sewer line issue

my house was built in 1895. in the basement there was an old cast iron elbow coming out of the ground (2 feet) and then turning 90 degrees into the wall. it was cracking, i could see in it. it wasnt wet but did emit some sewage odor/gas.

i smashed it with a sledge hammer to find it dry but it did connect to the sewer line. some large pieces of the pipe went down into the sewar line which became clogged pushing water out of the stack 30 feet away from this entry point.

two questions...

one-- i have gotten most of the pieces out of the sewer line. what should i do now as far as cleaning the sewer line or getting out all of the pieces?

two -- how do i properyl seal off this entry?

tks

You need to call a reliable plumber and have them snake the line and see if it can be open it. Are you on septic or city sewer? Are there any trees between the broken pipe and the street (if it is city) or the tank if it is septic tank?

If the line can't be opened you will have to dig. Based on the age of your house you may have a clay line.

sewer line

its city sewer. there are trees.

assuming its still flowing ok. how would i close that entry? right now there is a rag in it..

pipe

That may have been a vent for a house trap. We cannot tell you how to seal it, because we don't know how much damage was done by using a hammer on it. At this stage a plumber would be your best option.

Rule #1. Do not break anything until you know how you are going to fix it afterwards.

house trap

what is a house trap. if it was a vent, wouldnt it of had to be run up side of house and out the roof?

A whole house trap is exactly what it sounds like. It is a trap built into the 4" sewer line that serves as a trap for the entire house. These were sometimes used years ago. They are no longer used today.

trap

so what are cons of eliminating the house trap?

None. All drains must be trapped at the fixture, so there is no valve whatsoever in a secondary trap on the main drain. That's why they are no longer used anywhere.