Collapsed Drain/sewer pipe ? (Pic Included)

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LoadsaMoney

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Does this look like a collapsed drain/sewer pipe (taken on phone, sorry :p).

Collapsed_Drain.jpg

Its the toilet, every few weeks or so, i always check the toilet to make sure its running ok (as well old house, drains are known to be poor and easily block), and last time i checked it (about a month, just over), it was all running fine, no problems at all.

Now yesterday i checked it again, and theres absolutely nothing coming down, not even a little trickle of water, put a couple of buckets of water down the toilet as normal, nothing, tried a bit of paper, nothing, so whacked the hosepipe up from the manhole cover end to blast water up from there, to see if anything thats blocking it (bog roll/crap etc..) would break up and come out, but again, nothing, all thats coming out is the water from the hose, and its perfectly clear.

Tried putting the hose down the toilet, so blasting water down from that end, and again, absolutely nothing coming out, so today, i thought about trying to take a pic on my phone up the pipe (as can't get down there to look for myself), to see if that showed anything, as noticed when putting the hose up, it only went up the pipe about 10ft or so, before it hit something, and couldn't go any further (its gone right up before in the past), and thats what showed up.

When zooming in, that ring you can see in the background, looks like the top of a pipe, so looks like it has dropped down (to me anyway), and thats roughly where the hose gets stopped.

Im also guessing, that with the toilet not looking like its blocked, flushing and running normally, water not rising in the bowl etc..., that if it has collapsed, then its just running into the ground.

Any plumbers/drain experts know from the pic if it looks like a collapse (or what it could be), and an idea of what it could cost to repair ?

Thanks.
 
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We had similar recently. Salt glaze main waste from a 100yr old property, vertical rodding access had collapsed down and was leaking into ground. Eventually, backed up the main access filled, and flooded the garden path with sewage when we flushed the toilet.

I'd recommend you get a camera down there. You may also see root systems in there. Options are to dig it out, and replace a section, or re-line insitu.

We did the former. Our pipe was ~8ft deep and an absolute b*****d to repair (costly). Could be hundreds, could be thousands. You'll need proof (usually a report, often footage) to instruct buildings insurance.

We used insurance due to the specifics of the job. The particulars of your situation will dictate which direction to take.
 
Yeah i was thinking about getting a CCTV survey, the camera up there, as then i'll know for definite what the prob is, and what needs to be done to fix it, and i do have it covered under my house insurance, but if it turns out not being that costly, i may not go through that, will just have to see.

Thanks.
 
FinglisHobbit said:
If its collapsed you will probably find that the rod will come out with mud/earth on it, as opposed to our other earthy wastage :)
Click to expand...

Hopefully :D

Tried to get a vid, with some water and paper going down, to see if i could pick it up running to there, but couldn't, so took a better pic (sun came out and brightened it up more down there).

zoomed.jpg

Should add, theres another pipe right next to it (on the right), which also comes from the bathroom, but thats for the sink and bath/shower, i filled those with water and emptied them, and those are emptying fine through their pipe.
 
Shine a torch up where you're taking the picture so you can see better in the photo..

Doesn't immediately look like an issue to me but the photo isn't clear enough, it's not uncommon to see the joints where two pipes meet looking like that.
 
Windle said:
Shine a torch up where you're taking the picture so you can see better in the photo..

Doesn't immediately look like an issue to me but the photo isn't clear enough, it's not uncommon to see the joints where two pipes meet looking like that.
Click to expand...

I'll see if i can, will have to see if ive got a smaller torch that i can lay just inside the pipe shining up and take the pic, as my torch is massive, would have to dangle my phone in front of it, which would block the light :p
 
My sewer pipe got blocked up - was having a shower and dirty water came back up plug hole - I am in a bungalow.

I rodded back from M/H and rod's came to a stop - put pressure washer drain cleaner up and that got jammed - in end had to get on roof and rod down vent pipe - soon shifted it- - Was told by neighbours it had happened before and cleared in same way I did it.

I then dug on bend into house - I found that the builders (1972) had fashioned up the bend with the usual 33deg bends but they were about inch to far past pipe so they bent the bend in to fit and in process opened out the outer bit of bends.

This was probably OK in old days with full 2 gall flushes but with today's 2ltr flush the paper last thing at night got stuck in bend - dried out overnight and repeated itself each day - I recon if I had tipped bucket of hot soapy water down it each night I wouldn't have had a problem - Anyway - renewed bend with plastic and job done - was lucky soil is sand and pipe was only 2ft down.

I hope yours turn's out as easy as mine was.

Dave
 
DXP55 said:
My sewer pipe got blocked up - was having a shower and dirty water came back up plug hole - I am in a bungalow.

I rodded back from M/H and rod's came to a stop - put pressure washer drain cleaner up and that got jammed - in end had to get on roof and rod down vent pipe - soon shifted it- - Was told by neighbours it had happened before and cleared in same way I did it.

I then dug on bend into house - I found that the builders (1972) had fashioned up the bend with the usual 33deg bends but they were about inch to far past pipe so they bent the bend in to fit and in process opened out the outer bit of bends.

This was probably OK in old days with full 2 gall flushes but with today's 2ltr flush the paper last thing at night got stuck in bend - dried out overnight and repeated itself each day - I recon if I had tipped bucket of hot soapy water down it each night I wouldn't have had a problem - Anyway - renewed bend with plastic and job done - was lucky soil is sand and pipe was only 2ft down.

I hope yours turn's out as easy as mine was.

Dave
Click to expand...


Thanks, im hoping so.

Update.

Sun came out, rain stopped, so managed to get the rods up, which i managed to get right up the whole pipe, so still baffled as to whats up, used the screwy end, and it came back out covered in a bit of crap :o, so thinking it might just be a hole, as if it was a blockage, surely the water in the toilet would have risen or dropped, but its flushing normal, and when i had the hose also stuck down the toilet for an hr yesterday, it never rose then either, so it is going down to somewhere.

Going to do some ringing around tomorrow, get someone to come and whack a camera up it :D
 
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Prepared to be shafted. I hate those dynorod\cctv guys - complete rip off. They know you can't move forward with insurance without a report.

Also, I presume the failure is within your boundary?
 
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