Plumbing - HomeModders.com

kpeterson · 05-10-2010, 10:41 AM

First, a little info...

The main line going through the basement floor out to the septic is in the center of a 26 foot wide house. The kitchen drain arrives here by crossing half the house to the exterior and then following the foundation for about 8 feet. Heads up where it Y's. Vent continues up, and then (for whatever reason) was plumbed over another 5 feet, through the center of a few of the old kitchen cabinets.

New cabinets are coming at the end of the month, and tile is going down soon. Changing the drain so that after the trap, it flows down and not through my new cabinets.

Anyways, I unscrewed the cap on the Y in the basement right before it heads up to the vent/sink and noticed a little buildup. Went to clean it out and found out that it extended into the pipe just a bit further than I had expected. And the smell... just awesome. Started probing with a leftover piece of 1/2 inch copper pipe about 5 feet long and soon discovered that the entire run of pipe down the foundation was completely packed with this orange crap that looked like blended salmon, but was the consistency of clay.

Checked the run that heads across the span of the house and it felt solid and heavy whereas all the other pipes were hollow, light and clear.

Cue sawzall and Mike Rowe. This is the most disgusting thing I've had to tackle and this house has had some quite disgusting finds. Picking up some new pieces and parts to put it all back together tonight, but I can't fathom how, in the 4 months I've been living here, the kitchen sink has never displayed any behavior of clogging. This sh!t was packed so dense and tight that there was almost no flow of water whatsoever.

Also, turns out that the rate of descent for the pipe was out of whack, so I'll have to get some proper drain pipe hangers and angle it more properly. I'll post up a few shots later, including the crap filled pipe.

I wouldn't wish this on anyone, lol.

Kris

briansol · 05-11-2010, 03:27 AM

Nasty. sounds like the old grease + soap stank. Are you using iron or pvc to replace it?

kpeterson · 05-11-2010, 11:18 AM

Neither, actually. All of the other existing spoil water plumbing is abs so I'm going to stick with that.

I've seen and read that with PVC plumbing you need to prep the mating surfaces with a cleaner and then the glue. I read yesterday that for ABS you just need to make sure the surfaces are burr free and then just glue away. I picked up a cleaner anyways.

05-10-2010, 10:41 AM	#1
kpeterson Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CT Posts: 31 Rep Power: 0	Plumbing First, a little info... The main line going through the basement floor out to the septic is in the center of a 26 foot wide house. The kitchen drain arrives here by crossing half the house to the exterior and then following the foundation for about 8 feet. Heads up where it Y's. Vent continues up, and then (for whatever reason) was plumbed over another 5 feet, through the center of a few of the old kitchen cabinets. New cabinets are coming at the end of the month, and tile is going down soon. Changing the drain so that after the trap, it flows down and not through my new cabinets. Anyways, I unscrewed the cap on the Y in the basement right before it heads up to the vent/sink and noticed a little buildup. Went to clean it out and found out that it extended into the pipe just a bit further than I had expected. And the smell... just awesome. Started probing with a leftover piece of 1/2 inch copper pipe about 5 feet long and soon discovered that the entire run of pipe down the foundation was completely packed with this orange crap that looked like blended salmon, but was the consistency of clay. Checked the run that heads across the span of the house and it felt solid and heavy whereas all the other pipes were hollow, light and clear. Cue sawzall and Mike Rowe. This is the most disgusting thing I've had to tackle and this house has had some quite disgusting finds. Picking up some new pieces and parts to put it all back together tonight, but I can't fathom how, in the 4 months I've been living here, the kitchen sink has never displayed any behavior of clogging. This sh!t was packed so dense and tight that there was almost no flow of water whatsoever. Also, turns out that the rate of descent for the pipe was out of whack, so I'll have to get some proper drain pipe hangers and angle it more properly. I'll post up a few shots later, including the crap filled pipe. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, lol. Kris

05-11-2010, 03:27 AM	#2
briansol Administrator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central CT Age: 31 Posts: 499 Rep Power: 10	Nasty. sounds like the old grease + soap stank. Are you using iron or pvc to replace it? __________________ 1997 2050sqft Split Level

05-11-2010, 11:18 AM	#3
kpeterson Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CT Posts: 31 Rep Power: 0	Neither, actually. All of the other existing spoil water plumbing is abs so I'm going to stick with that. I've seen and read that with PVC plumbing you need to prep the mating surfaces with a cleaner and then the glue. I read yesterday that for ABS you just need to make sure the surfaces are burr free and then just glue away. I picked up a cleaner anyways.