Plumbing project...phase 2: Sewer Wye connection

[Scarpozzi]

Phase 1 was upgrading my primary pipes to 3/4" from 1/2" copper to provide enough pressure to make it to the second story of my new addition. I completed this with about $500 of pipe and connections.

Phase 2 is branching off my sewer...I started by digging to find my existing sewer line 5-6 feet down:

I dug until I located my gas and water line connections:

I dug completed the 65 foot trench:

I added a wye connection and a combination wye for the cleanout (since no cleanout was there before):

I laid the pipe:

And then jackhammered through my foundation with a 6" sleeve:

I have about $600 of pipe and connections in this (not all used or shown) including inside 3" and 4" pipe connections to the 2 bathrooms I'm adding. I rented a backhoe for 4 hours for $200.

My total project cost was about $1300. The plumber gave me a quote of $4200 to do this same work....and that was a low quote. I just wanted to share that anyone with a shovel and a little persistence can tackle these projects fairly easily. I'm currently working on backfilling that mess by hand when I get a chance. It's going quick, but weather has been a factor since Sunday. Hopefully I'll get a day or two this weekend to complete the job.

 

[slag]

I need to replace our sewer pipe as we have to clean it out every few months. There is probably an obstruction or break about 25 feet from the cleanout. Unfortunately, the break is near the corner of our basement and I would have to dig 10-12 feet or so to reach it. This is probably a 9-11k job I would have to pay someone to do and I just don't want to spend that kind of cash right now.

What is your family doing in the meantime since they can't flush anything or use the drains?

 

[Greenman]

Have you looked into trench-less sewer replacement? It's quick, it works, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than digging up the entire pipe.

 

[nickbits]

Did you get a permit?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I need to replace our sewer pipe as we have to clean it out every few months. There is probably an obstruction or break about 25 feet from the cleanout. Unfortunately, the break is near the corner of our basement and I would have to dig 10-12 feet or so to reach it. This is probably a 9-11k job I would have to pay someone to do and I just don't want to spend that kind of cash right now.

What is your family doing in the meantime since they can't flush anything or use the drains?

1. If you can find an independent plumbing contractor with a camera, they can likely locate the approximate area that the blockage is located. If you go through a major company like Roto-Rooter, they charge quite a bit for that service.

If you can locate the blockage (typically roots or I've even seen other utility connections cause this problem (ie. gas line run after sewer drilled through pipe underground)), you can dig down only to that section of the pipe and replace that section.

The rubber boots seen in my picture are called Fernco couplings: https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=fernco+couplings&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

You can simply cut out the affected pipe and put 1 of those and a regular pvc coupling....OR, like I did...use 2 of them to replace the bad section of pipe. They are accepted code for underground use and work great for making repairs to pipe. You'd be talking about $20-40 of materials plus digging the line up/back filling....that is, once you locate the problem.


2. In my project, I was only adding a Wye to my new addition and running it underground (Garage + Upstairs + room behind the new door in the picture). You see, my house has 2 bathrooms that are on one end of the house. I'm adding 2 new ones on the opposite end. Due to substructure, it made more sense to branch my sewer connection underground rather than doing it under the house.

I cut my sewer line with a reciprocating saw and had it reassembled for use in less than 10 minutes....even before I ran the 65 feet of pipe to complete the line and get it connected under the house. Sewer lines are not under pressure and it is a sloped line, so there were no leaks and my hands never got wet...

 

[Scarpozzi]

Did you get a permit?

I've got a number of active permits. Plumbing was quite a bit cheaper than my electrical permits...

For a sewer connect + 5 fixtures it was only $39.

 

[T9D]

.....

 

[slag]

I made a sewer camera out of a backup camera, pex tubing, and some cat 5 cabling. I just haven't put it into the hole yet to see what the problem is. I know its 25 feet from the cleanout which puts it right at the end of my foundation. I had one guy say if its bad there, they will want to replace it out to the main sewer.

 

[slag]

I had that same problem. The guy came out, he has a line with a sensor on it. When it hit the blockage he stops and then goes outside with a tool that tells him where it is underground. He marked it. I then dug it out exactly where he marked it. Cut the pipe that had roots in it. And used a rubber boot to connect it all back up. Worked great. But dang it wasn't 12 feet. That's deep.

It's all pretty easy and quick to do though so you can probably dig down and then only cut it when everyone is gone to work or school. Only takes an hour or so to put it back together.

Good info to have. How much was it?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I had that same problem. The guy came out, he has a line with a sensor on it. When it hit the blockage he stops and then goes outside with a tool that tells him where it is underground. He marked it. I then dug it out exactly where he marked it. Cut the pipe that had roots in it. And used a rubber boot to connect it all back up. Worked great. But dang it wasn't 12 feet. That's deep.

It's all pretty easy and quick to do though so you can probably dig down and then only cut it when everyone is gone to work or school. Only takes an hour or so to put it back together.

Most sewer connections at the street are only 6-8 feet deep. 12 feet deep sounds out of your foundation sounds pretty extreme since it's going to have to get even deeper as it goes along. (depending on the lay of the land)

The worst part of digging out the pipe @ 12 feet deep would be to dig the whole wide enough to give you room to work, get under the pipe, and keep the hole from caving in. It would need to be about a 12x12x12 cube....so 1728 cubic feet of soil removed... The reason that would be tough to dig is because most backhoes can't dig that deep easily without it being a pretty large machine. Doing it with a shovel would be a lot of work, but the worst part would be getting the dirt out of the hole. (imagine trying to chuck 1500+ shovels of dirt 8+ feet in the air over your head without it falling back in the hole.

A small backhoe could be used, but would have to dig a hole next to the line with a ramp so it could then dig to deeper depths....

The hole I dug to discover my sewer line was done by me with a shovel in a day. The soil was compacted, but I hit no rocks. The digging was relatively easy. I used a backhoe to widen the hole and would have had to dig another couple of hours do it by hand had I not rented the backhoe to gently widen my working area.

 

[T9D]

.....

 

[slag]

Most sewer connections at the street are only 6-8 feet deep. 12 feet deep sounds out of your foundation sounds pretty extreme since it's going to have to get even deeper as it goes along. (depending on the lay of the land)

The worst part of digging out the pipe @ 12 feet deep would be to dig the whole wide enough to give you room to work, get under the pipe, and keep the hole from caving in. It would need to be about a 12x12x12 cube....so 1728 cubic feet of soil removed... The reason that would be tough to dig is because most backhoes can't dig that deep easily without it being a pretty large machine. Doing it with a shovel would be a lot of work, but the worst part would be getting the dirt out of the hole. (imagine trying to chuck 1500+ shovels of dirt 8+ feet in the air over your head without it falling back in the hole.


A small backhoe could be used, but would have to dig a hole next to the line with a ramp so it could then dig to deeper depths....

The hole I dug to discover my sewer line was done by me with a shovel in a day. The soil was compacted, but I hit no rocks. The digging was relatively easy. I used a backhoe to widen the hole and would have had to dig another couple of hours do it by hand had I not rented the backhoe to gently widen my working area.

Our basement has 8 foot ceilings and the drain is encased in the cement floor. It could only be 9-11 feet deep from the outside, but still, that's pretty deep. I'm not going to do the work. I have neither the time nor the inclination to do this. My time is more valuable to me than spending a couple weekends or more digging a hole in the winter time.