Toilet backing up. by SPC548

An email by SPC548

I have a new Kohlar toilet in a single family home. I own the inside and my condo association owns the outside. Two months ago I found this toilet to have flowers, leaves and dirt around the inside of the toilet bowl, but with no water inside! There was water all over the floor and down the hall and cost me $3,000 to replace flooring. It obviously backed up from outside, but how? The handymen from my condo association can't seem to find out why, and then it happened again last week, but the water was clear! Why is the water from my toilet being sucked out, then overflowing later? Please help! If I see another tsunami happening in my toilet, I don't know what I'll do!

https://terrylove.com/forums/member.php?do=getinfo&u=37228
Chicago

Terry said:

An email by SPC548

I have a new Kohlar toilet in a single family home. I own the inside and my condo association owns the outside. Two months ago I found this toilet to have flowers, leaves and dirt around the inside of the toilet bowl, but with no water inside! There was water all over the floor and down the hall and cost me $3,000 to replace flooring. It obviously backed up from outside, but how? The handymen from my condo association can't seem to find out why, and then it happened again last week, but the water was clear! Why is the water from my toilet being sucked out, then overflowing later? Please help! If I see another tsunami happening in my toilet, I don't know what I'll do!

https://terrylove.com/forums/member.php?do=getinfo&u=37228
Chicago

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Get the condo association to have someone come out and camera the sewer lines to see exactly what is going on.

You have a strong case that some kind of broken pipe or such, outside, is causing problems. Was any sewer line work done recently in the complex?

At my condo, we are pretty quick to assume responsibility for anything that is not solely for one unit. Generally, once the drain leaves the building, for sure that is common. The central bathroom stacks are back to back, so we suck it up for anything beyond the sink or tub traps, or beyond the toilet itself. We are far better off getting it done, than having problems persist which can damage more common areas. All the drywall under the paint is COMMON AREA, so if a large flood damage occurs, the association stands to be hurt. There is some liability for the home which may have caused a backup. but believe it or not, many condo owners have no liability insurance, so we end up having to sue them! PITA!

The association has an agreement with a good local contractor that he can come in and do what is necessary, and send us the bill. He writes us good details, and if we decide it was purely a local problem ,we bill it back to the homeowner. The plumber knows he gets paid by us. I am on the board, so I stay out of this picture, except to sign the checks!