Hi guys. I have a strange issue that's happening with a newly built bathroom. It was build 2 weeks ago and has been working fine but a few days ago the toilet started to fill up and slowly drain.. However water is coming up through the shower. I've tried plunging it.. using chemicals and I even bought a snake auger that's 25ft long and that's done nothing. Now the strangest part is at around 2am. ..The problem is fixed. I flushed around 10 times last night and the night before at 2am and it works flawlessly. .However once I wake up, same problem all day till then. The toilet and piping is brand new on the ground floor with a separate waste pipe connecting it to the main. Anyone know what could be the fix?
plumbing problem with toilet blockage
- Thread starter supergt
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Does your soil pipe vent to atmosphere or was it fitted with an air admittance valve?
Hi mate, it does not vent to atmosphere, and I dont really know whether it was fitted with the valve, I actually dont think it was. What I dont get is surely if that was the case then it wouldnt of been working at all from the start? And how does that explain the late night fix?
Thanks for the reply
Thanks for the reply
Are there showers/baths/washing machine/dishwasher running before you notice the issues.
Does sound like a blocked pipe further down the line and water is draining past the blockage slowly. Is there manhole outside you can lift? If so, flush the toilet or tip a bucket of water down the sink and see if it flows through the manhole.
Does sound like a blocked pipe further down the line and water is draining past the blockage slowly. Is there manhole outside you can lift? If so, flush the toilet or tip a bucket of water down the sink and see if it flows through the manhole.
If you aren't venting to atmosphere and you don't have a valve fitted then you're probably creating an airlock in the system which will normalise after it's been settled / unused for several hours.
Either that or a blockage that is also allowing slow drainage somewhere.
An even stranger thing happened early morning. At around 6am, I got awoken by a HUGE groaning sound coming from the toilets/pipes... It scared the jesus out of me. It carried on for like 2 hours straight.. then when I finally got out of bed, it was flushing completely perfect?
I have no idea what the problem could've been however im crossing my fingers that the fix lasts..
I have no idea what the problem could've been however im crossing my fingers that the fix lasts..
If your stack pipe doesn't vent through the roof, then it must terminate in the attic, & there should be a air admittance valve fitted on the pipe.
Possible it's sticking & not allowing air into system, might not even have one, if the system can't draw air in to equalise the pressure, then it will draw air in somehow, usually through bath, sink, shower traps, overflows, etc, then you get that usual effluent smell.
Also external blockage possible,something stuck in pipe, restricting flow.
Possible it's sticking & not allowing air into system, might not even have one, if the system can't draw air in to equalise the pressure, then it will draw air in somehow, usually through bath, sink, shower traps, overflows, etc, then you get that usual effluent smell.
Also external blockage possible,something stuck in pipe, restricting flow.
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You wouldnt believe the problems ive had with this thing. 2 nights ago my shower started flooding. Whenever someone would use anything in the main house, the water would pass straight through to the end of the garden and up my shower. I had to spend all night staying awake bucketting out water pee to stop my room from completely flooding. Luckily got the guy who installed it to come around the next day and he appeared to temporarily fix it by opening up the manhole and "unblocking waste".
Temp being the key word here. I just came into my room, used the toilet and the same problem occured. It filled up slowly, then passed into the shower (luckily not flooding)
I can only assume that this is because I have no soil stack or air admittance valve.
So can anyone advise which would be quickest and easiest to get and install? I am confused as to where the air admittance valve even goes. The toilet is directly backed against the wall where it directly connects to the waste pipe like this diagram I have tried to make.. so where would I add any of this? I cant install a soil stack internally, there is no attic so would I have to put it where ive drawn in red?
Any help is again much appreciated.
Temp being the key word here. I just came into my room, used the toilet and the same problem occured. It filled up slowly, then passed into the shower (luckily not flooding)
I can only assume that this is because I have no soil stack or air admittance valve.
So can anyone advise which would be quickest and easiest to get and install? I am confused as to where the air admittance valve even goes. The toilet is directly backed against the wall where it directly connects to the waste pipe like this diagram I have tried to make.. so where would I add any of this? I cant install a soil stack internally, there is no attic so would I have to put it where ive drawn in red?
Any help is again much appreciated.
A air admittance valve is fitted at the highest point in a system, above the flood point of a basin, but you don't use them outside due to freezing, you sketch shows pipe going up outside wall, so that stack pipe should be open, & therefore drawing air in to system, should be a terminal grating on pipe to stop crud going down the pipe & blocking it, & if there a bathroom on 1st floor, then stack needs to be terminate just above gutter.
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You say your on ground floor, but is that in a house, or in a block of flats, your plumber seems a complete idiot, & he should sort out the problems.
If that outside stack is vented ok, then your problem is elsewhere.
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Hi mate. The sketch I made with that stack point with the question mark next to it doesn't exist. I was asking if that's where one should go. Right now there is no stack point just the toilet linked directly underground. My room is at the end of the house in a basically ground floor garage. Kind of like an annexe type thing. Would opening the mmanhole and leaving it open whilst I flush be a test of whether it is an airlock?
Sorry, was too early.
Looked at picture again red & black ink, makes sense now I'm awake, yes that correct, you will need a stack pipe to vent the system.
As to leaving manhole open, most likely would, but it could also draw air from basin overflow, etc, all depends how everything was installed, i'm working from your description of fault & not first hand by seeing it myself.
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