Question about toilets and future problems

[Edmond Dantes]

Hi,

During one of my inspections I had a chat with the tenant that currently lives there. She said everything was in good condition but in the last 6 months, the toilet has blocked twice. She said it was because the pipes underneath were horizontally placed, not giving enough angle for gravity to help.

In other words, I understood that the pipes need to be with a degree of inclination.

I'm just wondering what the real magnitude of this issue is. Who should give me a concrete assessment of the situation? (a plumber?) I don't want this problem to become a nightmare if I decide to make an offer on this property.

any comments?

thanks.

 

[craigb]

access under the house can determine the problem but in the case of a slab style floor access is dificult. blockage could be a number of factors.
1, the owners/tennents could have flushed things down ie toys,nappy wipes etc
2, the blockage could be a result of tree/root growth, as they can travel esp in drought.
3, trees/root growth could be at the mains, and the street could be effected, but residents rarley talk of such things, a plumber and examiner with a camera could determin the problem better, but this is a bit exy, best to know b4 you buy though, luck!

 

[willair]

Hi,

During one of my inspections I had a chat with the tenant that currently lives there. She said everything was in good condition but in the last 6 months, the toilet has blocked twice. She said it was because the pipes underneath were horizontally placed, not giving enough angle for gravity to help.

In other words, I understood that the pipes need to be with a degree of inclination.

I'm just wondering what the real magnitude of this issue is. Who should give me a concrete assessment of the situation? (a plumber?) I don't want this problem to become a nightmare if I decide to make an offer on this property.

any comments?

thanks.

There could be several items why the toilet has blocked,if you can post a photo of the pipework then that may give a better idea of the problem but if it has blocked 2 times in six months,then it may well be a tree root problem,i don't think it would be the plumbing set-up other wise it would never been past in the first place, that's if the plumbing is legal..willair..

 

[craigb]

willair sinking of subfloor and move ment of sub structures over time may in some cases shift the angle/fall required in drainage applications.
an incident accured when the fill over time settled, and the result was the sewer slid out of the toilet coller under a slab and all flushing went and settled under the slab area, this is rare but does happen.

 

[willair]

willair sinking of subfloor and move ment of sub structures over time may in some cases shift the angle/fall required in drainage applications.
an incident accured when the fill over time settled, and the result was the sewer slid out of the toilet coller under a slab and all flushing went and settled under the slab area, this is rare but does happen.

Graigb,like i said there will be several areas where the problem can come from a simple hour with a camera will find all the problems,if the fill is set up right in the first place then the pipe work will take small movements
and once you find the problem is underground then that's when the big money costs kick in, investors always under estimate the costs of plumbing with labour-materials-machinary-council inspec..
willair..

 

[craigb]

mmm? if you said that ok then , i agree what willair said, easy peasy!

 

[Celeste]

I just had a 3 story apartment buildings 15 apartments plumbing check via a camera it only costs $200 - 300. Our problem is mainly tree roots.

He advised cleaning out the roots at $ 400 amd then putting in a foam which will stop them growing again for a year, the foam to be repeated every year at $ 500. The foam price depends on how much pipe.

This will be good as the plumbing bills to unblock bits at a time has been running at $ 4k a year

I also, had one out at another property (duplex), overflowig toilet and drains in the laundry. He dug up half the back yard looking for the service lid, he had to order the flimsy (plumbing plans) and come back once he had them.. It turned up next door and again it was tree roots , He cleaned them out, fixed up where he had been digging cost $495

I am finding plumbers bills are nowhere as scary as electricians............

If your worried and really want the property get a plumbing inspection..

 

[RumpledElf]

I'm dreading my plumbing bill ... whole yard is galv pipe (as per the famous pipe party thread) so the toilet has rust marks in it (in rings, left as the water evaporated out of the pan from lack of use) and the cold from the garden taps runs yellow for the first couple seconds, the HWS has been installed really weirdly, there's no cold water to the house and no laundry trough and the hot and cold taps are backwards.

Did have an order on the house saying the toilet was backing up, but it also said the septic tank was unsealed and a public health issue. That was dated 2007, none of those are there on the 2008 order and the septic tank and fittings looks pretty new so fingers crossed someone fixed it before I got the place.

All fixable, knew about it all in advance and it was built into the price, just annoying how long I'm waiting.