Jeff: He was classic: But scary is that high-tenured plumbing pros admitting to their lack of roundedness. You indicate this gracefully, but; still, stark of ignorance.
Hi Sir! I want to extend my gratitude for uploading such informative videos here on RU-vid. I am from the Philippines and is currently reviewing for the Architecture Licensure Examination this June 2019. Your videos help me to have a visualization for the actual plumbing system and give me a vivid comprehension of plumbing concepts from the books, translated from actual plumbing problem stories. More powers to your team and God bless!
After watching this video, I put drain snake into vent pipes and unclogged my drain pipe. Saved me hundreds or thousands of dollars. Thank you guys. You’re the best.
He might be right but the proof is in the pudding. It ain`t over till it`s over. The weather man gives all kinds of theories too and how often is he right? Just sayin`.
@@REDMAN298 exactly....here's my reply made yesterday...it's not gospel....but it's a rational possibility; Whole house trap? Get rid of that.....you have it mostly dug up anyway. If turds and paper are making it through the "bellied" pipe and that whole house trap...they'll make it with out it. That model he made (towards the end of the video) of what the plumbing looks like underneath the slab is pure conjecture (not sure why there are 2 other traps...there's only a toilet (toilets have a built-in trap) and a sink down stairs....but it looks cool I guess). What you CAN see from the basement is the upstairs bathroom draining into the same vertical pipe as the downstairs is draining into.(someone probably added that bathroom upstairs later) When you flush the toilet upstairs, that water is falling very quickly past the branch lines serving the bathroom downstairs...that's going to cause air to move no matter what....and that's why its against code. Upstairs needs a dedicated 3" waste line going up.(much less $$$ and work than the other plan) So this homeowner may spend all that money and still have the same problem. The bathroom probably smells occasionally because the wax seal under the toilet is leaking....few people know how to properly set a toilet...the tile in that bathroom looks relatively new...tile guys are not plumbers....it's not as easy as you might think. I've been a professional union plumber since Jr. High....I'm 59 now. (end) Out of curiosity I'd pull that downstairs toilet (check the wax seal) and watch what happens when the upstairs toilet is flushed. Heck, I live in a new house and when it's really windy outside, toilet bowl water will move that much....and I never saw any bubbles come up in this video.
@@readmore3634 how have you been in the union since jr high school? Lol but I know what you mean. Did you work in a union shop as a tradesman until you got in? When I joined , we needed a valid drivers license and a high school diploma. ..Anyway, about that bathroom, I think the one downstairs was the add on due to its location (in the basement) and the wall was only rocked on one side. The smell probably comes from the traps because all the water evaporated due to lack of use. Those family photos are a dead give away that it's a guest room bathroom. . its location keeps it from getting much use otherwise.
@@jdog4534 _______Well, I guess I miss-typed. From about 1960 to 1990 my dad ran the only union plumbing shop in southern Calif that primarily did housing. We had about 20-30 guys at one time and plumbed 1,000's of tract homes. They couldn't build houses fast enough(if you are old enough to remember). When I was in Jr. High, (1972) my dad would bring home CASES of tub/shower valves for me to pre-fab. Finally a reason to play with fire (torch)! I worked every summer vacation afterwords. Tried college, ran out of money, got sworn-in in 1979, 4 years apprenticeship school.....went into business for myself in 2008. As for that bathroom above ^, one of them seems added to the same vertical pipe. Dried out traps for sure will stink too. I don't know much...but I know plumbing...hand me a set of plans and I'll plumb that whole multi-million dollar house myself. Thanks for the reply.
