Toilet sewer line question

[Syncman]

I have a belly in my sewer line in basement ceiling. Left and right, its locked in where it, and another line feeds through a joist. I think where the water enters this section on the LHS is lower than where it leaves. into the down pipe in the exterior wall on the RHS. Looks like it was made that way 35 years ago. Finally there was a blockage. Because I had roots in sewer line twice in 4 years, I assumed the worst. However a camera confirmed it was in the house. I snaked it 3 times in last 5 months, but it keeps getting blocked. Is there an easy solution? Like something to chemically clear the line? Or am I going to have to lower the section where it leaves the house [second pic.]

 

[Reach4]

1. The camera should have told you where the line was getting blocked. Do you know where the blockage happens?

2. Your first photo looks like the pipe is sagging. Is it? Get a level to figure out what is going on. Perhaps raising the middle would help.

3. is the toilet on the left of the first picture, or what?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Syncman]

1. The camera should have told you where the line was getting blocked. Do you know where the blockage happens?

2. Your first photo looks like the pipe is sagging. Is it? Get a level to figure out what is going on. Perhaps raising the middle would help.

3. is the toilet on the left of the first picture, or what?

Theres a sag in the middle of that line. Need to drop the RHS 1" maybe. 2 Toilets to the left. The RHS has the downpipe, but its locked in by a bathtub drain coming through a joist. No easy solution I guess. Just irritating that a 1/2" sag can cause a 4" pipe to block.

 

[John Gayewski]

How much space between pipe supports? Surprisingly a sag can cause a lot of trouble... It can also cause none at all.

Are you sure the pipe isn't sagged due to time, in combination with too much space between supports? If there is more than 4feet in between hangers pvc pipe can warp and sag over time. It's possible this pipe was sloped fine for a long time and then started to sag. It would be great if you could determine whether the sag is fixable by simply adding a hanger. This is most easily done with a laser. With a laser you could have a known dead level point to measure off of the whole length of the pipe. Measuring off of floor joists or using a level can be very difficult to get precise measurements.

 

[Jeff H Young]

drop the right hand side youll have to rework the drain to bath tub by rolling the wye up and adjusting the 45 possiblly Liklely replacing fittings. It appears that pipe inside a joist bay and that wood is just a block . I thinkj a torpedo level is good enough to determine if a belly exists . of cource 1/4 perfoot minmum is desireable and code for me but in a pinch 1/8inch will be ok and anything more than 1/8th is no issue at all

 

[John Gayewski]

drop the right hand side youll have to rework the drain to bath tub by rolling the wye up and adjusting the 45 possiblly Liklely replacing fittings. It appears that pipe inside a joist bay and that wood is just a block . I thinkj a torpedo level is good enough to determine if a belly exists . of cource 1/4 perfoot minmum is desireable and code for me but in a pinch 1/8inch will be ok and anything more than 1/8th is no issue at all

You can of course determine if a belly exists with a torpedo. But you cannot tell if you have room to lower the pipe or by how much you'd need to lower it with a torpedo.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Lazer can help. maybe it just looks flat to me right about where that block is looks low , could be its got plenty of fall what Im looking at ? So thats why I suggested dropping the right side all the way down

 

[Syncman]

Update. I have cut out about 1 1/4" from the down pipe. Most I can go before the 90 deg bend hits the nail shield. Definitely a down slope all the way now. However, the water wont stop dripping. and its keeping the outside of the pipe wet.. Not coming from the toilet [empty bowls] or basins. Suspect water seeping through the origional blockage, as the power snake I rented from Home Depot only had about a 1 1/2" cutter. The biggest they had. I will clean up the cut edges of the pipe. I cut wood away from under the bath tub drain, and the whole corner drops down. LUCKILY. For now, I am just letting it drip, in the hope it stops.

1 Can I use the regular pvc cement to put in a repair collar, with the wet pipes?
2 Is there a chemical drain cleaner that will clear any muck left in the pipe?

 

[John Gayewski]

You can use rain or shine if there's some wetness. Or you can use a no hub band as long as that's regular sched 40 pvc. Don't use a no hub on cell core pvc.

 

[Reach4]

1. Do not try. Use one shielded coupling if you can. If you cannot get that on, you will make a second cut, below the current cut, and use two shielded couplings.

2. probably not.

 

[Reach4]

Update. I have cut out about 1 1/4" from the down pipe. Most I can go before the 90 deg bend hits the nail shield. Definitely a down slope all the way now. However, the water wont stop dripping. and its keeping the outside of the pipe wet.. Not coming from the toilet [empty bowls] or basins. Suspect water seeping through the origional blockage

I think you may be saying that you think there is not new water dripping, but that something was retaining water, and slowly releasing the water. Is this leak water inside of the pipe, or is it leaking outside of the pipe above your cut?
Those metal straps are not nail shields, but are holding the pipe.

1 Can I use the regular pvc cement to put in a repair collar, with the wet pipes?
2 Is there a chemical drain cleaner that will clear any muck left in the pipe?

1. Don't try. If you can put in one shielded coupling, do it. Otherwise make a second cut, farther down, and put in two shielded couplings.

2. I don't think so.