Questions tagged [sewer]

For questions regarding the underground pipes that carry foul or "black" water to a treatment works.

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Decision on cutting the trees? [closed]

I have two big trees in my front yard. Their roots are visible all over the surface in the grounds. I am more concerned about the utility damage (water and sewer) they are eventually going to cause. ...
David's user avatar
  • 295
1 vote
1 answer
58 views

Can I install a p-trap with AAV onto a horizontal sewer line?

I currently have a standpipe for a dryer (no p-trap and unvented) which connects (via some elbows) to a horizontal sewer line in the basement. I would like to (a) install a p-trap in the basement ...
divB's user avatar
  • 676
0 votes
1 answer
62 views

How can I check if my sink drain is properly trapped and vented without opening walls?

This is another question in my series of understanding my drain/sewer. I have a bathroom sink with a p-trap that enters the bathroom wall. Underneath the bathroom is a basement where I see the pipe ...
divB's user avatar
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0 answers
54 views

Do I need a p-trap although no sewer gases noticable and how to correct it?

I noticed that my washing machine drain may not be properly vented: There is just an ABS pipe sticking up behind the laundry. In the basement underneath, it just goes into a cast iron sewer line that'...
divB's user avatar
  • 676
0 votes
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33 views

How to add condensate drain to this small section of cast iron/PVC sewer line?

I am looking for a way to connect a condensate drain line (pump from HPWH and HP) to this sewer part: The bottom part seems to be cast iron, the top part PVC. I do not know how they are connected. If ...
divB's user avatar
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0 answers
33 views

Can a cast iron sewer pipe union be above roof line?

Should this sewer pipe connection be below the roof line? Is there a code stating this should be below the roofline?
Mike M's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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sewer smell on cabin toilet

Hello I have an off grid cabin with one bathroom and the toilet room smells of sewer pretty bad at times, esp with rain and colder weather. I looked under the crawl space for venting and there is a ...
Matt Brown's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
60 views

What is this leaking pipe?

I have this soldered looking pipe protruding from the foundation of my house that continues to leak water. What could this be possibly?
Mfos's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
177 views

Nightly overwhelming sewer gas smell from shower drain only while in use

Ok here is a doozy we have been dealing with for over a year. House was a new build 2012 and we had never had any plumbing issues until we had our roof replaced a bit over a year back and around the ...
ChrisF's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
2 answers
69 views

How to cap abandoned drain stack vent flashing

I have an abandoned drain vent with the pipe removed and am wanting to somehow cap it without removing all surrounding shingles and re-shingling. Does any product exist that is made to cap an ...
PeterBillings's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
59 views

Green cover with water noise inside

I have this green cover which has something inside connected to the electricity, and I have no idea what it is, but today it started to make a lot of noise. I've lived in this house for over a year ...
Nobita's user avatar
  • 313
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1 answer
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Can these concrete sewer clean out covers be safely removed

Located in CA. I had the sewer lateral replaced and the company put the code required clean outs in the flower bed by our front door. They also put these terrible concrete covers on top of them which ...
Kate R's user avatar
  • 101
0 votes
2 answers
66 views

How to seal off sewer gasses on a 3" horizontal sewer pipe coming into a sump pit?

I have a drain in the front vestibule that I've turned into a sump pit since I have stormwater backup that I need pumped out of it when the backyard floods and overflows into the front drain through ...
MonkeyBonkey's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
242 views

I think this is an awkwardly broken sewer cleanout cap...if so how to remove and replace?

This is just outside the door to the laneway house and was broken after being stepped on and after doing some googling it looks like it's the sewer cleanout cap which is now broken awkwardly. I tried ...
Emma's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
2 answers
45 views

Backyard Greenhouse Studio Sink Drainage Question

I live in San Francisco and have a permit to build a greenhouse ceramics studio in my backyard. I am a potter. I am currently renovating my 1915 house and adding the studio as part of the plan. I want ...
Jennie's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
268 views

Master bathroom sink sewer smell won't go away

Master bathroom has a sewer smell. It mainly seeks to come from my wife's sink. I've snaked it, drano, vinegar baking soda, plumber has snaked it, but the smell always comes back. I've been ...
Brennan's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why does my basement utility sink that drains my washing machine stink?

