Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 20, 2012 2:28 pm We started having blocked drains after moving into our new home. When the plumber did an inspection, he found significant blockage of the sewer pipes due to concrete. The only recourse was to rip out the pipes and fit new ones - almost 3 meters of it ! The builder had to dig under the slab to get to the pipe. The slab has 300mm beams sitting at soil level on an S Class site. How structurally safe is this? What recourse do I have to ensure that proper backfill operations are done so as to prevent subsequent failure of the slab? Does the builder need to procure an engineers inspection certificate indicating clearly that there will be no issues? I feel pretty helpless right now... To make matters worse, the laundry pipes are showing similar symptoms with concrete blockage - heaven forbid that they need to cut through the slab to get to it... Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. Re: Digging under the foundation for removing blocked sewer 2Apr 20, 2012 3:09 pm If the slab hasn't cracked yet it should be OK as long as the backfill doesn't settle. A weak concrete mix is the best solution as it will flow under the slab and will have minimal shrinkage. Just make sure the plumbers pipe joints are good so you don't fill the new pipes with concrete. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. I think you are getting different numbers because they all just based them on "other jobs" even though each job is unique. Often, with builders, unless you're speaking to… 3 3231 Agreed. I just found out today the certifier has not given the final sign off. 2 4090 4 5105 |