We had tree roots that plugged up our toilet. We had the offending tree removed in the side yard and a plumber came in and rotored out all the roots after he scoped the pipe. The roots came through the pipe in 2 place, about 3 feet underneath the toilet. Now he said he needed to dig up the floor and concrete to repair the pipe even though everything is flowing freely and the tree/root removed. Is digging up the floor to repair the pipe necessary. My thought is that the dead roots in the cracks are covering up the cracks and everything down there is packed with dirt so why would there be a need to dig up to repair. Your advise would greatly be appreciated.



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if the roots have all been cleared from the pipe, root killer chemical will keep them away.

Roots don't get into pipes that are completely intact. It takes openings for roots to grow through, and in time, those openings can become quite large or even cause further damage. You need a video sewer inspection from an independent third party to verify the first plumber's diagnosis, and then make a decision. Until then, it is all speculation.

Thank you for your advice. The plumber did snake the camera down and found the root entries in 2 places. He then cleaned everything out and the pipe looks clean when he sent the camera down again. The tree had been removed and those dead roots sitting in the cracks cannot grow anymore. We have custom wood floor and it would be expensive to replace on top of the $3000 he wants to charge to repair the pipe and fill up the concrete again. If the roots are dead and filling up the cracks in the pipe, what harm can be done if there are no other surrounding trees that can extend their root to the same cracks? The offending tree that caused the problem and its stump had been removed.



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Why not dose it routinely for the next year with copper sulfate and have the plumber back out then to scope it?

Would that help in sealing whatever small cracks there are? One of my concerns is that if we don't seal the small cracks, every time the toilet is flushed, water can seep through those cracks and gradually cause some unknown damages.

The logical side of me is saying since we had removed the tree and the stump, the tree roots are dead and they just sit the cracks and rot. The pipe is surrounded by dirt so when the toilet is flushed, some water might or might not seep out of the pipe and even if it did, what damage could it do. I am just trying to get some expert opinions for assurance so that I can leave everything as is and there is a great chance that nothing will happen.

You could have the drain lined with an epoxy liner. Here's a place in Northern CA:

[www.dontdig.com]

You are correct about dead roots leaving voids. The good news is that if the voids are tiny and on the bottom of the pipe, they may collect solid waste and plug up on their own. I would only worry about it if there was obvious damage to the line when it was scoped. You may still have to snake the drain out again next year, but after that it shouldn't be an issue since the stump is gone as well.

mike, i believe your theory of soil erosion is valid when water pipes leak. the constant pressure definately can cause a sink hole.
BUT in the case of a sewer pipe which has occassional water trickling thru it, in my opinion, nothing is going to happen.

How far out were the roots found? I don't know construction in Ca but where I am at the houses used cast iron under the foundation and stubbed it out of the house and then changed over to other materials susceptible (orangeburg et. al) to root infiltration. We typically will just dig out to the foundation on the exterior and tie the new sewer into the street tapping.

The roots were found underneath the toilet and another 5 feet away, still under the house. Thank you all for your expert opinions. I feel much more comfortable now leaving it as is and have the pipe scoped out in the future to make sure everything is fine. Thanks again. Mike