Clogged toilet, & orangeburg pipes.

What finally worked. We discovered the builder had used orangeburg pipe 45 years ago, and subsequently we had added a room with concrete floor, tiled, no crawl space, over the waste pipe to the septic system.

(I know we should not have...but I didnt think of it 30 years ago)

No access to replace the orangeburg pipe for 30 feet...without a jack hammer, and the orangeburg pipe was disintegrating and collapsing.The toilet was clogged.

Here In NJ the plumbers wanted $7500.00 to resolve the problem...I guess they assumed we had no choice. Well I learned that code was 3 inch... so I took a 2 foot section of 3 inch copper pipe attached with threaded adapter to 1 1/2 in steel pipe and hammered it into the orangeburg from under the toilet...pulling it back and dumping it and when necessary adding 6 foot of 1 1/2 inch steel pipe each time, a few feet at a time and eventually had somewhat a clear path, then took 3 inch PVC waste pipe..a bit narrower than 3 inch regular PVC....and hammered iit into the 4 in orangeburg..10 foot section at a time, joined the next section with PVC cement and hammered someore. We did 30 foot of 3inch PVC...until we cleared the wall of the house...

It took about three days...because besides buying the stuff, Im 70 years old and just cant work as fast anymore.

but my final cost was around $100.00

Reply to
elliot
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"elliot"

I'm dead serious when I say this...you are a genius, and you have my respect.

Reply to
Mike Grooms

Reply to
Dale Wilcox

what about bends in the orangeberg pipe?

somewhat confused but i understand the concept

my sewer pipe in Montana is getting roots in it--about 75 foot run from house to main lne

estimate $5,000 to do it same for using a hydralic ram type of thing

i have been looking at more creative solutions---like passing like you did a small diameter pipe/tube and passing over it apropriate diameter pvc

i do not knowwhat the codes are ( planning on looking for it)

we use this sort of concept in surgery all the time pass a thin wire and pass a tube over the wire

hth peter

Reply to
ilaboo

In my case I broke out the 4 inch cast iron that was in the crawl space under the bathroom and started to feed in the 3inch PVC waste pipe, at

10 feet I did encounter resistance and took a maul and block of wood and started tapping it.. I have no idea what I was hitting but the pipe was going in at a few inches each time so I kept it up until it suddenly freed up and slid in with little trouble til I reached the 30 foot line outside the house.

I thought I had encountered a slight bend in the orangeburg pipe...but to this day Im unsure what caused the resistance.... If you have a curve or 45 degree bend or anything close, I doubt this would work.

As to sliding a larger diameter pipe "over" a narrower pipe, I wouldnt think that would work... without some serious room to work and some heavy equiptment to drive it and even then 75ft seems a long way to go..but thats beyond my experience level...

Reply to
elliot

BFD time to get over it gramps. You have not "come up" with anything. It is common to use an existing pipe as conduit. I have seen a steerable drilling rig that could drill and enlarge hole while insureing that it has pitch. Also I'd put a 3"x1 1/2" coupling with a 2' capped stub on the front if it. Cut it then re-attach with fernco. help to steer it. Id prob pull it through though.

Your idea sounds like a good way to waste a lot of time. I just love it when old farts like you get so proud of some hairball scheme you come up with. roto_router can do this. You could spend a little more money and have to hole professionally drilled. That part where it got hung up could be a sag or a hump in a line with little or no pitch. Who knows?? Why didn't you pull it through with a come-along or something?? cause your stupid and old thats why.

Reply to
Ned Flanders

why dont you go f*ck yourself...

Reply to
elliot

and where do you live Scum bag Ned, , here in NJ the job would cost thousands...a steerable drilling rig, are you an ass hole or what?...do you own one or have you priced a steerable drilling rig..or are you one of these guys who never has done and doesn't have to do the job but knows exactly how it should be done, as you probably don't have indoor plumbing anyway.... BTW there is no E in insuring.

Reply to
elliot

Reply to
JimBob

"Ned Flanders"

You have my blessing to respond to these raggamuffins. Just use restraint. Remember, we plumbers are known as gentlemen.

