Lessons from a Busted Sewer Line

2009-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Reflecting:

This issue had been inexplicable, unimaginable, unbelievable and the solution appeared untenable.

And the lesson -- patience, trust, understanding, reflecting and decision making -- all virtues of 'RUNIN'.

We've had issues before with backups, but never this bad.

And the previous issues were caused by tenants pouring kitchen grease, hair and rag products down the drain -- at least that was the theory, which was partially substantiated and partially corrected bysnaking the drain (by pulling up the toilet)

Sometimes, we used environmentally safe chemicals with plenty of hot water, which often opened up the drain. If this didn't work, we brought out our snake.

I remember two years ago, sending a camera from Grayton Plumbing. The plumber said that there was an issue perhaps due to a root, but it was extensive and recommended keeping an eye on it -- which I did.

Understanding:

We needed to act smartly, proactively QUICKLY.

Oh no, we have an issue. There was a backup in the sewer. The waste water was coming up from the drain in the kitchen.

And it was imperative that I take care of my tenants. At this time, I put myself in their shoes -- it was not a good condition to be in.

Negotiating:

Licensed plumber, Mike Lewis, snaked out the drain with the K-150. However, the route out through the house to the yard was too Rigid and couldn't negotiate the bends and turns.

The Rigid Snake was part of ourProperty Plant Equipment that we had purchased. And by using it for our properties, it was paying off. In fact, the price we paid for the Rigid Snake had had more than covered the use of it (Even without acomodating for depreciation)

Then we tried with a 75' snake we rented from Home Depot. This time, he went further, but he heard the grinding in the kitchen floor. We thought we ran into rocks.

MBWA (Managing by Walking Around):

So I included them (all 3 of them) as well as both my contractors (Mike Lewis and Milton Daley) in our thought process and decision making. We huddled around. Before we did anything, I asked the tenants both whether they agreed with what we were doing, explained to them why we were doing it and how. Yes, it required a buy-in -- but it game them an opportunity to provide ideas and input.

So the decision was to open up the floor where we thought we had run into rocks.

But as you can see, we ran into a T-fitting which explains why we had difficulty running the snake through and the cause of the grinding. We could have probably figured this out by the layout of the house which would have saved us time and trouble of digging up the kitchen floor.

Innovating:

It was no time to call the experts who had the latest technology: Grayton has theDrainVision Sewer Camera that can see where the rest of us couldn't.

We confirmed that we had a crack in the line. We also sent their snake down there (K-1500) and came up with dirt. Grayton used a Rigid 1500 gun which had a lot more power than the Home Depot snakes. We also found a lot of hair and rags.

The camera and snake also localized the crack. So this is where we dug and made the replacement underground. We did not replace the entire line, but approx. 8 feet of it.

The line was completely replaced underneath the basement. The depth was as much as 8 feet.

Commercial Boot, C-Clamp used for the new sewer line. This was used to connect the PVC pipe with the existing cast iron line.

Navigating:

The contractor recommended that we not replace the entire line underneath the bedroom but just an 8-foot section that had the crack. So still remaining there was about another 6 foot section that was cast iron which appeared to be fine because water was able to go through. However, time would tell whether this was a smart decision.

A Trench Cuts Through My Yard

2009-11-11T22:47:00.000-08:00

Reflecting:

After the basement work, we thought we were good to go. A lot of thought process and hard work went into that project.

Within a couple of weeks, we had another backup. This time, we felt that the collapse was occurring somewhere in the front yard (based on snaking and seeing where the mud was coming from). There were both benefits and drawbacks. The benefit would mean we could dig without intrusion to my tenant.

Understanding:

The drawback was that digging the front yard could prove tricky.

It was both deep and we were concerned about digging the trench by hand (no backhoe) without the trench collapsing.

Negotiating:

I had the benefit to discuss this with the DC Chief Inspector who gave me some guidelines to dig the yard. Milton Daley told me that he could do it. I was leery at first, but then after much discussion, learned to trust him.

Innovating:

We agreed to start the cut right against the building as opposed to in the middle of the yard (15 feet long). The dig would be shallower and based on multiple snakings, we figured that the collapse was closer to the building. Our analysis was right on.

We were fortunate that the ground was red clay which kept the trench nice and packed.

Showing connection from the building going out to the street. 8 feet deep.

This time we also hired the help of Jerry Hunter, another DC licensed plumber who would snake the line after we cut it to ensure that we did not get any mud.

Well things were going to good. There had to be trouble. Sure enough, the tenant had called the police when we started working in the yard. The police came to get us arrested. However we did have permission to dig up the yard. We had to call DC Regulatory Affairs who came and confirmed that we had permission.

What's amazing is that we were doing work that would benefit the Tenant since they did not have water due to the sewer line collapse.

During this time, our Innovation paid off once again. We politely stopped work and contacted the Chief Inspector at his house (on Sunday) who directed his Deputy to visit the property to inform the tenants and the Police (7D) that we indeed had permission.

I assured the Deputy Inspector that I would take pictures on my Iphone and send it to him over the weekend as we continued our work.

Navigating:

This was a great decision to attack the yard methodically and only after guidance and permission from the Chief Inspector.

My Sewer Line Nightmare

Lessons from a Busted Sewer Line

A Trench Cuts Through My Yard