# Chicago roof drains



## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

This is what we did today. 4 drains. 10 hours. 3 went real good. The last one fought us. They were all packed with tar and roof stones. The last one was the only one in the plant that was done with a tee and and a cleanout plug instead of a 90. It was also the only accessible off a manlift. The rest all had machines and conveyors in the way. We couldn't cut it out and replace it because there were no braces on the riser and tee. We get the cable stuck while on the roof. Then it starts raining. Go inside and use a Roto-hammer to drill into the mess. Then we use a 3' long piece of 3/8" allthread with a hole saw bit on it to chew up as much as possible, all the while using a piece of 1/2" copper with a hook bent into it to pull back the sludge. We finally get the tee and 45 into the double wye all cleaned out. Go back on the roof, cable is still stuck. I leave Sam on the roof, and go back inside on the manlift, I start tapping the riser with a hammer, clumps start dropping, I know there's about 1 foot of water left in the 4" pipe. I have a 5 gallon bucket at the ready, water starts trickling out, the stops. Humph, what's up? I put the bucket down grab the hammer, I don't even tap it, a blast of black tarry, water blasts out and hits me right in the crotch. At least it happened at the end of the day. We got all the roof drains flowing now:thumbup:


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