We just moved into a house built in the 60's that has turned into a nightmare in the first week. We noticed a small (1ft x 2ft x 1/4") pool of water and a ton of wet dirt under the house the week before we moved in, so we knew we had a leak. The toilets were not sturdy during the inspection and we had them tightened up. The inspector noted the wax ring seal under the toilet and saw that they used 2, 1 would not be high enough for the tile, but he mentioned they make a 1.5 which would be a better fit, even though a lot of plumbers just use 2.
A few days after moving in, we noticed the toilets do not flush consistently and seem to plug up. Our hot water stopped getting hot. The drain in the tub had a small leak (drip) that was supposed to be fixed before we moved in. The small leak on the tub drain was fixed with plumbers putty but apparently it has gotten worse so we stopped using the tub. The water pressure in the back bathroom seems nearly half flow of what it should be. We called a plumbing company recommended by the real estate agent and they recommended another company. We had an estimate (guy crawled under the subfloor but couldn't find the leak) and their company told us to wait a couple weeks to a month (!!) and see if it goes away or gets worse, and gave us a high estimate for some other work (few refrigerator water/icemaker line, $550??, tub drain replacement, $625??). I decided not to call these guys again.. 2-4 weeks seems like a long time to find out if a leak is getting worse, right?
The next day we start getting sewer backup into the tub and shower. We are no longer using our showers or toilets and took sponge baths. I have young kids that still wet the bed once in awhile so this is not convenient at all. We are going to McD's and Target to go to the bathroom. Our real estate agent got us a home warranty through a reputable company so we call them up to come take a look/fix the issues. The guy who comes out seems very genuine and interested in getting our problems fixed. He tells us that there is a huge pool of water (like as big as a room) under the house and it smells like sewage. It looks as though there are 2-3 leaks under the home. There is a leak in the waste/overflow and it needs to be replaced due to age. The toilet in the hall bathroom needs a new wax seal and is leaking under the house. The main sewer line is leaking as well and water is seeping up through soil. Also we could not find the cleanout, and the toilets are back to back which can be a pain in the ass to snake apparently, because the snake wants to run up to the other toilet. Both W/C would need to be pulled (not sure what that is, I was not here for the inspection) & M/L cabled (main line?) Also W/H (water heater) is not supplying hot water and releasing rust into the system. (Could this be a bad Anode? )
This plumber recommended we call an environmental cleanup to get everything sanitized, and also recommended a sewer mainline video inspection. We called the sanitization company he recommended which came out to do a free estimate. The guys saw a tiny leak under the toilet and said they could not find a pool of water, but saw a large wet area. They felt bad taking our money ($275 to get started, estimated $900 for total cleanup) and suggested we go to an auto parts store and get absorbant clay to put over the area. Anyone have experience with this and a small-medium sewer line leak?
It sounds like a ton of work and we are still waiting to hear back whether our home warranty company will cover anything besides the water heater. We are possibly looking at thousands here for someone to dig around under the subfloor and find the sewer leak. We are stuck not being able to use bathrooms or showers, luckily we have paid rent on the other house and have 12 more days, but it is empty and we need to drive 20 minutes just to go take a shower.
Does it sound like the owner knew about this and did not disclose this? We called the real estate agent who called the listing agent, she said 'he is on vacation for 2 weeks' which is what he was doing right after he sold the house as well nearly a month ago, so I am thinking they are doing the duck and run. They said they were renting the house up to 2 months before it was sold to us so he would not have any knowledge of this. I am guessing he knew about this problem and instead of paying to fix it, maybe had it cleaned up so there was no evidence, and would not put it on the disclosures. I have heard horror stories of this costing into the 5 digits for a work associates family. This is our first house and it has been nothing but problems after the first week moving in. I feel like the house is close to uninhabitable, if it has sewage leaking under the house and we can't afford to fix it, what can we do? I am pretty handy and have fixed several appliances, can do light electrical and the like (I do low voltage, etc for a living). I've already tapped most of my savings to get us in here with a reasonable mortgage. If anyone has any good advice that could help or save us money I would appreciate it.
Submitted September 18, 2015 at 08:07PM by lunixia http://ift.tt/1FRLYmL Plumbing
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