The washing machine in my basement drains into this utility sink. On the end of the washing machine discharge, there is a lint catcher. Can anyone tell me what this white pipe is that comes up and is ...
Panda's user avatar
  • 193
1 vote
2 answers
542 views

Dry Well Failing in Septic System

My septic system (tank and dry well, no drain field) is about 60 years old and from the most recent inspection, it seems that the dry well is no longer discharging water to the soil. Is there any fix ...
swaarley's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
139 views

1.6 GPF toilet instead of 1.28 GPF - Old Cast Iron

I'm renovating the bathrooms on an old house I purchased. The house sat empty for a year or two and I have no idea of the condition of the waste line on city sewer. Turning the sink on or putting a ...
RocketManZ's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Sewer Gas Smell From Shower But P-Trap Is Full

I smell sewer gas every other day or so in my basement bathroom which has a sink, toilet, and shower. The p-trap on all of them are full and when I get down and smell the drain of the shower, it has a ...
Justin's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
443 views

P-Trap missing on laundry drain / sewer smell

I moved into a new home with laundry room in basement and started to notice occasional wafting of sewer gas out of the laundry drain pipe. It is an older home built ‘58. It looks like there is no p-...
user164651's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
221 views

Is there a benefit to venting a shower in an otherwise unvented house?

I recently purchased a home built 40 years ago. It was owner built, who was not a contractor. The home 1800 sq ft top level and 1300 sq ft finished basement. There are no sewer vents. Toilets have ...
ordiver1's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
188 views

Can I install not 1 ( BUT 2 ) check valves in my house lateral line out to septic pit that is 14 ft below pump station

Moving into 15 yr old home that does not have a sewer backflow check valve in the lateral line. The home sewer system is configured with a 4” PVC line that drains out 30 ft to the concrete septic tank....
Oily Tex's user avatar
  • 389
13 votes
5 answers
4k views

Attempt to locate buried sewer line with melted snow?

I live in a housing addition (built 1965-1980) in the barren (no trees) Oklahoma panhandle. The first thing the new home owners in this area did was plant as many trees as possible. Over last several ...
Oily Tex's user avatar
  • 389
1 vote
2 answers
89 views

How can I make my basement drains easily serviceable?

My house's sewer system is encased in the basement floor, and there are sections of the old cast iron system that need to be replaced, including two old floor drains and a rusty section of the kitchen ...
adamj537's user avatar
  • 113
3 votes
0 answers
39 views

How can I implement an NRV in brickwork or masonry?

Location: Nagpur, India Glossary: NRV = Non-return valve / One-way valve PVC = Poly Vinyl Chloride SWR = Soil, Waste, Rain Over the years repair/renovation of the street in front of the house has ...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 391
0 votes
0 answers
91 views

Identify Basement Plumbing Access

I am considering finishing my basement and trying to identify the plumbing in the photos. Cutout is approximately 42" x 22" with a 1-1/2" shelf formed into the concrete where layers of ...
Codemode's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
394 views

How to solve the drain and sewerage issue along the street curb

Water always fills on our side of the street curb in front of my house. We have a curb drainage hole on this side, but water still fills up the curb on rainy days. During winter, water would freeze ...
YRJ's user avatar
  • 221
2 votes
3 answers
3k views

How do you join white plastic (PVC) to black plastic (ABS)?

I have a drain pipe located underneath under a bathroom sink. Half of the sewer pipe is black ABS, while the other half of the pipe is made out of white PVC. There are no threads on either side. We ...
Samuel Muldoon's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
87 views

Can this old drain pipe still be active

My house is a renovation of a 1940 house. Many of the old nonworking disconnected parts were left in during the reconnection, including this 5 or 6" cast iron drain pipe. I recently noticed that ...
Wynne's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
77 views

roots growing in a grey water drain that's not too accessible with rods

I have a grey water drain (70mm diameter) that has roots growing in it. I can rod the first foot, and that's it. Looking for some chemical that will work to clear them, as physical removal is nigh on ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 5,198
1 vote
1 answer
44 views

Maintenance of internal roof drain

we have an internal roof drainage system on a 1880 small condo building in New England (MA) that goes to the sewer drain pipe. I just cleaned the outlet for the first time since we moved in. I am ...
user2503795's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
875 views

can I install an inline check valve on a condensate drain line down pipe?

I actually need to add a check valve to my condensate drip line/sewer drain connection since it had sewer backup recently (the 3/4" PVC condensate pipe was piped down directly into a 2" ...
MonkeyBonkey's user avatar
  • 1,145
1 vote
1 answer
119 views

Is it reasonable to expect a home sewer system to handle 2-ply toilet paper?

