to it serving the new bathroom upstairs and new toilet downstairs. I am unsure how far the rods have gone through the pipe but I can estimate by checking how many rods have been used and how many should have been in the entire pack.
This means the new bathroom and new toilet cannot be used, so I cannot remove the old downstairs bathroom at the back of the house until this is resolved. I have been putting it off because I seem to be getting nowhere except the joy of frustration, and so have been getting on with other things instead, but at this point I do have to get this sorted as the old bathroom really needs to be gone now.
In attempt to figure out how the rod is stuck without paying a fortune for professional drain inspection with a rod camera and removing the rods one way or another, I purchased a USB powered 10m endoscope but because it is only a flex power cable I've tied it to a nylon cord to try and feed the camera through the underground pipe. Unfortunately it is still hard to direct, and reaches a point where it will go no further (although I think this is because the nylon cord is folding back on itself). Even if the rod is removed, I still need to determine what is causing the partial blockage, i.e. is it just a load of crap in there (which is likely, as an old and completely blocked 1m+ section of cast iron soil stack was removed previously), or is there also a possible collapsed section of the drain?!
So now I feel I'm left with the prospect of either:
1) Paying for someone to inspect with their professional cameras, determine how the rod is stuck, remove it, and then further inspect with the camera to determine if the drain is blocked/damaged/etc, and possibly use high-pressure rod jets to clear a blockage. I have no idea how much any of this could cost and would like an idea of best and worst case scenarios. Note: if a section of drain is damaged I will probably replace this myself once I know.
2) Estimate where the end of the rods and the plunger is, and break through the concrete, dig down until reaching the pipe, cut out a section and hope it is near or at the end of the rods. Get the rods dislodged, and then feed in my camera in each direction from the removed section of pipe (I believe it is just one long straight run ~5m of pipe) to determine if or where there is damage/blockage. Once the problem is resolved, replace the section of cut out pipe and possibly any additional damaged pipe.
This is currently the bane of my life, and my finances are really low right now.
I'm having problems with an underground clay drain pipe and I don't know the best way to proceed now, so I thought it best to try and get some experienced opinions.
I have drain rods with a plunger attached which has become stuck in this underground clay drainage pipe. There is no movement whatsoever. It cannot be twisted (clockwise!) and no amount of brute force will see any movement at all. I had been rodding the pipe as I believed there was a partial blockage allowing water but not other waste to pass through from the soil stack which connects to it serving the new bathroom upstairs and new toilet downstairs. I am unsure how far the rods have gone through the pipe but I can estimate by checking how many rods have been used and how many should have been in the entire pack.
This means the new bathroom and new toilet cannot be used, so I cannot remove the old downstairs bathroom at the back of the house until this is resolved. I have been putting it off because I seem to be getting nowhere except the joy of frustration, and so have been getting on with other things instead, but at this point I do have to get this sorted as the old bathroom really needs to be gone now.
In attempt to figure out how the rod is stuck without paying a fortune for professional drain inspection with a rod camera and removing the rods one way or another, I purchased a USB powered 10m endoscope but because it is only a flex power cable I've tied it to a nylon cord to try and feed the camera through the underground pipe. Unfortunately it is still hard to direct, and reaches a point where it will go no further (although I think this is because the nylon cord is folding back on itself). Even if the rod is removed, I still need to determine what is causing the partial blockage, i.e. is it just a load of crap in there (which is likely, as an old and completely blocked 1m+ section of cast iron soil stack was removed previously), or is there also a possible collapsed section of the drain?!
So now I feel I'm left with the prospect of either:
1) Paying for someone to inspect with their professional cameras, determine how the rod is stuck, remove it, and then further inspect with the camera to determine if the drain is blocked/damaged/etc, and possibly use high-pressure rod jets to clear a blockage. I have no idea how much any of this could cost and would like an idea of best and worst case scenarios. Note: if a section of drain is damaged I will probably replace this myself once I know.
2) Estimate where the end of the rods and the plunger is, and break through the concrete, dig down until reaching the pipe, cut out a section and hope it is near or at the end of the rods. Get the rods dislodged, and then feed in my camera in each direction from the removed section of pipe (I believe it is just one long straight run ~5m of pipe) to determine if or where there is damage/blockage. Once the problem is resolved, replace the section of cut out pipe and possibly any additional damaged pipe.
This is currently the bane of my life, and my finances are really low right now.
