Ridgid's SeeSnake Micro is fairly cheap, and it can go up to 30' with extensions, but the cost of the extensions would probably quintuple the price and you'd still be 15' short, sounds like.
R
Will do. They have actually been very easy and freindly to work with, so I may end up working that out with them. One thing they did say was that their existing main sewer line is probably old "terra cotta"(sp?) so it cannot be detected directly with a metal detector. So I guess to locate the line they would have to run something into the line that a detector could pick up. My street was actually all marked out already for gas lines, water lines, etc. by the State because they were repaving most of the street and redoing curbs nearby about a year ago. My property is one of 4 in a row and the other 3 have green marking for where the curb vent is located. Mine shows no green markings.
Thanks. That last idea about the fish camera is interesting. I bought a small aluminum fishing boat about a year ago and it came with a "fish finder" (not an underwater camera). My nephew thinks the fish finder is great (even though it is practically worthless at finding fish)l, and he was talking about how he saw on the Internet that some people use actual underwater cameras. I'll have to make a trip to the marine supply stores and take a look and the underwater cameras to see how big they are, how they work, etc. I have a hunch that the focal length of those cameras wouldn't work for close-ups like in a sewer pipe, but who knows. What an interesting idea! Thanks for mentioning it.
Thanks. I just checked and here's what I found so far:
I have a feeling that the next time I have to get a clog cleared out in my sewer line, they're going to say they found some kind of cheap video camera in there. :-)
Thanks. I looked it up and here's short video they have that describes it:
Looks interesting, but you're probably right baout the cost and being
15-feet short etc.
Why dig if the trouble is tree roots?
just buy some rock salt, mix with hot water in a washtub, and let it go down the sewer. do before going to work for the day so it can sit in the line. it will kill the roots buit not the tree, is cheap and effective. if you cant find rocksalt softener salt should work too.
ever notice how grass dies if exposed to rocksalt?
I have been doing this for over 10 years and its worked great.
do about 4 times a year, with special attention in spring just before trees leaf out.
25 pounds of rock salt is really cheap:) Not really on topic BUT what would this do in septic system?
No. It's because of bozos that don't know how to use the equipment and screw it up. Ever wonder why MOST rentals don't rent welding equipment? Or if they do, they have a $5,000 deposit? Home plumbing ain't rocket surgery, but someone who understands it will ferret out a problem a WHOLE lot faster than someone who's poking around with rented equipment.
Cleanout? What's a cleanout?
Steve
You must be new here. I've been here for many years. There are times when you need to go to a pro and pay the man what he wants. Lawyers, surgeons, and plumbers come to mind.
YMMV.
Every time I have had a major plumbing problem I couldn't fix, I called the pros, and every time, they came and fixed it. Every time, it was beyond the scope of my experience or tools. And every time, I was happy to give the man a check, and know the problem was solved.
You seem to like the experimentational approach.
Steve
"SteveB" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.infowest.com:
I like your approach (hire a pro). However, the last time I hired a plumber (the best in town, they said) was for a small leak from the body of my Moen kitchen faucet. $225 and weeks of futile attempts later, this newsgroup suggested I call Moen, since there lkely was a known problem with the faucet (vacuum breaker). I did, was offered a free part, but took the new faucet for $50 plus 2-day shipping. Plumber had offered to put in the new faucet if the last "fix" didn't work, and required only mild prodding by spouse to do so.
After many yearly rotorooter attempts, we finally gave in to the sewer digger and had the 70 year-old clay sewer pipe replaced by modern plastic. Plus the town paid to have the lateral fixed. SO far so good. We'll find out in a few years if this fix was worth our $2900 for the 20 feet or so of pipe.
"BetaB4" wrote in news:h0c446$102$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org:
Terra cotta is clay pipe. Similar to the mediterranean style (orange) roof tiles. It is very good, but somewhat brittle. Plus, tree roots can find the seams and grow in, thus cracking the stuff. It's what my sewerline (1929, so now 80 years old) was made of.
"BetaB4" wrote in news:h09k8t$e14$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org:
Find out what company the town uses for sewer work. Ask that company whether they want to give you an estimate for the costs of your part of the fix, and whether they can get the town to fix what the town should.
Worked for us, although we stumbled across the company first, promised them the work, then asked them to see whether the town should fix their portions.
t.com:
There are times
SO far so good. =EF=BF=BD
Over 10 years ago plumbers wanted 8 grand to replace the line from house to street, not including the line under my basement:(
then there was the cost to replace a retaining wall, driveway, and sidewalk let alone landscaping.
thats why I went the rock salt route.......
incidently theres a new approach that saves digging.
they clean it out, put like a sock in it, expand and cure with with very hot water.
leaves a seemless liner and saves digging.
its pricey but depending on depth and what the line is under it might be worth it.
our line is over 8 feet deep at street.....
and for the OP the tree over the line would have to be cut down, so add that cost and the loss of a mature tree to the costs......
rock salt is cheap.
but reportedly not good for septic tanks...........
google rock salt & septic tanks.
salt water is heavier than regular water, it drops to the bottom of the tank stirs the sludge which can clog the drain field.....
a untrained person attempting to use a lage snake runs a big risk, if the snake breaks off then instant digging and line replacement.....
line must be snaked and roots trimmed before camera inspection
bob haller wrote in news:ecf52847-66fa-448a-9f24- snipped-for-privacy@21g2000vbk.googlegroups.com:
We had gone the route of snaking, rotorooting, copper sulfate etc (didn't try rock salt, OK?) many years. We found out that the town would come at least once a year and rotoroot the sewer line for free, even on weekends. However, the constant risk of sewage in the basement finally made us spring for a definitive fix (we hope).
The line is only about 4-5 foot deep in the yard, seems to pass almost under a big oak tree (we could hear it mumble yummm every time we flushed) at the street edge. Distance to street only about 20 feet max. All in all our portion of the work was done nicely and carefully by the 3-man crew in a couple of hours. Next day the street (cul de sac) was bocked almost all day while they worked on the town portion.
The problem was not only roots and cracks in the pipes, but also debris from partial collapses in the town portion. Hopefully this will also fix the flooding that other homes in the street have had, even after their sewer lines (home to street, but not further) were fixed a few years ago.
bob haller wrote: (snip)
You don't kill the tree, you re-route the line. BTDT.
-- aem sends...
Depends on location of tree, and size of tree. A trees root area is larger than the drip line outside permiter of branches plus say 25%''
digging too close can kill injur or make the tree unstable in wind......
plus the line must have enough fall, normally that 1/4 inch per foot
all of these constraints make re routing the line difficult to impossible in many cases
Like I said ........
I just adjusted the new Moen controls on our new showers. A very simple thing involving two screws that would have cost at least $100 for a pro to do. I can install a complete toilet rebuild in about thirty minutes. What would it cost for a plumber to do that? Know how to let the sand out of the input valves on my toilet's apparatus. But for the big stuff, unless you're a plumber, don't risk it.
Steve
Learn to use a witch. Two pieces of straight baling wire, 14" long, bent at a 90 at 4". Hold them one in each hand, loosely, with them pointing forward. Walk around. When you walk over a line, the two will swing inward to parallel to each other. It works, and I've used it for decades. Don't do it around Mormons. They think you're the devil.
Steve
Someone flushed their little puppy down the toilet and the fire department used their camera to find him and help him out. A little boy was the one who in trying to give the baby puppy a bath in the toilet, though a good rinse would be the thing to get the soap out of his fur. Oh Boy! You didn't loose a puppy down there did you?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.