I have a couple neighbors that have had their OB sewer pipe collapse and had to pay a ton of money to get it repaired. I'm pretty sure I have the same pipe in my old house and it's only a matter of time before I have the same issue. Is there a way to fix this before I have a backup? What is the best method?? Is there something that can be done without excavating?
Unless your house is over 30 years old, you may not have that OB pipe. OB pipe was not manufactured after 1972, when PVC pipe took over. If you have not lived in that house for the past 30 years, you wouldn't know if that pipe has already been replaced. OB pipe has a finite lifespan. If installed incorrectly, it could collapse. Another thing is that it can unravel and allow roots to enter the pipe. There are still millions of miles of that pipe installed around the country that is still working (yours included). No one here can tell you when it may fail, or that you should go out and spend $K to replace it before it does. That's a decision you have to make for yourself. Curiously, back in the 60s and 70s, I used to work in the town where that pipe was manufactured and ate in a diner right across the street from it in Orangeburg, NY.
That's interesting. So in fact I may never see the problem. I know this house had it because it's about 75+ years old. I believe it was used when the all the houses in the area were converted from septic to sewer sometime in the 30's or 40's. I'm leaning towards a preemptive approach. I was just wondering what my options are other than digging up the whole line to replace it.
Thanks,
I suppose that if it installed correctly and in the right place (doesn't get heavy traffic driven over it, and there are no trees nearby), it may last longer than you. Did you ever had to have it snaked out? I read that the Empire State Building had 1500 feet of it installed. I don't know if that is for sewage or as conduits for electrical wiring, or both, since OB was used for both..
If your house is that old, you probably have CLAY Sewer tiles. They are a type of ceramic, and were quite durable unless they were cracked. Dont worry about it until something happens. Nothing lasts forever, but I know someone who worrys about everything in their house all the time and are going crazy because of it. Everytime I talk to this person either the furnace is going, or the roof is is bad, or faucets are going, etc. The funny thing is that everytime this person gets worried they call me to check out the problem. Only once was there an actual problem, and that was a dripping faucet that needed new washers. But I know that next week their furnace will make some noise and need to be replaced, and I will have to convince them there is nothing wrong with it, but I will change the filter to shut them up..... Unfortunately I am related to this person.... (damn inlaws).
That's probably more likely since the heavier OB pipe for sewers didn't go into production until 1948.
Well I was talking to my neighbor and they said that the plumber they had come over used a fiber optic camera to inspect the line. It showed a collapse in the pipe. I think I'll have them come over and take a look ant mine and see what kind of shape it's in. Isn't technology wonderful???
Call around in your area. I have heard of doing an expansion thing on the pipe, it cracks the pipe, and pulls along a new one behind it, then expands, etc. Can replace the pipe w/o digging.
Thanks I'll look into it and post what I find out. Thanks,
Thanks for the tips. I'm following up now.
just to follow up on this...
I found out some info on this. There is a process that effectively re- lines the pipe. It can be done without excavation provided there are no elbows present in the pipeline. If there are elbows, ( I have one at the house end), then a small hole must be excavated to get at the pipe after the elbow. The process as it was explained to me was to use a a woven fiberglass type sock that is coated with epoxy. A machine actually blows it into the pipe to so that the epoxy presses against the old pipe. After about 4 hours of curing, the sock is effectively a new pipe. The old OB pipe can fall apart but the new "pipe" will be intact. It has a 50yr warranty and my estimated cost was about $3500-$4000. I'm checking on some other options as well.
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