Hi all,
I posted on here previously about a back-up we had that was affecting one of our bathrooms. The toilet was removed and the drain line was routed with a powered auger. That was back in mid-August. We are in a small two bathroom condo, both are on a slab with cast iron drains in the slab.
We had another back-up today that affected both bathrooms (toilets were gurgling and draining, washing machine was backing up into shower, etc). Everything was draining slowly, and neither toilet would flush. We had the same plumbing company come out again, and we went through the same routine of removing the toilet and snaking the line. The clog was in almost the same place as last time, although this time it was just far enough to affect both bathrooms instead of just the one. The plumber said it might be catching right at a Y joint where the two bathrooms come together, but the first time it didn't get far enough to affect the second bathroom.
He is recommending that we get a camera inspection and thinks that some of the cast iron might be "bellying" in the soil, causing toilet paper etc to build up. The house was built in 1973 which apparently seems to be the latest of the cast iron that's out there, so it shouldn't be incredibly rusted yet.
The snaking didn't bring back any roots or other indications that the whole drain line was rotting according to the plumber.
Just wondering what you guys think..is it likely that our cast iron is going bad at around 40 years? Is it possible this is all caused from too much toilet paper or something more innocuous? I'm wondering if maybe we ought to get some sort of cast iron pipe lining. Does this floor have to be torn up for this and is it ridiculously expensive?
I posted on here previously about a back-up we had that was affecting one of our bathrooms. The toilet was removed and the drain line was routed with a powered auger. That was back in mid-August. We are in a small two bathroom condo, both are on a slab with cast iron drains in the slab.
We had another back-up today that affected both bathrooms (toilets were gurgling and draining, washing machine was backing up into shower, etc). Everything was draining slowly, and neither toilet would flush. We had the same plumbing company come out again, and we went through the same routine of removing the toilet and snaking the line. The clog was in almost the same place as last time, although this time it was just far enough to affect both bathrooms instead of just the one. The plumber said it might be catching right at a Y joint where the two bathrooms come together, but the first time it didn't get far enough to affect the second bathroom.
He is recommending that we get a camera inspection and thinks that some of the cast iron might be "bellying" in the soil, causing toilet paper etc to build up. The house was built in 1973 which apparently seems to be the latest of the cast iron that's out there, so it shouldn't be incredibly rusted yet.
The snaking didn't bring back any roots or other indications that the whole drain line was rotting according to the plumber.
Just wondering what you guys think..is it likely that our cast iron is going bad at around 40 years? Is it possible this is all caused from too much toilet paper or something more innocuous? I'm wondering if maybe we ought to get some sort of cast iron pipe lining. Does this floor have to be torn up for this and is it ridiculously expensive?