5

The plumber who blocks drains while unblocking them.

posted by KillBill on HomeImprovementandRepair

https://imgoat.com/v/194003/KINbU85

Basically this is what I pulled out of my bathroom drain yesterday. In 2006, I was renting the house out and the tenants wanted a drain unblocked and said they had a friend who was a plumber who would do it for me. I was living a fair way away and just said ok.

So he's unblocked the drain and recapped the cement cap on the drain and I paid him. But what did he use as a baffle for the mortar mix around the drain? Apparently he thought it was great idea to use a scrunched up tube of plastic a metre(3 foot) long to jam in around the pipes. the level of idiocy here from a person working around small pipes where water has to flow freely is not to be underestimated. Of course the mortar stuck to the top of the plastic and the rest gradually snaked down the drain, catching up hairs, grass seeds(which turned into thriving roots that grew along the plastic) and who knows what else people have put down the vanity basin and shower outlet. A lot of it didn't look too healthy and that's putting it mildly. Not all of what I pulled out is in this picture, not by half.

I unblocked this drain with some thick fencing wire I had laying around which I curled into a hook at the end and basically fished around hoping for the best. Initially I used a wire coat hanger but it wasn't long enough and not strong enough either.

So there you have the culprit of why the bath/shower and vanity have been backing up for the last few years. Why didn't I fix it before? It wasn't really a big deal until the last year and I accidentally knocked the pipe cap mortar yesterday while doing something else and broke it and a small piece(so I thought) of plastic caught my eye.

https://imgoat.com/v/194003/KINbU85 Basically this is what I pulled out of my bathroom drain yesterday. In 2006, I was renting the house out and the tenants wanted a drain unblocked and said they had a friend who was a plumber who would do it for me. I was living a fair way away and just said ok. So he's unblocked the drain and recapped the cement cap on the drain and I paid him. But what did he use as a baffle for the mortar mix around the drain? Apparently he thought it was great idea to use a scrunched up tube of plastic a metre(3 foot) long to jam in around the pipes. the level of idiocy here from a person working around small pipes where water has to flow freely is not to be underestimated. Of course the mortar stuck to the top of the plastic and the rest gradually snaked down the drain, catching up hairs, grass seeds(which turned into thriving roots that grew along the plastic) and who knows what else people have put down the vanity basin and shower outlet. A lot of it didn't look too healthy and that's putting it mildly. Not all of what I pulled out is in this picture, not by half. I unblocked this drain with some thick fencing wire I had laying around which I curled into a hook at the end and basically fished around hoping for the best. Initially I used a wire coat hanger but it wasn't long enough and not strong enough either. So there you have the culprit of why the bath/shower and vanity have been backing up for the last few years. Why didn't I fix it before? It wasn't really a big deal until the last year and I accidentally knocked the pipe cap mortar yesterday while doing something else and broke it and a small piece(so I thought) of plastic caught my eye.

5 comments

[–] [Deleted] 3 points (+3|-0)

I was wonder wtf the plastic was doing in there... Their friend is a complete retard. Hopefully you didn't have water damage? fuck man I used to work private renos and this old timer we called the butcher would probably call this guy the butcher king!

[–] KillBill [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

No water damage but the water would just back up in the shower/bath a bit and but still get through eventually. I used a plunger about 8 months ago which dragged up a LOT of the dirt and other stuff around this plastic and that solved most of it but I was kinda baffled why it was still draining out slow especially since I had the main sewer pipe(about 2 metres downstream from all this) snaked/bored out 3 months ago. Now I know why.

[–] [Deleted] 2 points (+2|-0)

fuck eh. Should've sent a scope from this part instead and the guy would've got a good laugh with his buds back at the shop. Glad no damage that's the main issue monetarily. Learnt your lesson? Hire trusted help :'D it's worth it

(I know u were far but don't trust tenants... Unless it's like do or die like the hot water tank is kapoots or the heating system goes... then get them involved with a repair company. Worth the money getting pros in the home when you can't check on it. I dealt with that a lot in Hvac inbound services. I've worked everywhere btw)