Introduction
John from Melrose Park rang us up with an emergency plumbing job saying his toilet wouldn’t flush. Little did he know when we got there it turned out to be more than just a blocked drain.
Problem Details
When we attended site, we opened a drain inspection opening that is connected to the toilet. Apon inspection we found that the inspection opening was overflowing and in its current condition would cause the toilet to overflow if John happened to flush it again, potentially causing water damage to the carpets and floating floorboards adjacent to the bathroom
Your Approach
Firstly the team and I tried to clear the blocked drain by using a hydro jet machine. A Hydro-jett is a high-powered pressure hose that has an attachment on the end that shoots out a high-pressured jet of water that can cut most debris in half and flush them down the drain. We first used the hydro downstream of the inspection opening to clear the blockage, this was unsuccessful. The jet was not able to penetrate no more then approximately 2 meters down the drain after multiple attempts. Once we concluded we were not able to clear the blockage using the drain machine a more invasive approach was adopted. We got the drain Drain Camera from the back of the van, connected it with a battery and stuck it down the drain to inspect issue. We discovered a giant root had caused the existing pipework to crack and collapse causing a total blockage in the pipeline.
Team Expertise Doing the Job
The job to repair the drain quickly took shape, we fired up the concrete saw and using our pipe location equipment, marked out where we had to cut the drain. Using the concrete saw we carefully cut out rectangular sections of the footpath until we had a clear path to the pipe below, using our shovels we dug the rest of the way to expose to blocked and broken pipe. We then used the saw again to cut out the damaged section making sure to make neat cuts on either side for the repairs to follow. Smashing out the old pipe we then used PVC DWV pipe to bridge gap between what was still good.
Challenges
The obvious challenges in a job like this when looking at the photos is the sheer hard work that goes into getting a job of this magnitude complete in a timely manner so the customer can have little interruptions to his bathroom. The concrete we cut was particularly thick and although the pipe wasn’t very deep because of all the root activity it becomes difficult to dig with the shovel.
Positive Impact
Having all the gear is essential to completing a job like this because not only does it help us diagnose the problem faster but it also helps us do the job faster, helping John save time, money and stress.
Summary
We helped John fix his blocked drain issue fast. A job like this typically takes 2-3 days and could cost $1000 to $4000 depending on several factors including complexity, accessibility to the area and hours of labor plus materials.
Call to action
If you or someone you know has had blocked drain issues then it could be more then just toilet paper in your drain. Like most things in life, early detection is key to minimizing damaged caused and costs to repair. If you would like us to inspect your drains or have any questions regarding your blockages then don’t hesitate to call and have a chat with a real plumber not a call centre.