• Home
  • About
    • Personal Posts
  • Privacy
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Checkout
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Sawdust Girl®

Sawdust Girl®

Renovation, cabinet building and woodworking plans and tutorials. Build like a Girl®

  • My Home
    • Clinton TN House
      • Clinton TN House in Progress
    • Maryville TN House
      • Maryville TN House Tour – Completed Rooms
      • Maryville TN House in Progress
        • Basement
        • Basement Storage Closet
        • Bedroom Office
        • Craft Room
        • Dining Room
        • Entry
        • Garage
        • Guest Bedroom
        • Hallway
        • Jack and Jill Bathroom
        • Kitchen
        • Kitchen Entry
        • Laundry Room
        • Library
        • Living Room
        • Loft
        • Madison’s Room
        • Master Bedroom
        • Master Closet
        • Pantry
        • Porch
        • Powder Room
        • Wes’ Office
    • Illinois House
    • Calderwood Cottage
  • My Workshop
    • Clinton Workshop
  • Build & Breakfast
  • Cabinet Making 101
    • Cabinets
    • Doors
    • Drawers
  • Projects and Plans
    • Countertops
    • Beds
    • Benches
    • Bookshelves
    • Desks
    • Gift Ideas
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
      • Halloween
    • Home Accessories
    • Kids
    • Kitchen Cabinets
    • Lockers
    • Nightstands
    • Organization accessories
    • Recipes
    • Sewing
    • Tables
    • Vanities
    • Wardrobes
    • Woodworking
      • Wood Finishing
    • Workshop
    • Workshop Storage and Organization
  • Remodeling 101
    • Baseboard and Trim
    • crown molding
    • Demolition
    • Door and Window Casings
    • Door Installation
    • Drywall
    • Electrical work
    • Flooring
    • Home Maintenance
    • Painting
    • Plumbing
    • Resources
    • Safety
    • Tile
    • Wall and Ceiling Treatments
  • The Sawdust Diaries
    • Andrea
    • Ava D.
    • Beckie F.
    • Cara C.
    • Courtney B
    • Fawn T.
    • Jenn D.
    • Kelly C.
    • Kristy K.
    • Lara T.
    • Malisa B.
    • Marnie D.
    • Robin C.
    • Val F.
  • Tools
    • Products
    • Tool Reviews & Overviews
    • Inspiration & Ideas

Sewer Pipe Failure – Round 2!

All Posts, Basement, Hall Bath

*Fair warning, this post is about Sewer Pipe Failure.  All potty talk!

This is NOT the bathroom post I wanted to be writing today but when sh*t happens, you have deal with it.  And I’m dealing with literal sh*t — in the same place for the second time in months!  For real~  All sorts of Sewer Pipe Failure issues.

A few months ago the drain pipe from the powder room toilet got clogged.  Our domestic expert had a great trick involving dumping hot water into the toilet which magically clears the plug.  It didn’t work –– though we tried many many times!  So we tried a plunger.  Wes tried the plunger and when I say, “tried”, I mean he PLUNGED!

Let me tell you what happens when you pour hot water into a toilet that is sealed with a wax ring.  Hot water softens the wax –which is not good.  If you plunge after softening the wax seal with hot water, you can very easily break the seal.  Which we did!

We heard drizzling below us. We ran down to the basement and found water drizzling out from the light in the bedroom closet.  That bedroom and closet happen to be where Madison is currently residing.

I quickly moved clothes out of the way while Wes shoved towels and a roasting pan under the leak to catch as much of the water as possible. The bedroom, closet and bathroom are almost the only part of the basement that HAS a ceiling.  So it sucks that the leak had to happen there.  But at the same time at least we were able to get towels and pans in there under the leak to catch some of it.

Sewer Pipe Failure issues

Luckily that time the water was clear (meaning not poopy) so I didn’t tear out any drywall that time.  We washed ALL Madison’s clothes.  Threw some things out.  Let it all dry out.

