Do I have to fix bellied main line pipes?

[Cb112]

We've lived in this house about a year. Last week after showering the storage room flooded with water. The plumber said it was from grease getting trapped in the main line. He also said it looked like around 10 years of build up. They hydro jetted it and looked with a camera and said the pipes are sagging in a few spots.


He told us it would be around $14,000 to fix, and it's not covered by insurance. How serious is this? Is it something we must fix right away? We used the plumbing for a full year without issue and now they have been cleared out by the hydro jet, should we be okay for a while? I just don't know how we are going to come up with $14,000.

 

[Toolaholic]

Not enough Info. How many feet ? Line under concrete slab , or dirt ? For starters. Tool

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Cb112]

Not enough Info. How many feet ? Line under concrete slab , or dirt ? For starters. Tool

I believe he said 10 feet? It's under concrete but they would also have to tear up the bathroom and bathtub

 

[OLD TIMER]

If it doesn't flood now that you've had the drain jetted, don't loose to much sleep. most times jetting solve's the problem.
if the problem keeps coming back then yes the drain is sagging but it's not an emergency and it's something you can plan for.
When he sent a camera down the drain did he show you that the pipe was holding water?

 

[Cb112]

If it doesn't flood now that you've had the drain jetted, don't loose to much sleep. most times jetting solve's the problem.
if the problem keeps coming back then yes the drain is sagging but it's not an emergency and it's something you can plan for.
When he sent a camera down the drain did he show you that the pipe was holding water?

Thanks for your advice.Yes he showed a spot where it was holding water.

 

[Themp]

Neighbor had his sewer line from the house to the sewer scoped with a camera and it showed a dip in the line that was owned by the city on the right of way. The camera showed it was holding water like a trap. The city said that this was not a problem and refused to fix it. It has been that way for many years now and no problems have shown up at this point.

 

[WorthFlorida]

With your home I would wait until it happens again. Depending on how many years it takes to block up would determine if it is worth tearing the place apart. If it's another ten years at least you know jetting will clear the line.

A good chance that the grease build up was from the previous owner unless you're pouring grease and cooking oil down the drain everyday. I recently cleared a grease block in the 3" drain at our church. It was twenty years in the making. After the grease trap (a commercial kitchen in the parish hall) was cleaned and the line jetted the mop sink remained blocked. After several attempts using both hand and power snakes it just would not clear. Others had tried for years also failed to clear it.

I bought a jetter (CLOG HOG) that you use with your pressure washer and it worked. It still took a few hours of time. When the block cleared it was a chunk of dried grease and detergents harden. I determined that it was at the wye to the main since the jetting after the clean out of the grease trap did not clear it because the jetter went past it. You can buy the clog hog and once a year run it through the waste line with a rented pressure washer to keep the line clear. Far less money than $14K unless you want a new bathroom.

 

[hj]

you do NOT have to do anything. If you can live with the occasional stoppages, then leave it alone. If not, get a couple of estimates, preferably NOT from companies that advertise on TV.

 

[Michael Young]

We've lived in this house about a year. Last week after showering the storage room flooded with water. The plumber said it was from grease getting trapped in the main line. He also said it looked like around 10 years of build up. They hydro jetted it and looked with a camera and said the pipes are sagging in a few spots.


He told us it would be around $14,000 to fix, and it's not covered by insurance. How serious is this? Is it something we must fix right away? We used the plumbing for a full year without issue and now they have been cleared out by the hydro jet, should we be okay for a while? I just don't know how we are going to come up with $14,000.

Yeah - it best-practice to replace those bellies. But honestly, $14,000 is a lot of cash. Your homeowners insurance should throw in for the demolition and make-access (and restoring your home after the work is done). If it was my house, screw it. I'm going to leave it and use it. If it's causing repeated issues, I'll deal with it. If it's not causing constant problems pfffft. keep your money in your pocket.