strange problems

[leif-amber]

Hi, me and my husband bought a house and have been redoing it. We replaced everything, new bathtub, new sinks, new toilet. The house is on a concrete slab, so we didn't mess with the drain lines, otherthan what we had to put in above the floor (traps etc). My husband does heat/ac so he sweated the water lines together. We didn't think we were having any problems with our drains because as we were putting everything in and checking for leaks everthing drained fine, the water would run out just as fast as it came from the taps, the toilet flushed fine. Yesterday we hooked the washer up, and it almost immediatly overflowed from the drain, so we assumed we had a clogged drain, so we bought a snake, but when we used it we didn't meet any resistance, but I heard a gurgeling coming from the bathroom, and when I went and looked, our toilet had water bubbeling up out of it, like water boiling thats how forceful it was. When we tried to flush the toilet, it was not draining well, so we filled the bathtub up and tried to drain it, it caused the same bubbles and didn't want to empty. So, we assumed maybe a bird had made a nest in our vent or something, so we bought a bigger snake, one that was flat with a large diameter weight at the end of it. We put it down the vent, and nothing, no resistance nothing. You can even look straight down it and see water in it.
The area we live in is the mississippi delta, the land is really flat and sandy, and its been raining alot lately, is it possible that all the water flooding everything has backed up into my pipe? The neigbors say that when it rains like this their toilets will bubble and their pipes will gurgle. But not like my problems. Or, do I have a problem with tree roots or something like that?
I really need some help.

[Randyj]

Sounds like you have a blockage somewhere past all those fixtures that are not draining correctly. I recently had a service call with exact same symptoms. The whole system had no vents and no clean outs. I had to pull two toilets and run my drain snake down both before I got the blockage which appeared to be right at the neck of the septic tank inlet. The customer had just had the tank pumped so we knew it was not the tank or field lines. If it were the field lines then you would possibly have water surfacing above the tank.

[leif-amber]

Well, we have a vent but I can't find a cleanout anywhere. The things thats going on suggests that it has to be a clog, but why would the toilet have flushed fine before we got alot of rain? Where would a pro have to put his snake in at? He wouldn't have to pull up my toilet would he? Because I decided to grout it to level and seal it than to use caulk.

[Randyj]

If you can't get to it any other way...then it's the vent or toilet....not much else left to put a big snake down.

[hj]

IF you have a septic system, and IF it has been raining a lot, that will cause your symptoms and there is nothing you can do about it.

[leif-amber]

We have city sewage, but their is a possibilty that the house did originally have a cess pool, the house across the street is a mirror image, and the woman who owns it got a big surprise about a month ago when she walked into her back yard, she had a HUGE hole there where it had collapsed.
What would the cost be for someone to come out and clean the line? I guess since its past all the drains, its the main line right? What would be a reasonable price to pay for that, and how long would it take?

[Randyj]

Depending on where you're at... most work strictly by the hour. You can expect to spend a minimum of $150 around here. Some jack legs will be half that and some serious companies will start at about twice that. Not long ago I would do quick jobs for $40-50... I haven't been on a job for less than $150 in over a year.... that's Alabama prices... California or D.C. prices might be 2 to 4 times that. Anything that is accessible should be done anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours max. BUT THEN AGAIN... sometimes this stuff is like hunting a needle in a hay stack.

[plumber1]

Doesn't sound as if you know if you have a septic tank or a city sewer.
From the way I read your post, you may have a septic tank. You need to know before you do much snake work.

[leif-amber]

I absolutly have city sewage, there just is a chance that when the house was built in 1975 city sewage didn't come out that far and wasn't on it. If so, it has been converted to city. I don't know if my house even has a septic tank, because I can't find any kind of vent for one in the yard.

[Cass]

Call a plumber or a company that does drain cleaning and have them come out and clean the drain. If they tell you you have roots run a camera so you know the extent of the damage / problem. When was your home built?

[leif-amber]

1975, and there is a med. size tree about 2 feet to the left of where the pipe is supposed to run through the yard.

[Randyj]

Sounds like you need to knock out the blockage. If you have a pro do it then he should also run a camera down to see if there are roots or other problems. If you do it yourself you'll know if there is a problem with the pipes in a few days to couple of weeks... if the pipes have been compromised you will have another blockage.

[leif-amber]

Roto-rooter is coming out friday after noon, i hope it goes well.

[molo]

Has it stopped raining and if so what has happened?

Molo

[molo]

Are you thinking that an old cess pool or septic might be tied into the city system? I s that why you developed the rain theory? Has it stopped raining?

Molo