So I have had the weekend from hell . My downstairs bathroom blew up,apparently I have a tree root through my pipe going to the street ,just about 8 feet from the street and it needs to be replaced .Anyone ever been through this before ,what does it run and how fast can it be done ,how far into my property does the county(Charles) control ?
Plumbing Question?
- Thread starter BigBlue
- Start date
I used to own rental houses in PG County and had 2 similar situations. Both times it was obvious it was roots in the line since you can see them come back on the snake line. Both times it was resolved by removing the tree - once by the city since the tree was near the curb (their responsibility) and once by a neighbor whose tree was right next to my property line & water line (they removed it eventually without my asking).
Have you considered removing the tree? You may want to call the County about what they'll do.
Have you considered removing the tree? You may want to call the County about what they'll do.
That is on you to repair. The homeowner is responsible for everything from the "tap" to the house. Cost and permitting will depend on how much digging and replacing has to be done. Some of the Waldorf area mains and taps are deep enough that trench boxes have to be hauled in. The tree owner may be liable for damages done, but that will most likely be decided in a courtroom. Do you have sewage damage on your homeowners, they may cover it.
Just Angie's List some companies. It's a pretty painless process in terms of performing the work. If you're up to it, replacing a portion of the pipe yourself is pretty easy ASSUMING you can dig down to it. The County will own the main to your property line. There isn't a valve like a water line (where the liability would end) but there might be a Y for a cleanout. Either/or - once you get into your yard - it's on you. If not too deep and you know where the break is (you can have someone camera the line for you to pinpoint the break for a couple hundred bucks), simply dig it up. You will then need to cut the bad pipe out and remove it. Don't start flushing toilets/running water at this point in the house. If you are truely a novice, take a peice of the pipe to Home Depot and they will get you what you need. Cut a new peice of PVC and use the fittings HD/Lowes gave you and connect to the old pipe. Outside of that, the only thing you may need to fool with is some type of bedding/backfill for the pipe - but honestly, if you are just replacing 6' of pipe - I would just use what you excavated and put it back while packing it in place.
If you've backed up into the basement, "stuff" isn't passing the roots. Therefore you may want to investigate the idea of having a pumper truck available to suck out the line. If the line behind the clog is jammed up, when you free it, it will empty into your hole (and that can be both a mess and an environmental issue).
Is your basement higher than the street elevation wise? Unless you are on a pump, sewer falls on gravity. And since sewer pipe runs deep than water lines - the main is usually fairly deep (too deep to hand dig). But if your main leaves your house high enough and runs on a slop to the main - you may be able to catch it at a decent depth.
At the end of the day, I can't imagine it costing your $4k as noted above. Not saying someone didn't pay that, but, unless you are really deep, it's 1/2 days work with a backhoe to repair it. Materials cost virtually nothing.
If you've backed up into the basement, "stuff" isn't passing the roots. Therefore you may want to investigate the idea of having a pumper truck available to suck out the line. If the line behind the clog is jammed up, when you free it, it will empty into your hole (and that can be both a mess and an environmental issue).
Is your basement higher than the street elevation wise? Unless you are on a pump, sewer falls on gravity. And since sewer pipe runs deep than water lines - the main is usually fairly deep (too deep to hand dig). But if your main leaves your house high enough and runs on a slop to the main - you may be able to catch it at a decent depth.
At the end of the day, I can't imagine it costing your $4k as noted above. Not saying someone didn't pay that, but, unless you are really deep, it's 1/2 days work with a backhoe to repair it. Materials cost virtually nothing.
All of you Thank you very much .It did back up into the house (it was hell) ,homeowners is taking care of the inside ,I have to do the outside .Got a plumber off Angie's list and they are doing the work tomorrow(wed). It's 5ft down and 7ft from the street, total between what was paid Sunday to snake it ,Monday to camera it and Weds day to fix it will be in the 4200 range . .Yes the tree will come down but that might have to wait till tax time .
That's only a temporary fix. The pipe has still been breached and should be replaced.
All of you Thank you very much .It did back up into the house (it was hell) ,homeowners is taking care of the inside ,I have to do the outside .Got a plumber off Angie's list and they are doing the work tomorrow(wed). It's 5ft down and 7ft from the street, total between what was paid Sunday to snake it ,Monday to camera it and Weds day to fix it will be in the 4200 range . .Yes the tree will come down but that might have to wait till tax time .
That's a nice Christmas present, for sure. Good luck.
LOL , yeah ,had everyone done before this hit thank god!!!Pipe has been fix had it done today ,now fixing the house will take some time .
RPMDAD
Well-Known Member
Feel bad for you BB, the same thing happened to me years ago and it was expensive, and a mess to clean up. Have actually been through it twice, Hope things work out and you and yours have a Merry Christmas.