Sewer Repair

"oh, and by the way, there was some sewage spilling down the stairs out back," a guest said casually, one morning not long ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the enviable job here is chasing the old cast iron sewer line from one replaced and repaired section to another, down the hill, under the stone walls and stairs, and on down towards the nether regions.

 

 

 

Every bend of the old cast iron, every joint, is

an opportunity for a rootlet to wheedle its way in and become an over-nourished root mass.

The nexus I unburied below the previous repair is a goldmine of cracks and crevices. At the 'wye', the roots had combined with a variety of 'flushable' products that should never be flushed, and had formed an impassable gridlock.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adding to the interest of the enviable job here is the proximity of 3 electrical conduits just under the iron pipe, and an electrical ground box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back up the hill you see the stone wall and stairs under which the pipe has come.

 

Time to call out the pros!

After the dirty dig, these guys had the iron cut and the problem junction replaced with a plastic sweep in under 15 minutes. I'll spare you further details, and let you just enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The truly enviable part of this job is looking up after the work is done: