Leeplusplus wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2023 9:45 pm We're in closing on a single family home in Edgewater and they have a history of the city sewer backing up into the utility room in the basement. A few years ago, they weren't keeping up with it and ended up having to do mold abatement, afterwards installing a drain tile on the perimeter of the room and using a stand pipe in the floor drain. Since then (according to the sellers), it's been mostly dry, except, when not using the stand pipe, they do get some seepage coming from the city sewer, usually during heavy rains.

Fast forward to our inspection and they reported that, a few days prior, they forgot to use the stand pipe and got some seepage which was cleaned up and dried out. To our surprise, the sewer scope revealed that the sewer line was still totally underwater only a few feet from the clean out in the basement despite being rodded with a 3" head a few weeks prior. We had them go back a few days ago, re-rod and scope it. When they went to rod the line, it was already clear. They went ahead and rodded it with a 4" head, supposedly doing a more thorough job than the last guy. They didn't see any damaged pipes or big tree roots. I reviewed the footage and didn't see anything but admittedly have no idea what I'm looking at. I sent it to the inspector who also didn't see anything.

All the plumbing talk on this thread has still got me suspicious. Should I just expect some sewer backup during heavy rain and learn to deal with it? I'm planning to rod annually or so to keep the big roots from the tree out on city property from encroaching on the sewer line. I'd really love to not have to use a stand pipe but if there's not really anything permanent I can do to cut this out, then fine. Their sump pump is broken but I assume that has nothing to do with the sewer backup. It is a combined sewer system, btw.

biscuitdough wrote: Wed May 03, 2023 7:24 am

Leeplusplus wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2023 9:45 pm We're in closing on a single family home in Edgewater and they have a history of the city sewer backing up into the utility room in the basement. A few years ago, they weren't keeping up with it and ended up having to do mold abatement, afterwards installing a drain tile on the perimeter of the room and using a stand pipe in the floor drain. Since then (according to the sellers), it's been mostly dry, except, when not using the stand pipe, they do get some seepage coming from the city sewer, usually during heavy rains.

Fast forward to our inspection and they reported that, a few days prior, they forgot to use the stand pipe and got some seepage which was cleaned up and dried out. To our surprise, the sewer scope revealed that the sewer line was still totally underwater only a few feet from the clean out in the basement despite being rodded with a 3" head a few weeks prior. We had them go back a few days ago, re-rod and scope it. When they went to rod the line, it was already clear. They went ahead and rodded it with a 4" head, supposedly doing a more thorough job than the last guy. They didn't see any damaged pipes or big tree roots. I reviewed the footage and didn't see anything but admittedly have no idea what I'm looking at. I sent it to the inspector who also didn't see anything.

All the plumbing talk on this thread has still got me suspicious. Should I just expect some sewer backup during heavy rain and learn to deal with it? I'm planning to rod annually or so to keep the big roots from the tree out on city property from encroaching on the sewer line. I'd really love to not have to use a stand pipe but if there's not really anything permanent I can do to cut this out, then fine. Their sump pump is broken but I assume that has nothing to do with the sewer backup. It is a combined sewer system, btw.

If you can back out and only lose what you've paid the inspector, I would do that. If you're under contract I would argue that their poor maintenance (constantly forgetting to use the standpipe) puts them in violation, unless the whole mold abatement saga is on the contract you signed.

If you're buying the house no matter what, get a huge seller concession.

motorbike guy wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:08 am

penningtron wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:41 am Thankfully there's no sign of water outside of the toilet or underneath it (the basement under it is unfinished and leaking would be easy to spot). Upon further googling it might be as simple as the chain being a little too tight (it's taut to the point you could probably strum a note out of it, hah). I loosened that a bit and shall see. The next thing to try would be the seal of the flapper. How long are those supposed to last? My guess is this one is 10-20 years old, and yeah our water seems to be heavy in minerals.

as stated above, a new flapper might fix it for you. I had an old toilet that was running constantly. I replaced the flapper, then the whole valve/flushing thing. Turns out it was the seal between the tank and the lower part. A plumber friend said "you could fix it but its a pain in the ass - I would just buy a new toilet." And he was right. New toilets are $2-300 at home depot and easy to install.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 11:08 am Penningtron, sounds like a flap. I had to do that a couple months ago at home; random toilet running/filling sound when not in use, and a new flapper took care of it. I have to maintain toilets in cafes for my job and they constantly need new parts. That's a very common issue.

penningtron wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 7:29 am Has anyone here repaired or replaced a cartridge in a drippy shower/faucet before? (Delta 1400 series in my case) Videos on YT make it look relatively simple, but also something I can't afford to screw up. Debating whether I should just use Taskrabbit for this one.

biscuitdough wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 11:50 am

penningtron wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 7:29 am Has anyone here repaired or replaced a cartridge in a drippy shower/faucet before? (Delta 1400 series in my case) Videos on YT make it look relatively simple, but also something I can't afford to screw up. Debating whether I should just use Taskrabbit for this one.

Usually with swapping out faucets, I'm fine with IPS connectors and will only call a plumber if the old one was sweated in. I haven't fucked with the shower though. That can be more of a creeping issue, since you can't really see if it's leaking inside the wall after you put it all back together. At least, not until it's too late.