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Author:
mijclarke (IL)
My neighbor's frontyard had a large hole dug and they had a backflow preventer installed on the sewer line. What circumstances would cause a the sewer to backup? I can think of village overload, and tree roots.
I'm about to get my yard dug up because of multiple breaks in my sewer line. There's a complete break just outside the side of my foundation (where it exits the basement at knee height) and a collapsed outlet pipe on my catch basin in the front yard. I also have a kitchen drain line that ties in to the sewer on the side of my house and it protrudes 2 inches inside the larger sewer pipe. The plumber is going to reroute my sewer through the front of the house and bypass the damaged catch basin. They will have to tear down a wall in my finished basement. I also don't have a kitchen vent so the inspector will make me install one (previous owner disconnected kitchen vent possibly because it was corroded cast iron or galvanized?) They may have to tear the kitchen wall open to do that. Oh brother...
Should I add a backflow preventer to the list of things I already have to do?
Thanks for reading.
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Author:
packy (MA)
if your neighbor's house is the lowest on the street and they were having sewage back up into their basement then it makes sense for them to install a backwater valve. if you are the next lowest house you will now get the backups that the neighbor got. if you are not the second lowest house then it makes no sense to install one. the second lowest house will get the sewage backflow.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
1. A "backflow" preventer does nothing if the problem is roots.
2. If ANYTHING gets caught on the valve's seat it will slow down the backflow and flooding, but NOT prevent it.
3. Depending on the make and model, a backflow preventer can CAUSE a flooding after a few years.
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Author:
Vern H
I'm guessing you live in the Chicago area as I do. The reason your neighbor did what he did is the sewers get overloaded in heavy rains. Chicago and the surrounding area has a combined sewer system. The sanitary and storm sewers are not seperate. This is why basements flood here.
You said your sewer exits the basement at knee level. Do you have any plumbing in the basement such as a washer? If so, is the waste water pumped up to reach the sewer?
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Author:
Wheelchair (IL)
Multi breaks in your sewer line? What material is your sewer line made of? Are you operating heavy equipment over the sewerline? What kind of backfill was used over your sewer line?
Ref: SolderSeal's removable backflow device. It must be installed within 10 feet of your basement wall.
Best Wishes
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Author:
hj (AZ)
I prefer the devices with the removable mechanism. It makes it easier to remove and discard when the rubber permanently distorts and starts catching the paper causing a backup.
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Author:
mijclarke (IL)
I don't think my neighbor installed a removable backflow preventer because it's definitely farther than 10 feet from the foundation. He's on the other side of the street and 6 houses down and I'm one of the higher homes on the block.
Thanks for the knowledge on the sewer system! I live in a Chicago suburb and heard overhead sewers were better but I wasn't sure why. My basement sink catches my washing machine's water and it gravity feeds into the sewer pipe right before it exits the house. Washer is only a couple feet from the sewer pipe. I have a bathroom in the basement so there is an ejector pit and that pumps to the ceiling, then travels toward the basement wall and finally ties into the vertical section of the sewer pipe at about chest level.
My basement has cement stairs that lead up to a black asphalt driveway. The sewer pipe exits the house under one of those cement steps. The break is right where the cement stairs wall meets the dirt under the driveway. The previous owner put an addition on the back of the house. I'm assuming there was heavy equipment on that driveway for the addition. Regardless, the driveway has sunk and the cement that surrounds the sewer pipe has not. My other break is very similar. The outlet pipe on the catch basin is surrounded by a brick wall and it is snapped off right where it enters the dirt. This house was built in 1953 and I bought it at the end of 2012 as a foreclosure so the bank's hands are clean. I didn't get the deal I thought I got. My front steps and walkway are slanted toward the basin, suggesting major erosion. I would guess there's a 15 degree slope on the steps and 20 degree slant on one of the walkway sections. My lack of common sense and my inspector wanting to stay in good graces with his realtor got the best of me.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
The 10'dimension is NOT a "magic number", so the BWV can go anywhere you want it as long as it is accessible. Overhead sewers do NOT need a backwater valve.
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Author:
Vern H
Sounds like an interesting setup in the basement. I have never seen a catch basin in the front yard, usually they're in the back or sometimes the side yard. I wonder if they bypassed the old one when the addition was built. Hope everything works out for you.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Usutally, they put the catch basin where the kitchen sink drain exited the building.
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