tree roots are not welcome here

Originally Posted By: wichita
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I asked a question several days ago and got some excellent advice about my furnace and so I’ll ask another question. I’m kind of a handyman and work on my house (1957 ranch style one story) and several months ago I heard “Glug Glug” in the toilet when the washing machine emptied and I felt that was my cue to rent an auger and roto rooter the sewer line.


As I've done before, I got a shovel and dug down about 24" to the tile sewer line and found the place where someone had taken a hammer and knocked a hole in the sewer line (probably many years ago) and I proceeded to auger the line.

I removed several wads of tree roots and patted myself on the back for a job well done and heard no more "Glug Glug". One weekend several weeks later I decided to install a "clean out" to make things easier. I did so by digging down and removing the 3ft section of tile with the cleanout and noticed that the hammered out area was really weak and cracked really bad and was in poor condition (I hadn't noticed this before). The other thing I noticed was large donut shaped wad of tree roots I pulled out of both ends of the section I replaced (even though I had just augered the sewer line).

I concluded that even though I'd just augered the sewer line I probably still have a lot of tree roots in the line. Is my assumption correct?


Originally Posted By: jhagarty
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For Environmental Health and Safety reasons, repair and installation of Sanitary systems are generally best serviced by Qualified and Licensed Contractors.


What did the Plumber report in regards to his/her observations of this system?


--
Joseph Hagarty

HouseMaster / Main Line, PA
joseph.hagarty@housemaster.com
www.householdinspector.com

Phone: 610-399-9864
Fax : 610-399-9865

HouseMaster. Home inspections. Done right.

Originally Posted By: ccoombs
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I would guess “yes.” Trees love those types of lines. We did this often at my parent’s house. The best part was when my dad started digging in the only spot that didn’t require removing part of the driveway or yard and hit the problem area dead on! Very lucky! Anyway, we found the same thing. He removed the tree vs. replacing the lateral.


Good luck!


Originally Posted By: mkober
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I agree with the foregoing, and would suggest you consider having the “man with the cam” come out and perform a video inspection of your lateral. Our local sewer/water district does it for free, but there are private companies out there that charge a modest fee to tell you what you have. Tile lines are notorious for letting tree roots penetrate, especially the water-lovers like cottonwood and birch. I have seen vitreous tile lines decompose at around 50 years of service, so you may be due for a complete replacement of the line.



Michael J. Kober, P.E. and H.I.


"NACHI Member and Proud Of It!"

Originally Posted By: wichita
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Thank you for the info I appreciate it - and the camera inspection is an excellent recommendation. Right now I’m augering the line about once a year (I hear of others augering their sewer line 3 & 4 times a year). The new sewer line would certainly take care of it. Thanks again! icon_idea.gif