Septic Line Emergency

Hi - I live in a rambler in N. VA. It has a septic tank in the front of the property. The house is approx 150 ft long and the septic tank is about 50 feet in front of the bed room end of the house. The lines going out of the house are iron and one line goes straight out from the bed room side to the tank. The other line is coming from the opposite end of the house where the kitchen, laundry and 1/2 bath are located.

One day after I put the Zep Septic Powder treatment down the toilet in the 1/2 bath it began to back up - but only on that end of the house. The bedroom end is working fine. A friend came over with an electric snake that he believes is about 100 ft long. He was able to extend it to what he believed was around 96 ft. According to my calculations that would have fallen short of the septic tank by a possible 25 feet. He didn't feel an obstruction until the 96th foot. When he brought the snake back in from the 1/2 bath he discovered red earth on the end of it. The end of the snake had just a small blade and not a large blade. We feel that there must be some sort of break in the line at that point.

I can not have this repaired now as I expect it must be more then I can afford currently. I have a guest house about 40 foot from the 1/2 bath and it ejects it's waste into the same line that is broken. I have recently signed a contract to rent the cottage and the tenant is moving in next week. I wonder if anyone knows if it would be okay to temporarily disconnect the waste line coming into my house from the cottage and extend it to the other end of my house where the functioning line going out to the septic is. The broken line going out is 50 feet to the good line going out. Any one know if this will work? It's a 1 bdrm cottage with one bath and a washing machine. Thank you so much for your help.

I find this post a bit difficult to understand but if I'm correct you seem to be suggesting that it would be less expensive to lay a new pipe approx 190ft from the cottage to the opposite end of your 150ft house than to dig locally around where you suspect the break/blockage may be. Find the break first and it is pretty inexpensive to repair, certainly a drop in the ocean compared to laying 150ft of new pipe. Any decent plumbing supplies will have the necessary repair collars, just give them the pipe dimensions and see if you can get a foot or two of the pipe aswell and that should do the trick.

OP as you seem to be based in the USA, you should be aware that this is an Irish site and you may not have accesss to posters with the expertise regarding US planning / plumbing / sanitary issues.

Hi Sandra-Lia. Wrong continent for the advice you need. Most fittings are different over here. However if you try www.buildeazy.com you may get some help. Also www.diynetwork.com Have a nice day

Simeon said:

...http://www.diynetwork.com Have a nice day

Click to expand...

Is that a note of sarcasm I detect? Its bleedin' freezing!

Not if you have the blow heater on under your desk and a large mug of Lyons' tea waming the cockles of your 'eart

Hi Baldyman27 - I know it does sound crazy so let me explain. First of all I would only be adding about 50 to 60 feet of pipe. The pipe coming from the cottage is fine and it ends in the crawl space under the laudry area - where it ties into the the larger outlet pipe. It is from that point that I wanted to extend it to the other outlet pipe in good working condition. I am very handy and with my firends help it would be a realitvely inexpensive fix as I would only have to buy the 50 to 60 foot of PVC.

Now that I realize I'm in the wrong country for this site you would also need to know what thieves live here in the form of service providers. They would easily charge me about $2000 to make this repair. I am single and have been unemployed since last Feb so money is really tight. I've been trying to rent the cottage since last July and have finally found someone who's monthly payment will help me dearly.

Although I have built a deck, layed tile and wood floor, painted and put up siding which I had never previously done prior to doing it - I have never fixed this sort of thing. Everything I have ever done has been scary to me at the onset but once I did it I realized it wasn't brain surgery. I am apprehensive about the outlet line fix and, sure, common sense tells me: You just have to dig the hole and replace the broken piece. It sure sounds simple but without any previous experience it frightens me all the same.

I just don't want to lose the tenant and if it is okay to extend the distance from where her pipe ends under my house to no more then another 60 feet then that not only would be inexpensive but something I know I can do.

I want to thank you and others who were kind enough to respond to my dilemma. I appreciate the other sites that have been recommended.

I also wanted to mention that I have no idea where the break actually is as I believe the records by the health department are estimates and guessing so it seems that the break could be quite difficult to find. I will tell this, though, if I can find the break with a couple of trys then you can bet I will attempt to fix it.