I own a fixer-upper that has... more problems than I originally anticipated. The current problem that I'm working on tackling is that the sewer line under the basement blocks if 2-ply toilet paper is ...
Mathew Alden's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
3k views

How do I remove a bottle cap stuck 3 feet down a drain line

A bottle cap (I think) fell down my sink drain and down the pipe before I could retrieve it. It seems to be the perfect size to block the drain because despite no water down the drain for a month, ...
Ariel's user avatar
  • 1,873
2 votes
1 answer
321 views

Does this septic tank have built in baffles?

I had a septic tank delivered and want to understand what needs to be done for the hookup (I'm not doing it myself, just want to be sure I understand the requirements). I'd seen / read that you ...
user101289's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
853 views

Can I permanently cap an unused drain line stub out?

I'm building a bathroom in my basement and the builder left a roughed in 1.5" ABS line for the sink. It's a vertical pipe that goes from the roof (presumably) down into the concrete and has a T ...
Egor's user avatar
  • 397
2 votes
1 answer
286 views

Cast iron sewer pipe replacement

My sewer line runs through our basement wall to the septic tank. Due to shifting over the years the pipe has broken at the outside of the house. How do you go about removing the cast iron pipe out ...
Kristina Rainbolt's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
3k views

Plumber got his sewer jetter hose stuck. Whose fault is it? [closed]

On Wednesday, a service plumber came to my house to jet the drain for my kitchen sink. He came around 9 a.m. and by 9:30 had pushed his hose beyond the clog. Then he spent 3 hours trying to get his ...
B. Goddard's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
154 views

Why isn't new sewer vent cap resolving poor toilet flushing?

Next to my lakehouse is a renovated garage with a toilet and a sink. Entire structure was built in the 90s. We have septic. Toilet flushes poorly, gurgles with flushing and just randomly. Removed the ...
Heidi's user avatar
  • 13
2 votes
2 answers
747 views

How to proactively detect a clogged sewer drain pipe?

Is there a way to detect that a sewer drain pipe has clogged and is in the process of backing up? I'm not looking for a) advice like "don't put grease or tampons down the drain" or b) here ...
DaveBurns's user avatar
  • 276
0 votes
3 answers
204 views

Sewer connection with lift pump, or septic tank?

My wife and I are considering a building lot. The city ran a sewer line down the street in front of the lot early this spring, so connecting to the sewer is a possibility, but would require a lift ...
spuck's user avatar
  • 1,261
-1 votes
1 answer
167 views

How High For A Condensate Standpipe?

I have a new Navien NPE-240A2 condensing tankless water heater that I'm installing in an existing small water heater cabinet accessible from the exterior of my house. The current tankless is an older ...
Josh's user avatar
  • 99
0 votes
1 answer
701 views

Sewer backflow pipe in middle of paver patio

I'm installing a paver patio in my backyard and have a sewer backflow pipe in the middle of the area where the patio is going. What options do I have for lowering or covering the pipe so that it is ...
Moflo22's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
148 views

Cap Or Plug For Sewage Line

Doing a remodel, and moving a sink about 6 feet from it's original location, and due to the way that the sewer main runs it logically makes more sense to tie into a different sewage line than the ...
user2676140's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
425 views

Horizontal turns in drain line

There is a problematic horizontal change of direction in this drainage pipe. It is connected to a sanitary tee, but the flow of water is directed right into the cleanout cap instead of the 45 degree ...
Caitlin's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
250 views

Sewer gas odor in 1st floor mudroom after replacing washing machine in basement

We've had a washing machine in the basement for more than a decade (we use it for oversize stuff, horse blankets). Suddenly, upon replacing our old failing machine with a newer one, I'm smelling a ...
Melissa's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
1 answer
261 views

Prioritizing foundation/slab repair and sewage pipes?

My house is old, built around 1955. It has two outstanding issues, Slab repair (very likely needs to be done, doors don't line up and I see cracks above some sills, it has slab repair before) Sewage ...
Evan Carroll's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
102 views

Proposed Plumbing Layout Question for Utility Building - shower/sink/toilet

I have two questions regarding the plumbing layout for my utility building: I would like to run the plumbing from the inside of the utility building to a currently existing main four-inch line ...
staticGenerator's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
459 views

What material to make a custom sewer trap access pit lid from?

Just had my sewer line redone in my basement and when they poured in the concrete it created a trapezoidal shape and the dimensions are not standard. This is similar to covering a sump pit in the ...
MonkeyBonkey's user avatar
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