New Home, Potential Plumbing Nightmare

[Anonymous]

We moved in to our new house three weeks ago today, and in this short time we have had water from the basement floor drain overflow 3 times into the basement causing a big mess with garbage disposal waste every time. First time it happened, my DH plunged the line and got the water moving again. Second time (a few days later) was much worse, so we brought in a plumber. He snaked the line and said he thought it was clogged due to food getting stuck in the pipe because the garbage disposal is old, rusty, and leaking. Since that day, we have barely used the garbage disposal, but last night the basement flooded again. Has anyone ever dealt with something similar? The plumber recommended buying a new disposal which we are more than happy to do but it feels like that would not really fix the problem since it seems impossible that the line would get clogged up again so soon after it was snaked. I'm terrified that this is indicative of a much worse plumbing problem that the sellers did not disclose. We just find it impossible to believe that this only started happening once we moved in. And on top of that, last night the water pressure in the kitchen sink dropped significantly (fine elsewhere in house) and we can’t yet figure out why. Possibly related.

I'm looking for any advice/anecdotes on either the plumbing problem itself, or how to deal with the non-disclosure of a potentially big problem and how you went about it. I've already emailed our realtor and she is going to try and help us but I'm doubtful anything will come of it. She said she's going to ask the seller's agent to talk to the sellers and ask them if this ever happened to them and of course they're going to say no. There were other things about the house that they didn't disclose and that came up later during the negotiations so we were luckily saved from a few other headaches. But I have no confidence that they would fess up to major plumbing issues. We're so upset right now, I feel sick. We spent a lot of money on this house, upgrading from the tiny "starter" home we'd lived in for the last 12 years, and now for this to happen is making me want to cry. Any thoughts would be very appreciated. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Did you get an inspection done? You can possibly go back to the home inspector.

[Anonymous]

This happened to us!!

We bought a flipper in Pimmit.

Within a few days, the waste from the kitchen sink/garbage disposal was backing into of all things the water heater room pan.

Water from the bathtub drain was going into the other bathtub (another bathroom).

It was amature hour - they misconnected all of the plumbing - for less than $1,000 we had a plumber come out and re-route all the plumbing from the crawlspace.

I hope your fix is that simple - sounds like it might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happened to us!!

We bought a flipper in Pimmit.

Within a few days, the waste from the kitchen sink/garbage disposal was backing into of all things the water heater room pan.

Water from the bathtub drain was going into the other bathtub (another bathroom).

It was amature hour - they misconnected all of the plumbing - for less than $1,000 we had a plumber come out and re-route all the plumbing from the crawlspace.

I hope your fix is that simple - sounds like it might be.

Same poster here.

I'm re-reading your post and wondering if your main sewer line isn't clogged. Maybe you need the main line snaked - not just pipe inside the house. That's maybe just $300.

Also, do you have a large tree over your sewer line? Roots can crush the line or at least clog it. They sell root kill at Home Depot you can periodically use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This happened to us!!

We bought a flipper in Pimmit.

Within a few days, the waste from the kitchen sink/garbage disposal was backing into of all things the water heater room pan.

Water from the bathtub drain was going into the other bathtub (another bathroom).

It was amature hour - they misconnected all of the plumbing - for less than $1,000 we had a plumber come out and re-route all the plumbing from the crawlspace.

I hope your fix is that simple - sounds like it might be.

Same poster here.

I'm re-reading your post and wondering if your main sewer line isn't clogged. Maybe you need the main line snaked - not just pipe inside the house. That's maybe just $300.

Also, do you have a large tree over your sewer line? Roots can crush the line or at least clog it. They sell root kill at Home Depot you can periodically use.

Thank you, this is very helpful. I would not be at all surprised if there was Mickey Mouse plumbing underneath the foundation. This house has a renovated kitchen but the inspector found that a lot of the plumbing and electrical was done strangely, as though by a general contractor and not a plumber or electrician. We thought the inspector identified all the issues and they didn't seem that bad so we werent' worried (this is to answer the PP's question about the inspection: yes, we definitely had an inspection done).

Anyway, thank you for this. We're having a plumber come out today and I'm going to ask about this. The one who came out two weeks ago thought that it looked like the sewer line goes just to the side of the big tree in our front yard, but maybe he was off?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it sounds like it could be a clog in the main line. We had that happen, fortunately the clog was under the front yard, which is City property in DC. Took a week woot water to dig it up and replace it.

Main point it, it is fixable. Start getting bids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it sounds like it could be a clog in the main line. We had that happen, fortunately the clog was under the front yard, which is City property in DC. Took a week woot water to dig it up and replace it.

Main point it, it is fixable. Start getting bids.