Even though the fittings may vary from country to country the principles remain the same, it still makes more sense financially and labourwise to fix the break. You'll end up having to dig to get the pipe into the septic tank anyway. Use your friends snake again, push it into the pipe as far as it will go and then mark the point with a bit of duct tape wrapped around the snake. Withdraw the snake and lay it along the ground from the start of the pipe (where you inserted the snake) to the septic tank, making sure that the duct tape is at the point where you inserted the snake. Bingo, the other end of the snake is where the break is. Dig it down, see whats there, more than likely if its a break you'll just need to cut out the break leaving two clean cuts. Go to your providers with a bit of the offcut pipe and ask for 2 repair collars (thats what they are here for plastic pipe) and enough new pipe to infill the piece you cut out.
Be careful of the water that has backed up when you dig, wouldn't be nice to drown in it

Good luck.

Since I last wrote I contact the Health dept where they are supposed to have drawings related to the septic on my property - but of course - they cannot seem to find them...

If the break were on the end of house that has a straight shot to the septic then your advice would be the answer - as it is a straight shot from the point it exits the house to the tank. Unfortunately for me it is the other outlet pipe. I can see where it exits the house and it know how many feet it traveled from the point where Tom began snaking. The problem is does the pipe continue striaght out for how many feet and then bear left or does it bear left immediately once it exits the house or does angle to the left. Does it tie into the good pipe before they merge into the septic. Does it go on its own straight into the septic. I have measured the distance from many angles. One ends up where it would tie into the good pipe but directly under a rather large bush which - it seems to me - if the break were there then the other side of house would be impacted so considering this I have tried a few other positions and one ends up directly under the stone terrace which is raised about two feet from the ground. Another puts 10 foot beyond the driveway. And that is just two possible places. I will be faced with the strong possiblity that there may have to be many 2 to 4 foot holes made before I can locate it and that is only if it doesn't end up being directly under the asphalt drive way or under the stone terrace. If I had a way to detect where the break was with something other then a snake I would get out there and do it as your instructions seem simple enough ... as long as I don't fall in. lol Do you know of any devices that can detect an iron pipe as it travels across to the septic? Thanx again!

There is a device which we call a 'cat and mouse' in ireland. the mouse is just a small device with a battery on the end of a snake which you push into the pipe until it stops at the break. The cat is a hand held device which you pass over the ground until it locates the signal being sent out by the mouse. Very easy to use and should be available in a good tool hire shop. It is here anyway. Should be pretty cheap to hire for a day too.

That is fantastic news!~ I would think it should be available here as well. I will call around and see where I may rent it locally. I can't thank you enough, Baldyman27!~ I know you wish me well and I will let you know how it works out for me~

No problem Sandra, hope it works out ok for you.

Well, now. 2009 is not fairing too wll. It seems that there are two ways to obtain a "cat and mouse". Buy the mouse for $300 and the receiver for $1200 or hire a plumber with one. I spoke with a gentleman who suggested using a metal detector which - if it works - could be a viable solution to tracking the pipe.

Unfortunately, after two days of rain (and I don't really know that it factors in this) the side of the house that was working is now showing signs of prolonged drainage. I'm praying that it isn't the septic tank itself. I remind myself that there was earth attached to the end of the snake but still I feel paralized in this situation. The weather is calling for freezing temperatures for the next couple of weeks so obviously I must move on this quickly. At the moment I am waiting for a Plumbing Contractor to come out just to give me an estimate. I was so happy to see 2008 end and if this is any indication of what 2009 is going to be like then OUCH! Let's see - on the bright side there are only 348 days left.

Just in case anyone is interested.

The Plumber has come out and has the probe with the detector. He quoted $500 to find the break. And $3000 to fix the break.

I walked around the property and found that directly in the path of the septic tank is a soggy depressed area which if the line from the other side of the house makes a hard left as it exits the house and travels across the terrace it is exactly 96 feet to this depressed area. It may be where the two lines merge into one line going to the spectic so I will try digging there.

definitely worth a go, especially with that quote!!