Need new tub drain - on slab

My tub drain is totally blocked about 10-15 feet thru the pipe. When we snaked it, we get resistance about as far and then if feel/sounds as if we are pushing through rock/dirt. Combine that with the fact the the tub drains VERY slow, I can only imagine the pipe has some kind of hole or crack in it. That there there is a solid blockage in the pipe is not surprising as my wife has put every kind of cleaning liquid imaginable down there - KOH, sulfuric, etc. It probably is blocked like a wad of cement.

Anyway, to mate a new drain to my main line requires going about 6 feet across my tile floor. I'd like to try doing the job myself as it seems mostly labor but I have some concerns:

-How far down to I need to go to lay the new pipe?

-How to you bust up the slab around the main line without damaging it?

-How do you mate the new drain with the existing main line?

-What tool would I use to break up the concrete? (Is there anything smaller than a jackhammer?)

Another thought: The new pipe would be going right under my vanity/sink which means there is a readily available vertical drain. Is it better to link up to that vs. the main line?

Thanks...

I wouldn't be in a hurry to tear up the slab, until being sure that the pipe is compromised. There is currently another thread about cameras...

Also, you may not be able to match the old tile!

I still have some od the floor tiles so that would not be a problem.

Do they have camera's that go down 1 1/2" pipe??

pktaske said:

Do they have camera's that go down 1 1/2" pipe??

Click to expand...

Yes they do. While the tub's trap may be 1.5", most places require at least a 2" pipe in or below the slab.

One more reason to not use solutions that eat away the pipes.
It would have made more sense to snake the drain, then to dissolve the pipe to the point of removal, disposal and replacement.