Good advice, thank you as well. Anyone know if this is something for which we can feasibly ask the sellers for recourse? I know every house has its issues but seriously, how could this just start happening now? And 3 times in 3 weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it sounds like it could be a clog in the main line. We had that happen, fortunately the clog was under the front yard, which is City property in DC. Took a week woot water to dig it up and replace it.

Main point it, it is fixable. Start getting bids.

Good advice, thank you as well. Anyone know if this is something for which we can feasibly ask the sellers for recourse? I know every house has its issues but seriously, how could this just start happening now? And 3 times in 3 weeks?

Yeah, good luck with that.

[Anonymous]

also agree that it sounds like a main line problem, but don't freak out. Most plumbing problems seem scarier than they actually are.

Plus, it sounds like your inspector did find that there were possible plumbing issues....you closed anyway. Doubtful you have recourse. Welcome to being a homeowner!

[Anonymous]

We had an issue with basement flooding too. It was our main drain. Try to have them snake as far as the street to the county or city side. We have to snake every year (we now rent one at Home Depot) and also use one of those root killers every year. If it is on the county or city side you have to have a camera done and the plumber can call it in and it is their problem. You might try a home warranty as you should be in the time frame for new homes. Good luck. That really sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had an issue with basement flooding too. It was our main drain. Try to have them snake as far as the street to the county or city side. We have to snake every year (we now rent one at Home Depot) and also use one of those root killers every year. If it is on the county or city side you have to have a camera done and the plumber can call it in and it is their problem. You might try a home warranty as you should be in the time frame for new homes. Good luck. That really sucks.

You shouldn't have to use root killer every year, you need to replace the main sewer pipe. Root killer is a stop gap until you fix it. I hope you disclose a broken main sewer to your buyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:also agree that it sounds like a main line problem, but don't freak out. Most plumbing problems seem scarier than they actually are.

Plus, it sounds like your inspector did find that there were possible plumbing issues....you closed anyway. Doubtful you have recourse. Welcome to being a homeowner!

The inspector just found minor plumbing issues, like the joint where two pipes met was sautered (sp?) on the wrong side of the sink cabinet, stuff like that that might make it inconvenient to do certain things in the future like (ironically) replace a garbage disposal. He didn't find anything that would leave us to believe we'd have crap from the garbage disposal floating around our basement right after we moved in. I've been a homeowner already for over 12 years, I didn't really need this lesson in homeownership. Especially since this house passed its inspection with flying colors, unlike our old house, which had an inspection report that almost scared us away so we knew to expect certain things. Anyway, onward and upward, hopefully.

[Anonymous]

1) get a sewer backup rider on your homeowners insurance. It's usually not much money, but it can really be worth it if you ever have a huge backup.

2) Contact a real estate attorney.

3) How long did the sellers live in the house? If they were there for a while, they should have known about the problem. Take pictures of EVERYTHING that happens. Before and after pictures of any plumbing work.

4) TALK to neighbors. You'd be surprised what neighbors spill as far as "Yeah, they had problems with the plumbing for years." If you find out that there was a problem they didn't disclose, then you can at least take them to small claims court or do mediation (depending on your contract).

5) Don't rely on your real estate agent. She has already gotten her commission. Her motivation for pursuing this kind of thing is low. Not to mention, she might not want to make waves with other agents.

You really need to talk to a lawyer and pursue it from that angle, depending on what estimates the plumber gives you (i.e. if it is an inexpensive fix, then it's probably not worth pursuing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Thank you, this is very helpful. I would not be at all surprised if there was Mickey Mouse plumbing underneath the foundation. This house has a renovated kitchen but the inspector found that a lot of the plumbing and electrical was done strangely, as though by a general contractor and not a plumber or electrician. We thought the inspector identified all the issues and they didn't seem that bad so we werent' worried (this is to answer the PP's question about the inspection: yes, we definitely had an inspection done).

Anyway, thank you for this. We're having a plumber come out today and I'm going to ask about this. The one who came out two weeks ago thought that it looked like the sewer line goes just to the side of the big tree in our front yard, but maybe he was off?

Our inspector missed it. Guess he's a builder, not a plumber too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had an issue with basement flooding too. It was our main drain. Try to have them snake as far as the street to the county or city side. We have to snake every year (we now rent one at Home Depot) and also use one of those root killers every year. If it is on the county or city side you have to have a camera done and the plumber can call it in and it is their problem. You might try a home warranty as you should be in the time frame for new homes. Good luck. That really sucks.

You shouldn't have to use root killer every year, you need to replace the main sewer pipe. Root killer is a stop gap until you fix it. I hope you disclose a broken main sewer to your buyers.

if you don't have $15K, then you have to settle for just snaking it and using root kill.