@@readmore3634 right on brother. Im in nor cal. Ive only been on one residential job tho. Im in a combination local (plumbers, fitters and pipe welders. We do commercial plumbing. I dont know how the shop I was working for at the time landed a housing tract. Other than that, the closest thing to residential plumbing ive done have been hotels and patient rooms in hospitals but the hospitals still get closets hung on carriers with flushometers and all pipe is cast iron for waste n vent and copper for water. They also usually some med gas piping, at least medical air, oxygen and evac. Yea, I figured it was some kind of shop experience you were getting at such a young age. I've had a couple superintendents who had the same experience. Both of them in the same shop, at the same time. Now they're both probably about your age, living large and in charge, at the same shop. I took a different route. I joined the army first, then went to college, less than a week after I graduated, I took the test to get in the union (one of my army buddies had joined a couple years earlier and was loving it. I wanted to join sooner but they were only testing every other year. That was '95. You know it's a 5 year apprenticeship now, huh. ..and there's talk about adding a 6th). Anyway, I always figured the building trades ran a very fast pace down there in so cal. Is your shop still a union shop? Ive been thinking about opening up my own union shop and taking advantage of my veteran status. Supposedly, on federal jobs, veteran contractors get some kind of preferential treatment during the bidding process. I'll have to watch the video again to check out the piping a little better. Its been maybe a month or more since I saw it. I just remember thinking that the lower bathroom was added on due to its location and all the exposed plumbing on that wall with rock on only one side. You know, if that's a handyman special pipe job, it could be that it's not vented .. Lol Hey, thanks for your reply..
Easily the best TOH video I've ever seen, and it's not even close. Full diagnosis and explanation. Incredible work. Too bad the first plumber he called wasn't as thorough, although I'm glad we were able to get this video as a result.
Maybe the guy did but the homeowner wanted a second opinion because the solution was so expensive. This owner is in a pickle either way. Some major remodeling. Hope he solved it in the end.
I’m thankful for the technology advancement in plumbing. My 1962 split level was originally septic. Converted to city sewer in 74. 100 ft of 4” ABS out to the street. Backed up in 17 on me but I caught it before work and tried power snaking myself from inside the basement toilet location. Didn’t get it. Hired camera crew plumbing company and it is $250 hour billed in 15 min increments...they snaked drain out to street and i saw the video was clean as whistle....for $800 (camera was only to 90’) *crap* lol...2 years later in dec 19 it backed up but i wasn’t home and wife didn’t know. So probably an inch of dishwashing water and mixture of toilet paper slurry in toilet...was so mad...dug up clean out in yard that I found on drawings i got from city after the ‘17 backup and hired a new crew that had a 120’ camera...as I needed to see the city connection. Paid them to jet clean my line $2200. Called city and they had to clean the stub from the main line...we are only 4 house on an 8” stub so city camera showed soft plug in main line...we bought home in 07 so 10 years before anything happened. The cameras show me everything and i know my whole sewer line and the city line too. Information is important when you spend a lifetime buying these things.
Most excellent teaching...Nothing better than learning from Pros...I'm a 30yrs. HVAC man, still learning that too...I feel good having watched this...I have learned, again, and still...Thank you, sincerely.
Superb explanation: clear, concise and easily understood. You provide a 5-star DIY service. I have watched many of your vids and used your suggestions with success. Nothing beats DIY - until running into a massive job like the one in this clip - poor guy!
Thank you for making great videos. I liked this video because it gives credit to the trade of plumber experience and skill led to a proper diagnosis. And the explanation to the homeowner makes a hard situation much more bearable.
SMARTEST PLUMBER - thank you for this lesson. [I am trying to avoid crawling under my house to the kitchen drain clean out, so searching for clogged drain videos and just watched another one of yours - I think my pipes are galvanized, so avoiding harsh treatment - using B.Soda + Vinegar and blowing a 1/4 x 4 ft hose to stir up the 'mass' and rotate the soda, vinegar and now salt + I purchased an Enzyme/Bacteria dissolver. Day 4 still clogged, but breaking up material.
That was wonderfully explained. My husband is away for 21 days on a Supply Vessel in the Gulf and of course, things usually happen when he is away. As a woman, I have replaced the seal on the toilet and "snaked the clean out", but I will leave climbing on the rooftop to him when he gets home. Thank you for your help.
I'm studying to become a home inspector, and looking at the walls I could tell there were settlement issues with the home, which would make sense to have the pipes sag. Awesome work!
