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re: Any plumbers here? Have a belly in the main drain line under slab
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:20 pm to Hangover Haven
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:20 pm to Hangover Haven
That is good to know however we are in the process of buying the house so I doubt my insurance would cover it. So I would need to get the current owner to do the work and hopes the hangers are broken so he can charge it to his.
2nd quote came in at 21K but neither of these guys have been on location.
2nd quote came in at 21K but neither of these guys have been on location.
2
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:32 pm to GREENHEAD22
There's really no way to fix a belly outside of the two options mentioned - saw cutting the slab or tunneling under.
If you don't want to do that, you can look into a vacuum pump system, jetting the line every couple months to remove solids, opening your clean outs and attaching a powerful wet vac every so often to clear any debris (it would have to be a serious vacuum with lots of volume), or rerouting your entire service line through a secondary connection that would act as a kickover when the primary is backed up.
With a belly, it's only a matter of time until grease or other solids stop it up. That water has to reach a certain level to move, meaning it sits still for long periods. Even if you're obsessive about keeping any grease, tampons, wipes, etc out of your system it WILL build up where water doesn't move.
There's ways you can do some "redneck engineering" to keep your water moving, including a rigged up pool pump or cheap trash pump from Harbor Freight. There's other professional options out there but it highly depends on what your city allows and what you're willing to do to avoid messing with your slab.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:35 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
Tunnel or nothing
I had to do this shortly after I bought my house. If you have cast iorn and it is 50+ years old get ready to get bent over. I had a collapse under my kitchen and a belly under a bathroom so i decided to just get it done.Tunneling is about $400/ linear sqft.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:47 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
Only a 5-year-old house
Fix it and sell the house before the next headache
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:54 pm to GREENHEAD22
Tigerdroppings.com is not a place for professional advice.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 5:54 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
t. So I would need to get the current owner to do the work.
Or before you purchase the house, get him to give you a discount to cover the repairs.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 6:20 pm to doubleb
Well the problem is the conflicting quotes. I don't think $7600 is going to cover it. He specifies change orders due to expanding scope or unforseen issues.
It is approximately 30ft of wrenching, fixing the the pipe, new hangers, etc. Busting the and then fixing the back porch slab.
It is approximately 30ft of wrenching, fixing the the pipe, new hangers, etc. Busting the and then fixing the back porch slab.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 6:22 pm
Posted on 7/7/26 at 7:08 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
So I would need to get the current owner to do the work and hopes the hangers are broken so he can charge it to his.
So you found this out during the inspection? You should definitely let the seller know. Have him cover the cost... If not, cancel the purchase... Find another house.
Only way of knowing if hangers are broken is if there a sag or a break in the line. Any houses over 60 years old probably won't have hangers, but your house in only 5 years old.
Have the seller contact his insurer... Was a little confused from your OP...
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 7:17 pm
Posted on 7/8/26 at 6:05 am to GREENHEAD22
quote:
During inspections we found a 20ft belly in the main drain line from the end of the house with 2 full bathrooms.
Just curious...have you actually seen problems from this?
We had a drain problem at our apartment once...the plumbers said we had this issue and even showed me the bow on the camera but there was nothing in the line at the time. He wanted to rip out the kitchen cabinets and bust up the slab. Turns out the drain line from the washing machine was clogged which was also the drain line for the AC. Got that cleared up and have had no problems since. That was over 2 years ago.
Sometimes that "well...eventually it's going to be a problem" will be well after you are gone.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:02 am to GREENHEAD22
Good news, you don't own the house currently.
I don't know what state you are in, but in LA you could ask the repairs be made in XYZ manner with a reinspection afterwards. Otherwise you walk.
Don't voluntarily take on a headache that isn't necessary.
I don't know what state you are in, but in LA you could ask the repairs be made in XYZ manner with a reinspection afterwards. Otherwise you walk.
Don't voluntarily take on a headache that isn't necessary.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:20 am to Hangover Haven
quote:
You should definitely let the seller know. Have him cover the cost... If not, cancel the purchase... Find another house.
Yep. Be very grateful you found this before purchasing and walk away. Theres no reason to deal with this right now. Its a buyers market in the vast majority of places right now.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:36 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I’m definitely not a plumber, so take this with a grain of salt. Can the line be rerouted outside of the footprint of the house?
Posted on 7/8/26 at 1:13 pm to cgrand
quote:
call roto rooter
NEVER call Roto Rooter. In fact call anyone else first
Posted on 7/8/26 at 1:29 pm to Hangover Haven
quote:
If there were hangers on the line, and they broke, insurance will cover it..
Not exactly. If there is water damage or even a back up from the drain line into the home coverage is usually extended for the resulting damage as well as access to the pipe under the slab. Insurance does not usually include replacing the pipe or hangers due to corrosion, wear and/or tear. They pay for access only and since tunneling is cheaper than opening/closing the slab, paying for floors, etc. they usually extend coverage for the tunneling.
The cost involved is usually about $110-$115 a lineal foot to dig/tunnel and about $15-$20 a lineal foot to backfill. They will also need to dig a 4’x4’ base hole (at least one). There are additional charges for breaking through a chain wall (about $250/ea) or hard digging which depends on your soil.
You want the company to pump sand back to fill the void. Whenever they backfill with existing material they always have a good bit left over that needs to be hauled away and that is material that was supporting your foundation.
If you’re in the NOLA area, get quotes from Harold’s or Earl’s. They specialize in this and they both use sand to backfill.
Just an FYI, it’s not uncommon for the drain line under any home to have a sag. Most people probably don’t know they have a sag until they have a problem.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 12:38 pm to Cage Fighter Trainee
I bought a house with a sag or a belly in the sewer from one bathroom. I pour a bio agent to dissolve solids monthly and haven’t had a problem (yet).
I got the seller to pay some more credits as a mitigation. Getting someone to snake the line every 6 months for 10 years is cheaper than tunneling.
I got the seller to pay some more credits as a mitigation. Getting someone to snake the line every 6 months for 10 years is cheaper than tunneling.
Posted on 7/12/26 at 10:50 am to SuperSaint
quote:
Buy one of those $350 hydro jets from Habor freight
Every six months or so just wash it out
This. I had to reline a 50 year old main sewer line that goes under the operating rooms at one of my hospitals to keep from shutting down the ORs. After the reline, there's a 3 foot long belly.
We just put it on a regular jet wash with one of our local plumbing vendors to blow out the solids that build up.
Been working great so far and damn sure beat having to shut down operating rooms for a month.
Posted on 7/13/26 at 4:33 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
During inspections we found a 20ft belly
Foundation repairs been going on for about a week around my place. I fully expect to be dealing with this kind of shite next.
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