Reply to
Mike Grooms

"Ned Flanders"

Thanks for your restraint. I was worried there for a second.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Grooms

The crawl space under the bath is 8' by 8' with 30 inch clearance in this old farm house...the septic tanks is 15 feet from outside wall of the old farm house under three wall foundations any one of which could be sagging. Router rooter came and couldn't help, suggested jack hammer work, couldn't do anything with the deteriorating orangeburg. In NJ if you call a plumber and he doesn't have an 8' ceiling with heated basement he wont work there. I know I have used the yellow pages and only 1 out of every 10 plumbing contractors you call even bother calling back much less show up when you tell them the working conditions.

The two plumbers that did show up, one charged me $75.00 to show up and wanted $300.00 to use a remote TV on a snake to diagnose the problem, the other wanted $7500. as the only solution was jack hammer and trench around the house to bypass the problem Yeah I did the job and it worked damn well. I agree I guess I don't know the correct names for all of the plumbing equipment that I used, rented, borrowed, bought. But hell man this isn't rocket science you know, there are only 2 questions you have to answer correctly to be a plumber. Did you get them both right the first time or did you have be tutored?

No understanding nor respect for the trade? Before retiring I was a comptroller for a large Mechanical contractor for 35 years. All the free help I needed was only a phone call away from good men who would have come to my home for free to help me including the ex plumber millionaire owner of the firm, my old boss who wanted to send a crew over, and when I refused he called me and offered on a sunday morning to work with me himself, and to be sure I could easily have afforded to hire the work done, had anyone remotely resembling an honest plumber shown up I damn sure would have.

From the asshole way you write I doubt that you even understand the meaning of the words self reliant, pride, independent. Words your more accustomed to are lie, cheat, steal, gouge, rip off your neighbor and call anyone you cant beat nasty names. I sure have met your kind before Ned, a lot of built up hostility trying hard to feel good about yourself and rationalize why its everyone elses fault your such a loser; calling anyone and everyone names who doesn't want to support your lazy lifestyle.

I know well what Cheap pain in the ass means to you...yes that means anyone who doesn't want to throw money at you because you think you have them over a barrel...god knows how many old women people like you have screwed over the years and feel damn proud of yourselves. You guys sit up nights drooling at the mouth waiting for the call from somebody who grew up in a household where they didn't learn to work with their hands and cant help themselves, especially women. "Oh man another poor sucker I can rip off...I cant wait to dazzle them with my bullshit routine!"

It makes me sick to see the contractors here in NJ literally robbing poor working families and especially elderly widows around here making them pay 2 and 3 even 4 times what the job is worth to ignorant losers like you who are upset because you cant beat some old guy out of his money. Your not in the least bit upset about my solution whether its good or bad or works or doesn't work doesn't matter to you a damn, your pissed because you and guys like you missed out on a likely old sucker you missed a chance to rob his money..and whats worse the old bastard is now telling other people to give it a try for themselves.

Yeah your right I am old, been there done that...a lot of cuts bruises and scars even half a finger missing on these old hands, from my years in the Infantry, union laborer local 472, and walking the steel in bridge building until I finally took advantage of the GI Bill, but despite there being an awful lot of things I don't know comparatively speaking Im not stupid and you and guys like you didnt get to rob my money this time. So Ned you just keep calling me names so everyone here knows exactly what you are all about. Thanks to your willingness to speak your mind and allow others to see you for what you are,, its not just plumbing being discussed here.

Reply to
elliot

"The crawl space under the bath is 8' by 8' with 30 inch clearance"

Then you are dumber than I thaught. All that because 30" was to low a space to work in. OMFG. I work in crawlholes with less space than that all the time. Last week I ran a gas line under a house, it was so low I could not even roll over. But whatever, your a stinky old man and all you have to do is sort by my name and look at how many are me helping people. When I call someone an idiot they usually are, like you.

"But hell man this isn't rocket science you know"

Just more evidence of your lack of respect old man.

Reply to
Ned Flanders

Reply to
Cash Elver

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