Learned something on this. Thanks. Surprised a rat trap works. After 22', solids are low velocity. I would expect it to quickly fill and clog the trap. Pipe looks intact. Before ripping it all out, I'd maybe do a surgical excavation. Cut the slab at the low point of the dip. Put rope under the pipe. Use a 2x4 to lever the pipe back up into position. Check with a torpedo level. 1/4" to 1/8" pitch per foot ( half a bubble on the level) Backfill with self leveling (soupy) concrete. Now swap the house trap if your budget and ambition supports it
Well hmm I have a floor drain in a laundry room that has nasty water that hasn’t budged, washer is not working/ old speedqueen , had water in tub as it would not spin,, just tried again and water backed up into the sink next to washer.. dark stinky .. I have tried power mainline down floor drain Still have standing water! Help Richard !! Can you send me a plumber like You!!
It may not be ideal, but I'd run a secondary vent to the bathroom, back to the main house vent. It wouldn't be a long term solution, but it would be trivial looking at the location and access to the bathroom, compared to a complete basement "remodel".
Rich, you did some great sleuth work. Nice explanation for the lay people and I agree with your conclusion. I've seen many a lead hub pipe sag after many years of service. Salute.
That's a perfect explanation for positive and negative pressure in a plumbing system . That's WY studior vent must only be used in special circumstances. It only allows for negative pressure usage an not positive .
It's a basement where they threw a bed. He said there was an access door there where it's opened up, so whomever finished this basement, created that access point for future repairs. This is what could happen to all those homes where people finished the basements in areas where all their drains & plumbing come into & out of the house. Know that this could happen in the future when creating that extra space in your homes.
@@jessedover6175 Having empathy for another person's problems isn't a bad thing you a**hat. How about you don't make everything some political battle for your own sad little existence since all you do is identify your entire personality by being a right-wing Trumper?
Is there any plumber or homeowner have seen the “belly” cast iron drain pipe under basement foundation? Could you please let me know which video is this problem? Thank you very much! I was told that my drain pipe has this problem, but the plumber can’t show me a picture with this same issue. Cast iron, no broken, belly, under foundation! Thank you!
Abandon the old pipe. Don't fix it. Run a whole new pipe system out in the yard next to the house so you don't have to dig up everything. I did that and it worked great.
Max R it looks like the bathroom is still in the mix for at least a partial demo even with the reroute to the yard. And that’s a concrete wall with the waste system in it so it would need work too. Maybe less work and cost than tearing up the floor in the bedroom but still an expensive project.
dsewkjw That was my thought as well. I have done loads of jobs like that where we just abandon the old stuff and break out into the outdoors rather than digging up the house floor.
@Michael Ross You minimize the problem. It will worsen to where solids will collect at the low point and the pipe will become occluded. Then it will need to be snaked each time otherwise the basement toilet will overflow each time the upstairs toilet is flushed or the bathtub water is released . The condition that caused the pipe to sag will eventually cause it to separate and sewage will be running out.
That/This is/was AWESOME !!!! THANKS FOR THE LESSON !! I'M A PLUMMER IN THE AIR FORCE !!!! AND I WAS WATCHING AND TAKING NOTES!! AND I WAS GUESSING IT MIGHT BE TAPPED SEWER GASES!!!??
I was looking for a plumber who knew his $hit - and not an info rubric regurgitation machine - and this guy is it! Amazing. Now I can imagine why my kitchen drain is leaking sewer gas.
as a plumber myself im not convinced that was the full cause of the smell.. i didn't see any air bubbles come through the toilet. i agree its something that needs changed but often times there is a leak in old venting or cast piping causing the smell sooner then coming through the floor.. but if the bathroom floor isn't cemented in its very possible as cast piping isn't sealed very well
Plumber/DrainTips before auguring a house or residents drain line use hot dishwashing detergent like Cascade mixed in a milk gallon jug and let drain into pipes and sit for 20-35 minutes. Makes pipes slippery to run auger thru. Make sure if your jetting a line with water jet have a wet/dry vacuum that can hold 5 to 10 gallons of water for a quick clean up so to prevent a real mess. Create an adapter to the toilet tank filler line if you need to run water to a drain jetting system that way you do not have to run a hose outside the house to get water for the drain jetting system.
