Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 Feb 09, 2009 9:23 pm Hi All!
This is my first post and I'm hoping someone out there can shed some advice and help me out. We moved into a new place a couple of months ago and noticed that in the main bathroom, when either the sink tap or the shower was used, a bad smell would come inside the bathroom from just outside the window if the window was open. We thought there might have been some broken drainage pipes, but there was a massive plant in the way so we could see nothing. Finally I chopped up and removed the plant and revealed what you see in the photos below. What happens is, when the sink tap or shower is turned on, water from the hole you see in the photos comes up and overflows onto the dirt. This produces the bad smell. My question is, what the heck is it? Is something broken? Was it meant to work like this to water the plant? Is it easily fixed? I was hoping someone could offer advice. My next step is obviously a call to the plumber... Thanks! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Smelly plumbing problem in our new home 2Feb 10, 2009 10:20 am I'm not sure but that looks like your sewerage line. I would suggest that you have a severe blockage most probably tree roots or the like. Definitely needs immediate attention. Probably looking at a couple of hundred dollars to unblock and depending on the amount of labour to unearth the pipe where it is blocked or broken you can add up the cost. Hopefully it is not obstructed under the slab of the house!
The thing that worrys me is that the hole should have a cover over it as it is actually an inspection panel for maintenance etc. The fact that they have removed this makes me think that the pipe is completely blocked and this made it necessary for them to remove the inspection panel to help with overflow. Moreso that they sold the house.... Why. Hopefully not because the cost of repairs was so great..... I'm surprised that your pre purchase building inspection didn't show this problem? I would look into possible compensation from the building inspector. They have insurances in place for just this. Re: Smelly plumbing problem in our new home 3Feb 12, 2009 6:52 pm Its hard to see exactly what it is, but Im guessing that its either a surcharge gully/ disconnector trap (although they usually terminate 150mm above ground level) or an inspection opening.
If its a gully/ trap you can gently probe it with a mop. The older type gullies have a flat bottom and are known as arrestor gullies. The flat bottom and a wall force water from example a sink to pass under and then up again. Grease fat, food scraps etc collect on the bottom and can block it. Plunging with a flat plumbers plunger (not a sink plunger) usually dislodges this matter and allows the water level to drop and the water to flow away. A mop will do the same thing. If its an inspection open with the lid missing, then the drains are blocked, or at least partially blocked. I cant see any toilet paper etc, so I assume the blockage is quite close. Try reaching down, sounds yucky, but there are worse things in life and grab any protruding roots etc. You might be lucky and thats the end of your problem. Otherwise call a plumber with an electric eel. Expect to pay between $120 to 180 for the first hour. (and it shouldnt take longer than that) Dont use a plumber with a water jet as they usually charge more and depending on the jet, may just push past the roots (which are more than likely the cause of the problem) and it will reoccur. As theres no toilet paper visable, the blockage appears to be quite local. Re: Smelly plumbing problem in our new home 4Feb 13, 2009 8:54 am Mt two cents worth;
You can hire rodding pipes at most hire companies. A rodding pipe is basically a stiffish plastic pipe that you push into a blocked drianage pipe to clear any obstructions. I would give this a go, push this rodding pipe into your smelly hole until it hits a blockage, give it a few giggles and pokes and see if anything moves, it may just be a build up of bogroll waste. If you hit something and it definately wont budge, you may be loking at a tree root obstruction, or a broken pipe. If thats the case ring a plumber. Pat. Re: Smelly plumbing problem in our new home 5Feb 13, 2009 9:04 am I would start by sticking a hose pipe in the hole turned to full bore as far as you can get it to go, then wiggle it a bit to see if it can break up a blockage. Take the fitting off first so you don't lose it.
Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Smelly plumbing problem in our new home 6Feb 21, 2009 9:14 pm A few wild guesses.....the tub/shower drain could be lacking a trap in the drain, but if this was the case, you should have been smelling sewage right from the beginning. Another possibility is that something is still plugged and sewage is backing up into the shower trap even though it doesn't come up where you can see it. Another is that the shower isn't properly vented and the water is getting sucked out of the trap.
The purpose of the trap is to allow the water in the trap to act as a seal so that sewer ordors cannot come into the living areas of the home. So either there is sewage backing up into the trap or for some reason there is no water in the trap. This assumes that you have cleaned the shower floor very well so there is no sewage smell there. In my experience roof is essential element of the building envelope and hence a common property and should be covered by owners corporation however a detailed review of… 3 6172 For anyone that comes across this issue in the future - Just did what aussieta said and found a plumber to inspect it and sign off on it. Was difficult to find someone to… 3 7040 5 3779 |