Back in late March we had a sewer backup in our downstairs bathroom. Plumber came out to snake the drain, and do a "free" camera inspection. What a surprise! The "free" inspection revealed that our house-to-the-street sewer line needed to be replaced. They never showed us the video I assume they recorded, or visuals of any specific problem. We went ahead anyway as line collapse/failure has been a common theme in our neighborhood. The replaced pipe stretched from where the house plumbing comes out from under the slab to just short of the street, past the sidewalk. So as of this past Sunday we are again getting sewage backup in the house, plus seepage at the lower clean out that was installed with the new sewer line (they put in two clean outs, one near the house, the other down by the street). It is almost like they never hooked up to the county sewer and just let the pipe drain into the ground. There were no permits or county inspections throughout. When I questioned the installer about this, he said "not necessary." Now the plumber is disclaiming any liability, nor are they even bothering to return our calls.

What's my best option on how to proceed. Should I dispute the credit card charge? Should I lawyer up? Should I call the county as the raw sewage overflowing into the street/storm sewer is an obvious health hazard? Social media? Local TV station "investigation?"

My basic position is that I paid them to fix the problem, the method they chose to do so was theirs. I basically got nothing for almost $20K except more hassles, a torn up yard, and the pleasure of dealing with their bad attitude.

I would be delighted to hear from forum members who have had similar experiences and have managed to work out a satisfactory conclusion. The whole thing smells like a pre-programmed scam to me, every step in the process staged. I feel like a fool for biting their hook.

It sounds like you have a new stoppage past or at the far end of your new line. Have a different plumber come out and ask to see the footage after they clear the stoppage.

Get a second plumber opinion.

We had the line between our house and septic tank fail the week before last Christmas. I was with the plumber when he snaked and scoped the line. The failure was at a joint. The septic tank had been replaced just before we closed on our house 2 years earlier. What happened was the seller hired a jackleg plumbing guy, who spliced the line together from bits and pieces, from the house to the new septic tank. And he also didn't connect all of the field lines. So, we had all that corrected, to the sum of $2800.

At a previous house, we had a sewer backup, which fortunately I caught in time. I opened a cleanout in my yard to relieve the backflow. The city came out and it was a problem with a city sewer manhole out on the street. A line between it and another downstream manhole was clogged, so it backed up.

Good luck.

Call your city, borough, or township office and ask if the water/ sewer authority can come out to inspect your backflow issue. It could very well be on their end and will not cost you a dime. If it is determined the issue is on your side, ask if permits are required for a repair.

If it isn't their problem, they will tell you to get a plumber to inspect your side. Hire a different plumber than you are dealing with now. If they determine an issue from the previous plumber, have them put it in writing, contact the credit card company, and quite possibly your lawyer.

$20,000 to replace a single line is astronomical! An entire septic system could be installed for that price depending on circumstances.

If you call the county they just might be able to pressure the plumber to properly fix the problem.
I would contest the CC charge until the problem is solved as that would also put pressure on plumber.

Yeah they don’t record or save video when they run a camera thru your pipes. But I’d pay the bucks to have another company come out and I’d watch it nd ask him to record it-you provide the thumb drive.

And I’d contest the charges with the credit card holder and explain why and how you can provide proof of an issue or release the payment once you figure it out.

And he’s gotta be licensed and insured by the state to work there. You could maybe send them a letter once you figure out if it’s really his fault from shoddy work . If you go that route make sure to call the original guy and let him know of your plans to call the state. And maybe he will fix it.

I am not sure where you live in NOVA but I would contact the City or the County.

OR
you can contact the
https://www.scc.virginia.gov/consumers/public-utility

I had a few problems but luckily Henrico was helpful.

The city of Richmond, well it is the city of Richmond.

What is the distance between the two cleanouts and how deep was this sanitary drain pipe ?

I live in Fairfax County Virginia. I can assure you that the plumber we used had to pull permits, have Miss Utility come out and mark all underground Utility lines, and have a county inspector come out and inspect the work before they buried it again.

I find it very difficult that any jurisdiction in NoVA doesn’t require a permit and an inspection for a sewer line replacement.

If your home was built between 1940 and 1970 you might want to google Orangeburg Pipe. They used it in our neighborhood. Our line went and within five years all of our neighbors’ lines went as well.

In Fairfax County, VA, the homeowner is responsible for the sewer line all the up to the mainline. If that is under the street that gets to be big bucks.

quote:

Originally posted by Genorogers:
What is the distance between the two cleanouts and how deep was this sanitary drain pipe ?

approx. 100' of run, and about 4-5' below the surface, with a fall of about a foot.

Update: after having the County (street crew, not an inspector) take a look and state that it wasn't their problem, Len sent a guy to snake between the lower clean out (nearest the street) and the county sewer. Sewage had been bubbling up around the outside of this clean out, and the clean out itself was full to overflowing. To me, this is an indication that there was not a good seal of the sewer pipe, seeing that liquid could escape from the interior to the surrounding soil. The plumber refused to confirm my assessment, nor did he challenge it. Do they practice these blank stares in front of a mirror, or does it come naturally? I further speculated that perhaps a newly-installed pipe joint had failed (or was not completed in the first place) and soil had intruded into the line thereby causing the backup, but this was met by further uncertainty. In any case, he snaked the line, with some difficulty, and cleared the obstruction without trying to charge me again. He did not do any excavation, but promised that they would video the line again to confirm integrity. That was supposed to happen today, but I have had no contact in this regard. I am not holding my breath.

The subject of a permit remains uncertain, the County person I talked to (on the phone, not the guy who visited) was unable to confirm or deny that a permit had been applied for. He did say that it was not unusual that they could not confirm this, but that he would "look into it." Yes, Fairfax County is one of the most highly-taxed jurisdictions in the country, and we are very accustomed to this level of professionalism.

So, anyway, the drain is running freely, I don't know for how long before the problem recurs. If there really is soil intrusion at the lower clean out, I don't expect to have to wait too long.

And, oh yeah, the Orangeberg mythos....This was used as the original sewer line on my home. The first guy who videoed the line was very insistent on pointing out the section of Orangeberg that he saw down the line. They even left a short section of the pipe they pulled for me to look at. I doubt it was the best piece they found, but it was intact and showed no degradation, looked almost new. I am convinced that the reputationally-poor lifespan of Orangeberg pipe is a fiction maintained to justify replacement, not a real thing. I will concede that it is subject to collapse if run over by heavy machinery in weak soils, but it doesn't seem to fall apart on its own.