The drain pipe from that bathroom has a really long run before it exits the house and there was a lot of paper clogging it.  I had installed a dual flush toilet when I remodeled the powder room years ago.  My plumber let me know how those toilets create problems because even if you’re just flushing water and toilet paper, you need enough force to push the toilet paper through and out of the pipe.  #1 flush just clears the toilet.  It doesn’t push the paper through the pipe.  Or at least in our case, where there is a LONG run of pipe.

So I bought a basic, single flush toilet.  The plumber had to pull the old one out to clear the drain and replace the wax seal anyway.  So, new basic, single flush toilet installed.  People in the house are educated about making sure not to FILL the toilet with tissue paper from blowing noses and NOT TO PLUNGE … and life goes on.

And then it happened again.  And “WE” couldn’t just leave it alone and call the plumber.  Even though we KNEW not to plunge with a pushing action (only pull plunge which takes a weird plunger that is very difficult to use).  “WE” plunged the he!! out of that clog and this time there must have been a sh*tton of water in that pipe because the seal (or something) broke and a TON of sh*twater rained down on the closet below.  It was stinky, gross and discouraging.  This happened Wednesday night.  I was not happy about the situation and refused to deal with it that night.  I sat down on the couch with a BIG bowl of ice cream and watched Dr. Who with Madison.

Yesterday I woke up excited about installing drawers and doors in the Jack and Jill bathroom and FINISHING that space.  Then I remembered that I had to tear out the sewer waterlogged drywall in that closet.

So that’s what Madison and I did yesterday.  All day.  We did a facebook live and I tried some parkour on the wire shelving.  (Warning:  There is a little cussing.)

The entire ceiling was soggy and a portion of one wall had wet face paper.   Sewer Pipe Failure in the powder room results in the basement

I pulled out all soggy carpet too.

Is this the weirdest carpet pad?  Some kind of rubber pad.  I suppose it’s supposed to be a moisture barrier to protect the carpet from the moisture in the concrete.  ??  

My face sums up how I feel about pulling up carpet strips.

I exposed just a small portion of that drain pipe by pulling out the ceiling drywall.  The plumber is coming out today with a camera to scope the whole run of drain pipe and see if there is something funky going on.   We already suspected that there wasn’t enough slope in the long run.  I don’t know how we (HE) is going to fix this issue.  All I know is: this can NEVER happen again.  EVER.

Madison will be doing laundry for days.

I’m going to hire someone to come install all the drywall on the basement ceiling so we’ll just include this closet too.   Depending on what the plumber decides will be a permanent solution I may have to do more demo to access the whole drain pipe.  That’s just me fearing a bad-case scenario.  I won’t say “worse-case” because I don’t want to jinx myself.   These issues that arise are just part of home ownership and we have to deal with them.  I’m hoping to deal with this one quickly and get back upstairs to finish the jack and jill bathroom — which by the way can’t be used right now either because it’s on the same drain line.  We’ll figure it out.  There’s nothing else to do!  LOL

What I can say is Sewer Pipe Failure sucks!

July 28, 2017 · 17 Comments

« Marking correct location for an electrical outlet in built-ins
Repaired but not fixed — plumbing issues continued »

Comments

  1. Wes Powell says

    July 28, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Lo Siento! I am afraid I am guilty of being the plunging maniac! I just love plunging though…it is so therapeutic to plunge, and plunge, and plunge! (Actually, I’ve learned my lesson and am staying away from any future plunging until I become certified on the correct process)!

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      July 28, 2017 at 3:20 pm

      I hope you return all those “tools” you bought too. 🙂 Love you!

      Reply
  2. Teresa Kirkland says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    What a sh!tty situation! 😉 Hopefully the plumber can fix the problem so this issue doesn’t happen again. Sending fantabulous Karma your way girl!

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      July 28, 2017 at 3:21 pm

      LOL Thanks Teresa! He cleared the clog but the permanent solution is going to require more demo — as I feared!

