# weird pipe defect



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Here is a picture of a bad pipe joint, it kinda looks like an offset but notice the triangle shape of the opening, it was cast this way the day it was made so they have always had a restriction in the line, actually all the concrete pipe on this job is just plain bad it is falling apart just plain crumbling. Usually they last 75 to 100 years this one is only 50. Sometimes it's just bad concrete and it hits 50 and just falls apart but in the end we are doing a complete pipe burst so the weird fitting that is actually in the best condition portion of the line will not matter. I would like to have this pipe but it's under a 8" thick driveway and 5 feet deep so it's about to get bursted.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Is the bottom rotted out and the sides pushing in, with a hard to see crack at the top?

Just my guess without more looking...


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Redwood said:


> Is the bottom rotted out and the sides pushing in, with a hard to see crack at the top?
> 
> Just my guess without more looking...


This part of the sewer has a good bottom the only reason that there is water there is because the overpour (thick concrete edge) is raised a little in the bottom as well, when I push just beyond the joint the pipe is fine with no standing water. It does look like a slight gap on the thick side because the guy that installed it could not get the two pipes jointed so it looks like he lined them up as best as he could and weighted it down with dirt. Imagine running a 4" cutter through it lol.


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

This was the best shot I could get because of the water, normally I would put a skid on but what I was doing when I took this was out of the box, the line had 20 feet of gravel and large rocks in 3/4 of the pipe. I could not even get the fullsize camera through but I needed to string my pipe burster cable through to do the burst, I tried a jetter but did not really want to flush any of the rocks downstream and add to future problems so then I tried a snake it churned it up but kept getting stuck. The way I opened it up to get that camera shot was I brought our 375cfm trailer compressor up and made a nozzle that attached directly to the hose then taped it to a duct rodder and using the (tank of a sewer camera) seesnake fullsize I pushed deep into the rocks and in short bursts blasted the rocks forward to disperse them evenly in the pipe. I didn't get greedy just opened the pipe up to having 2" of space to pull the camera and cable through. It was ok to move the rocks around as they will be on the outside of the new pipe when it pulls through. Some of these jobs it's whatever works lol


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Here are some picks of the pipe using the fullsize when I could and a little micro drain seesnake to get past spots that had less than 1" of room in the pipe.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Looks like the tough got going on that job...


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

The funny thing is how did all those rocks get there? The big rocks came from some remodel contractor that did not cap off the original down spout drains and left them open in the ground but the line still flowed, then the current owner was convinced there where rats in the remaining concrete downspouts lines and filled them with bag after bag of gravel DOH


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

Wow!


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## PLUMB TIME (Feb 2, 2009)

Cuda said:


> Here are some picks of the pipe using the fullsize when I could and a little micro drain seesnake to get past spots that had less than 1" of room in the pipe.


Do the dollar signs show when the customer sees the video:laughing::laughing:


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## CPR2010 (Nov 25, 2014)

*What you don't want to see in a sewer pipe!*

Had a home owner complaint of a sewer back-up and informed me that he had old clay pipes and previous root problems. After trying to attack the blockage with my K-60 for 45 min I still couldn't get it unclogged. I decided to put in my clog buster in hopes of at least clearing it up some so I could see what I was dealing with using my camera. The clog buster worked and then I pushed my Ridgid SeeSnake in and I find this. After studying it for several min I was able to read the lettering. Turns out a utility company bored a 2" gas main right thru the 4" clay pipe. Needless to say, thats the only time I have been thankful that my K-60 failed me.


By the way, great discussion topic. I have a hard drive full of interesting pictures of inside pipes.


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## Greg755 (Sep 16, 2015)

CPR2010 said:


> Had a home owner complaint of a sewer back-up and informed me that he had old clay pipes and previous root problems. After trying to attack the blockage with my K-60 for 45 min I still couldn't get it unclogged. I decided to put in my clog buster in hopes of at least clearing it up some so I could see what I was dealing with using my camera. The clog buster worked and then I pushed my Ridgid SeeSnake in and I find this. After studying it for several min I was able to read the lettering. Turns out a utility company bored a 2" gas main right thru the 4" clay pipe. Needless to say, thats the only time I have been thankful that my K-60 failed me.
> 
> 
> By the way, great discussion topic. I have a hard drive full of interesting pictures of inside pipes.


Now that is something don't see everyday. WOW. I wonder if the Gas company will pay to replace the whole pipe.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

wow, that coulda turned out real bad in so many ways....


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Here if it's gas or cable you make the call, show them the picture and they take quick care of it and usually will pay prior bills from snaking back to where they show the date of the install.


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## CPR2010 (Nov 25, 2014)

I notified the gas company and they had a truck around the corner that came buy and verified what I was looking at on my camera screen. He made the determination that it was not leaking so there was no threat. 

Turns out that gas line was just installed a month earlier. The utility contractor who installed it called me a few days later and said they were on there way to that location with their mini-x to dig it up for me to repair. I said how nice that was of them to dig it up for me but, seeing this was the first I heard from them or anything about me doing any type of work for them I wasn't going to drop all my scheduled calls to fix their mistake. I told them I would gladly help but it wouldn't be for another 2 days before I was available.

A few hours later I received a call from my customer saying that they were tearing up his driveway. He also was very concerned because they didn't seem to know what they were doing when they got to the 4" clay.

Two days later I went back out there and put my camera in to verify it was properly repaired. Nope! They just cut and removed a one foot section of clay and replaced it with PVC using 4" PVC FernCo fittings that was sliced to accommodate the large clay pipe. Also, they never moved the gas line so it was pushing down on the PVC repair badly. Again, I called the gas company and this time 2 supervisor trucks showed up. They agreed that the repair was crap. Two hours later the gas company had the utility contractor back on site with all their equipment and made them dig it up so I could repair it properly. 

I ended up billing my customer $4,000 for my work and the gas company delivered him a check the following week reimbursing him in full. 

Now, if I run into any blockage and its within an area that could potentially have a buried utility I stop and pull out my locater. It takes just a couple of minuets to hook up to and trace the gas line then I do a quick sweep for power. Better to be safe then sorry.


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## tims007 (Aug 31, 2013)

are you sure those rocks are form the contractor ..i have seen some OLD ass lines when i was in Seattle and they all looked like that lol


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## eddies29 (Feb 2, 2016)

Looks quite bad, really. Have you considered contacting some professional? I usually call up Stroud Plumbers. Always did the work for me and if nothing else I always get an advice from them.


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

Where's the popcorn?


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

eddies29 said:


> Looks quite bad, really. Have you considered contacting some professional? I usually call up no free spam. Always did the work for me and if nothing else I always get an advice from them.


Really. So which side of this are you going to play? You have one post asking if they are any good, and this post saying you usually call them.

This site is for professionals only, either as a plumber or drain cleaning specialist. You don't match either of those criteria.


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