First video to watch on your channel and I love it when you know what you are doing. I subscribed within the first 3 mins cos I could see your intelligence. I love this and will always come back. Thanks man
I built one of those traps with two cleanouts with 3 inch PVC and I just installed it not that long ago for a purpose that stopped sewer gas from coming from a hacked together sewage pumping system in a commercial space. All of our drains go downhill slope till it comes to a wall then goes through the wall but no one told me that the hack that put the system together went 3 feet uphill on the other side of the wall so my 3 inch drain is actually filled with water all the time so it acts as a 3 foot deep trap!!! So basically after realizing my drain fills with water The trap that I built doesn’t actually do anything other than make a big huge U shape in the drain but it does allow me to clean out the drain very easily once every month with a garden hose bladder attachment luckily I don’t have any bathrooms on this drain at all or this would be a nightmare most of it is Clearwater from the floor drains and one stainless steel washing sink.
Big job indeed - that's going to be some serious $$$$. I know there's a powerful suction force with the vent pipe and a toilet flush, but I am surprised a trap like that would still consistently pass solids and all the accumulated gunk after 3 decades of use.
Here's my take on this...it's not gospel....but it's a rational possibility; Whole house trap? Get rid of that for sure...you have it mostly dug up anyway. If turds and paper are making it through the whole house trap...they'll make it with out it. That model he made (towards the end of the video) of what the plumbing looks like underneath the slab is pure conjecture (not sure why there are 2 other traps...there's only a toilet (toilets have a built-in trap) and a sink down stairs....but it looks cool I guess). What you CAN see from the basement is the upstairs bathroom draining into the same vertical pipe as the downstairs is draining into.(someone probably added that bathroom upstairs later) When you flush the toilet upstairs, that water is falling very quickly past the branch lines serving the bathroom downstairs...that's going to cause air to move no matter what....and that's why its against code. Upstairs needs a dedicated 3" waste line going up.(much less $$$ and work than the other plan) So this homeowner may spend all that money and still have the same problem. The bathroom probably smells occasionally because the wax seal under the toilet is leaking....few people know how to properly set a toilet...the tile in that bathroom looks relatively new...tile guys are not plumbers....it's not as easy as you might think. I've been a professional union plumber since Jr. High....I'm 59 now. (end) Out of curiosity I'd pull that downstairs toilet (check the wax seal) and watch what happens when the upstairs toilet is flushed. Heck, I live in a new house and when it's really windy outside, toilet bowl water will move that much....and I never saw any bubbles come up in this video.
OMG this has started happening in the last few months,,, when the shower or washing machine is being used...but we cannot tell which drain it's coming from, it seems to permiate throughout the house! And there has not been any new plumbing done here, so it just started one day.
Check for a clogged vent on the roof first. Anything can get up there and make a nest then a fixture isn't probably vented resulting in the trap getting sucked dry when you use another one.
Question. Just bought my first home. Had an inspection done, nothing in that report about the water over flowing in the master bathroom floor from toilet base when we shower. I assume it was because he didn’t let the water run long enough to see. When the shower is running in the master the other bathroom toilet bubbles. You can shower in the other bathroom and it will still have water in the master bathroom floor. It’s clean water, no smell either
Am I the only one who thinks its strange that this guy has family pictures in the bathroom. I guess he like to have the feeling of them watching him while he is taking a dump.
lol I love how just behind the bathroom there was the entire sanitary system with an access cleanout. same thing with the access in the floor. in Florida, none of that exists in homes, we have to pull the toilet to clear stoppages
johnny cole what?? No you don’t . lol. There’s an access clean out on top of your roof. You stick the snake through there. Every bathroom and kitchen has one... this guy had the one as well, even though the one they showed is in the basement. The one on the roof is where sewer gases escape and helps push the exiting water push itself to the city sewer or septic system
Jonny Cole, definitely like the other guy said. Get a sectional machine like the Ridgid k-60 and lay a nice size drop cloth on the roof. Carry the machine up then go back and get the rack of cables and the cord. Unstopped tons of main lines like that.
@@GabrielGonzalez-kb5by obviously smart guy. I was referring to not having to go from the roof. and really the roof is where gases escape? its called a vent hombre
it's a nightmare for a homeowner. crazy amount of money to fix and it has to be worked on since only gets worse each year. finding the best solution is engaging.