      Reply
  3. lucke girl says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    I had clog in my master bathroom. I plunged and plunged and that still did not fix it. I refused to call a plumber and pay $100+ (also the embarrassment of it all), so I went to Lowe’s and purchased a toilet auger for $30. I looked on UTube ( some videos are hilarious! – There’s one with a ditsy blond in a bikini putting her sexy energy into it) and cleared the toilet in no time. Now I know how to do it and figure I can do it again if necessary.

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      July 28, 2017 at 3:19 pm

      LOL The hot water “trick” was learned from YouTube. I do rely on videos for a lot of things I learn but this plumbing situation is way worse than what we can fix on our own. 50′ drain run with too little slope results in 50′ of toilet paper build-up. It took 3 1/2 hours with a very dangerous, expensive machine to get that cleared out! By the time I’m done paying for the permanent fix I could have almost bought the $3000 machine — but those things are dangerous so I don’t want to use one. So I’ll just pay my plumber.

      Reply
      • Steve G says

        July 28, 2017 at 10:41 pm

        Oh no. Do you need to have the entire drain pipe re-pitched? That sounds painful. Hopefully the plumber can move on it quickly and get you back up and flushing soon.

        Reply
  4. david welch says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    installed two bathrooms with the then new toilet that would take 10 or 20 golf balls. 7 or 8 years ago have not had any blockages in the porcelain god since. well worth the money. now there is also offered a porcelain god that is made of very fine porcelain and remains clean for a very long time. that would be the one to get.

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      July 28, 2017 at 3:15 pm

      I need to find that toilet! Our drain line is 50′ long with way too little slope. The fix is going to require a LOT more demo on my part and some expensive plumbing work.

      Reply
  5. Lisa says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Wow, hadn’t thought about the half flush leaving TP in the line! Thanks for sharing the information – I don’t know that I would consider putting in a half flush toilet in a half bath now that I know this.

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      July 28, 2017 at 3:14 pm

      I will never use those again for this reason. With regulations to use less and less water toilets barely have enough water to clear the line. If you have a very long line with too little slope, like mine, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

      Reply
  6. susan says

    July 28, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    you are my hero! i have had to do this too (ugh) and finally called the plumber again and he put a line in the backyard that goes to the sewer line behind my property and if it every happens again, they can fix it in the backyard. yahoo.

    Reply
  7. Tamnara says

    July 28, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Oh poop, what a crappy situation to be in. I almost bought a dual flush thanks for sharing your experience. Will purchase a toto toilet. No plunging? Hope your situation is an easy fix.

    Reply
  8. Katherine says

    July 29, 2017 at 3:29 am

    Sandra, OMG! That’s HORRENDOUS!

    Reply
  9. David Malt says

    August 1, 2017 at 2:11 am

    Sometimes lessons are hard learned. Some times it’s better to call in the pros 1st.
    I hope it all works out for you.
    Dave.

    Reply
  10. Judy says

    August 2, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    You also need to make sure your bath tissue is bio-degradable. The plush thick soft stuff isn’t worth the plumber/sewer cleaner expense.

    Reply
  11. Jenny Sier says

    December 2, 2018 at 10:46 am

    How to clean and unclog a bathroom sink or bathtub drain

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

New Post email notification signup

You Subscribed!

Legal Stuff

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Disclosure

Recent Posts

  • Building and Installing a Giant Faux Beam on the Ceiling
  • White Wash Pine Wood Ceiling
  • Lodge and Life Update
  • How to Choose Which Track Saw to Buy in 2021
  • How to Choose a Paint Sprayer to Buy in 2021

Disclaimer:

Although it is my intention to provide accurate plans and clear instructions, not all plans have been tried and tested. Using plans or information found on SawdustGirl.com indicates that you agree with the Terms of Use policy and will accept full responsibility for the process and outcome of any project you attempt. All plans are for private use only. Plans and information published on SawdustGirl.com may not be reproduced, republished or distributed in any manner without written permission from Sandra Powell, Sawdust Girl. Actual projects built using Sawdust Girl plans may be published on your own site without instructions or "tutorial" as long as you provide a link to my original post with full post title or "SawdustGirl.com" as link title.

Copyright © 2022 · anchored theme by <a target="_blank"