# Good job Roto Rooter



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Pulled this out 2 days after RR was there. 10" auger at top left corner to show scale. Perfect example why a bent cable is not a cutter head.


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## threaderman (Jun 17, 2008)

Did you use the 1065? Good job by the way.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

K60. Did this about a year ago I think. Used the spiral blade. The 1065 won't be getting used for a while.


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

Back in the day when I did service work, I went on a call for a blocked main sewer, got to the job and was informed that some outfit called Mr. Rooter was out three days before for the same problem, and told the HO it was fixed, collected their money, and left. It worked for two days and backed up again, so I pull the C.O. plug in the yard, and sure enough the line was charged, go to send the rod in and it goes four feet and dead stops, so I pull it back and put a retriever head on, send it in, and it binds up at six feet, so I start pulling back, it won't budge an inch. I'm starting to get a bit ticked, pull the section of cable out of the machine, and me and the apprentice start pulling with everything we have, and it finally starts moving,slowly. Turns out Mr. Rooter man got his cable stuck, couldn't get it unstuck, so he cut it off, shoved it down the C.O., collected his money, and left. There was a ten foot long string of roots on the end of his fifty feet of cable.


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## GrumpyPlumber (Jun 12, 2008)

*Here's a job I did last week, RR had been there a few days before and added a "cleanout".*


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## Plumber_Pete (Jun 22, 2008)

Wow I bet they charged them at least $400 bucks to add that "cleanout"!


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## threaderman (Jun 17, 2008)

I've got a sewer install scheduled for the next 2-3 days,no room for machines ,hand-dug only.I told my apprentice eat well,he may have to go 9' down if it's busted at the tap,he'll get a helper if it comes to that.BUCKET UP!!


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

9' make sure you shore it up, I think anything past 5' has the have shoring.


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## DMG76 (Jun 18, 2008)

GrumpyPlumber said:


> *Here's a job I did last week, RR had been there a few days before and added a "cleanout".*


 

LOL i like the quote, added a cleanout LOL :laughing:


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## threaderman (Jun 17, 2008)

Ron The Plumber said:


> 9' make sure you shore it up, I think anything past 5' has the have shoring.


Thrill killer!


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## WestCoastPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

Anything past 5 needs shoring, plumbers have been killed here before for not shoring up a trench, I just did an 8' and didn't shore it up:no: the shoring was in the garage, I ordered it, just didn't use it like a stupid azz

To much of a hurry which is no excuse. Trench Shoring Company has a certification program out here, I have my card

The deepest trench I did was 16', interesting down there:yes:

I also went to a RR job, they ran a mainline through a 2" cleanout and broke a 2" comby, the stoppage was not cleared, it just drained under the house, a few weeks later when the elderly man saw water coming from under his house, out the crawls space, he called me. they blew out the side of the comby. remediation time:yes:


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## pipepimp (Jun 19, 2008)

Just to let you know not all roto rooter plumbers are bad. i work for rr it's unfortunate this happens and gives us a bad name.


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## uaplumber (Jun 16, 2008)

Here you need to shore after 4 feet. Or you can cut back the banks from 4 feet up. You cut back in one of 2 ways. Make steps or angle cut. As long as every foot you go up you go out a foot. Place ladders throughout the length of the trench as well as place the dirt pile at least 1 meter from the trench


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## Plumboob (Dec 7, 2008)

Ron The Plumber said:


> 9' make sure you shore it up, I think anything past 5' has the have shoring.


4' and you can only shelf the hole in type A and B soil, not C which most excavations involving leaking lines are classified as, i just did a refresher on shoring last week, lol. Also i work for RR, one of our policies is that you NEVER leave a cable in a line, we have 2 types of servicemen, drain techs and plumbers, the drain techs are usually the ones who do this kind'a stuff, their very green and get fired allot.


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## WestCoastPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

Plumboob said:


> 4' and you can only shelf the hole in type A and B soil, not C which most excavations involving leaking lines are classified as, i just did a refresher on shoring last week, lol. Also i work for RR, one of our policies is that you NEVER leave a cable in a line, we have 2 types of servicemen, drain techs and plumbers, the drain techs are usually the ones who do this kind'a stuff, their very green and get fired allot.


 


Not to insult RR, alot of the companies are there to clear the stoppage.....hope the customer stopas up again and then they go back for a camera, sewer replace or repair.

That amount of roots isn't alot really, I don't know anyone who bends their cable on a m/l, just top snake and 3/8"

I also find that a new cable will get out less roots because it rides the bottom of the pipe, a fairly old cable will get more because it jumps around the sewer.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

pipepimp said:


> Just to let you know not all roto rooter plumbers are bad. i work for rr it's unfortunate this happens and gives us a bad name.


To bad the company doesn't work harder at having good quality work by qualified people...

Instead they turn their six week wonders loose to become "Top Producers" on an unsuspecting customer. I had a customer that had paid over $1200 to have his line to the septic snaked via a pulled toilet and the yard looked like craters on the moon after the RR guy tried to dig up the septic tank. He couldn't figure out how to read the map and measure to find the tank. Expensive place on the water that had a helluva nice yard.

I found it in 20 minutes on the first hole. and the tank was full!:furious:

Guys like that being out there just makes it harder on the ones that are good!
The company doesn't care either they get their cut!

I know that customer won't be calling RR again!
Thanks for the business... He's mine now!


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## richfield (Oct 29, 2008)

Plumboob said:


> Also i work for RR, one of our policies is that you NEVER leave a cable in a line.


sounds like a good policy! I'll have to write that one down :yes:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

I left one in the line once.

THe camera showed a rotted out cement line with a cut in the bottom. When the blade went down the chimney and cleared the line the blade came back under the pipe with the cable up through the slot in the bottom of the pipe.

Sometimes they just aren't coming out without and excavation. 

And the customer may not always be buying that!

I hate it when that happens!


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

I just lost a jetter hose to a 2" cast iron kitchen drain. The line was collapsed and she knew it going in. The jetter buried it's self and she would not pay to saw cut the floors and change the line to pvc. So, we had 40' or so of 1/4" jetter hose with a head on the end that got the poly cutters. HO isn't gonna pay. Are you gonna do more than $3000 worth of work to save a $150 jetter hose?


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

I had a snake job come in and I open the cleanout and find a cut off cable under it. I ask the customer what the problem is with the line...

Oh there's nothing wrong with it! It just needs to be snaked.:whistling2:

Yea right!

Poked the camera in and located where to dig. There was only one way that snake was coming out of the line...

Backhoe assist!

Customer was trying to sucker me into snaking the line.:furious:


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