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SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT
  Diagnosing a Blocked Drain
  When to Call a Plumber
  How to Locate the Main Building Drain
  How to Use a Power Snake on Building Drains
  How to Find Distance to Drain Blockage
  Determining Need for Replacement
  Replacing the Sewer Line, Step by Step
  Making Other Septic Repairs
  Installing the new sewer line
  Bedding the sewer line in Sand
  Final Backfill of the Sewer Line Trench
  Documenting Buried Components
  Final seeding and soil restoration
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How to Find the Location of Blockage in a Drain Line
InspectAPedia®  -    

  • Guide to how to diagnose a blocked main building drain
  • How to determine that a sewer line needs replacement
  • Step by step main drain line replacement, house to septic tank (or sewer)
  • How to document the location of buried plumbing & septic components
  • Final site restoration guide after sewer or septic pipe replacement
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/appointment.htm.

This article describes how we find the location of blockage in a building drain. The line which was replaced in this photo-illustrated case runs from the building exterior to a septic tank located downhill from the home. We present an actual case study, illustrated with photos of each step in the diagnosis and replacement of a blocked sewer line.

The waste line in this case was found to be blocked, damaged, old, and needing replacement in the course of an attempt to clear a blocked drain between the house and septic tank. Technical reviewers are welcome and are listed at "References." This is a chapter of Inspecting, Testing, & Maintaining Residential Septic Systems an online book on septic systems. Also see Backups and Clogged Drains diagnosing septic backups and septic system failures versus clogged drains.

Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How to Find the Distance to the drain blockage - locating the blockage point in a Drain Pipe

Photograph of the probable route of the buried waste line - listen and feel for the power snake in operation.

Observing where an obstruction was felt in the drain line during operation of the power snake was an important point because on pulling the power snake back out of the line from this point we could determine how far away from the house the blockage actually was.

Leaving the power snake operating and rotating inside the sewer pipe two of us dashed outdoors to walk down the hill between house and septic tank location to the approximate distance indicated by what we'd discovered inside.

 

While buried pipes might run anywhere, one would expect in this case that they run in a nearly straight line down the hill from the house to the septic tank.

Looking and feeling the ground for vibration caused by the power snake and listening for the sound of the snake turning inside the drain line, was easy in this case when we stopped over a section of concrete sidewalk. We could both feel and hear the snake turning in the ground below. (The disturbed sidewalk far down the hill shows where we heard and felt the vibration of the power snake being operated by the plumber.)

Another method of "listening" for the plumbing snake noise inside a sewer line or other drain was suggested by PHG from Poughkeepsie, who said he uses a mechanic's stethoscope to follow the drain line. Using a long screwdriver he probes into the (soft) soil down to where he thinks the drain line is running. He inserts the mechanic's stethoscope into the opening made by the screwdriver. The rod of the stethoscope conducts noise from the pipe or nearby pipe or soils.

Spending money on drain cleaning attempts when a new drain is what's needed?

The cost of this attempt to unblock a clogged building drain was several hundred dollars to pay the workers and for use of the power snake machine. While it was disappointing to have spent this money only to discover that what was needed was a drain replacement, we considered it the fair cost for a confident diagnosis of what work was needed.

In hindsight, we could have assumed that the drain replacement was needed based on the age of the home and gone directly to hiring the excavator, but most experts would consider that a rash step since there are plenty of instances of blocked drains that do not need to be replaced.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

 SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT
  Diagnosing a Blocked Drain
  When to Call a Plumber
  How to Locate the Main Building Drain
  How to Use a Power Snake on Building Drains
  How to Find Distance to Drain Blockage
  Determining Need for Replacement
  Replacing the Sewer Line, Step by Step
  Making Other Septic Repairs
  Installing the new sewer line
  Bedding the sewer line in Sand
  Final Backfill of the Sewer Line Trench
  Final seeding and soil restoration
  Sewer or Septic Line Installation at Steep Sites

  • Thanks to Thomas Gleason, excavators, Poughkeepsie, NY 845-454-3730, for the excavating work at the project photo documented here in September 2006
  • Thanks to Cleveland Plumbing, the prime plumbing contractor, Staatsburgh, NY 845-485-7700 for the plumbing work and drain clog diagnosis work documented here in September 2006
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10/23/2009 InspectAPedia.com/septic/SewerLineReplace1e.htm - © 2009 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark