I moved to a new place about 8 months ago(the house had sat empty for 2 years prior).

When we move in we notice the drains are slow and they get slower until it takes hours for them to drain. Toilet backs up in the tub.
We call out a plumber.....they say you have a hole in the pipe somewhere so dig up the yard. Don't have the funds for that longshot.

We rent a snake and run it through the pipe ourselves (over 100 feet) and everything drains like a charm.......until the last couple of weeks. It's starting to get super slow again.

We live on a corner and the sewer drain is also on the corner. From time to time when you walk out the door it smells like a sewer.

Question.....Does this sound like a problem within my pipes or the sewer backing up(which should be the cities problem)?

Thanks for any advice.....

Could be a "Belly" in the sewer line underground between your house and the main or the pipe could be seperated or broken. Either way you would be responsible for that cost. If you are smelling sewer outside, the pipe probably has a seperation. Plan on digging !!!

Good Luck,
T&C Plumber

Thanks for the reply T&C
It has rained and rained here today and now the toilet doesn't flush.......it's got actual air bubbles coming up in it!
Still sound like a "belly"?

Is there anyway to approx. where the break could be? I don't want to dig up anymore than I have to.

It's odd though because when we snaked it we never actually "hit" anything.

Your best bet is to send a camera down the pipe, then you will know where to dig.

And yes, it sounds like there is something wrong with the drain line to make this system problematic.

Thanks Dunbar.....
I was afraid it would be a costly fix.
Maybe I'll just snake it again....it'll last a few more months until we are out of the rainy season.

As Dunbar said, Camera the line from a clean out in your home. It's best to get a reputable Plumber in your area to do this because they should know what they are looking for.

Also watch as they video scan the pipe. I had a customer who called a "reputable" company, and when I saw the tape, I told her that the sewer she was looking at was not hers. It was a "canned" tape that they used to sell sewer replacements.

I have heard of this also. I ask the resident to be present and give then a drain system 101 class as I go.

I am utterly baffled today!

This house has three drains outside two for gutters and one on the patio(which is about 40 feet from the house).
It rained all day yesterday and by evening it got to the point where the tub wouldn't drain and toilet wouldn't flush.
This morning everything drains like a charm.....
I go out to the patio and there is a huge mound of tp looking material!

When we ran the electric snake through the pipe it had a 4" cutting blade on it(after we ran the pointed blade through)and neither seemed to hit anything. No dirt, no clog, nothing. We even checked the property to see if it had come up out of the ground.
My house is approx. 50 ft. from the sewer drain on the corner. I'm told they are open sewers(whatever that means). It's the only drain on the corner and gets alot of water.

The whole neighborhood smells like sewage at times......so the sewers definitely have some sort of problem.

With this new info do you guys still think this sounds as though there is a break on my property or like the sewer is backing up into my pipes since I'm so close to it?
The drains "gurgle" at times when it rains but yesterday was our first heavy rain of the year.
Thanks for your help

If you have toilet paper looking material on the ground and a strong smell of sewer in the air, somewhere is a broken sewer pipe or a man hole is full and letting the sewer water & materials come out the top of it. Do you have a man hole cover near where the tp material is ? It could be covered over with grass & dirt.

There is no manhole in my yard(that I see anyway....this drain is actually on my property about 75 feet from the street). This house was built in 1934 so there are no cleanouts or anything to make it easy.
The paper material came up with enough force to pop the metal drain cover off the patio.


The whole neighborhood smells like sewage from time to time.....especially when your around a manhole cover or outside drain.

I'm trying to figure out if this is my problem or a "overstuffed" sewer that the city needs to clean out.
I have alot of concrete and it would be very costly to dig.

Last plumber I called out couldn't get his camera down the roof vent so he said start digging so he could knock a hole in the pipe(that didn't sound like a good idea).
We went in through the cleanout on the pipe(they refused to do that because it's cast iron pipe).

I would call the city and have them investigate your situation. They will tell you if it's your problem or theirs. Have a couple of neighbors call as well.

Thanks T&C....I'll give them a call tomm morning.
Hopefully it's their problem!
We had to foot the bill to replace my Grandmother's drain pipe last summer and I don't want to have to do it again this soon.

If they refused to go through a cleanout, regardless of the pipe's material, I would find a different company.

I second that hj !! Make sure the next Plumber is licensed & insured. Check the credentials if your not certain.

They refused saying the old cast iron pipes can break too easily.
We even told them we would be responsible for any breaks because something had to be done at that point.
I think he just didn't want to mess with it.

It's a company that has been around here for 10+ years. Cost me $75 for nothing!
He's the one that said start digging yet. We took it off ourselves, snaked through and it drained fine until the rains started.

Hopefully the city can fix it on their end.
Thanks for the info guys

Your welcome robi,
Let us know what you find out !!

Saying the cast iron pipes break too easily is also an indication of a "poor" contractor. Cast iron pipes that were installed in the early 1900's are still good today. Maybe they should try to break a piece of cast iron pipe, intentionally, sometime. They might find it is not as easy to do as they imply. Not to demean the plumber, but his actions imply that he was more interested in making the bottom line as high as possible, rather than solving your problem. Most of us try to do just the opposite.