All

I believe that this is a plumbing question but if it crosses the "not strictly plumbing related" I apologize in advance.

I recently got some bad news that we have a cracked pipe that exists somewhere in a drain line that runs through a concrete slab as it goes from our sink to the basement. The plumber made a penetration into our drywall on the basement-side and after poking around was able to confirm the issue was further "upstream".

My question is, that same company had been out 2 - 3 months prior to clear a clog for us in that same pipe. Is it likely that this was the cause of the break (i.e. they used to much force to break the clog) or is it more likely that this was just a natural deterioration of the pipe? For reference the home was built in 1968 and has "white" (abs?) pipe.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

white plastic (PVC) does not deteriorate that way. i suspect it may have been cracked from the beginning. too much force from snaking would not crack a buried plastic pipe.

I would verify that is actually cracked before I would do anything else. If it was inspected when it was installed, it should not have been like that since the house was built, and they seldom "break" underground. Snaking it would NOT have damaged the pipe.

Packy/HJ - thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it!



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quote..". If it was inspected when it was installed, it should not have been like that"
it would have been inspected before it was filled over. it could have been damaged when the fill was placed/dumped on it..

I don't know of any home built in '68 that has white pvc drains. The houses that actually had the yellowish pvc from mid 70's to 80's sometimes even have cast under the concrete. If it has white pvc, it has definitely been done since the mid 80's, and may not have been a complete replacement at that time and may still have deteriorated pipe in the ground. After the line is able to drain, get a different independent company to come video inspect the line to assess the problem, and go from there. If there is need to excavate for whatever reason, get at least 2 bids, preferably 3 or more. The first company may be correct, and if so, I personally would stick with them; reason being: if they have the experience to determine from cabling alone whether they are finding a separation or offset instead of a rusty joint then they have the expertise to get a backed up sewer line to near new condition, only limited by the physical limitations of the aged pipe.

IT "COULD BE", but my experience has been that it fairly rare for that to happen, which is why I said to "be sure it is cracked" first.

IF they can determine a "broken" pipe from cabling the pipe, they are VERY good, because I would NOT make that determination until I used a camera and actually saw it.

Without a camera you may not put an absolute on paper, but there are time when you can tell with 98% surety that there is structural damage, such as an offset, or when the cable leaves the line through a void.

When that happens the end of the snake will be packed with mud, (and if the snake drills into the ground far enough it will not come back out), but that is about the only way a snake will indicate a broken area.

That could also mean the snake finds its way to the end of an uncapped cleanout and dancing in the air, with neighbor kids telling their moms there is a giant metallic worm coming out of the ground.

That seldom happens if the cleanouts are oriented the proper way. HOWEVER, in this, and many other, areas we have TWO cleanouts facing in opposite directions. I once was snaking from the rear of a grocery store with a 150' snake. I went out front to check whether it was past the cleanouts and when I got there I saw that the snake had turned up through the "backwards" facing one, had pushed the brass cover off the cleanout and had started across the sidewalk. Someone had grabbed it and "hitched" to one of the canopy support pipes.

Similar thing happens to a shopping center I have went to in the past. The building used to be a woolworth's store sometime way in the past, and since has been subdivided into 3 or 4 different buildings. When the sewer backs up in the north end, anyone that attempts to snake the line comes up in the warehouse portion of a Hobby Lobby. There is a straight t in the line somewhere and on side goes up to a cleanout; More than once a 4" blade has been spinning around in the warehouse, grabbing the plastic wrapping on pallets. On gentleman that has worked there for years will sometimes grab a pallet jack and park a pallet on the spinning cable and wait for the unsuspecting drain tech to find his way over. They don't put ceramics near the cleanout anymore.