Up sh*t creek...

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That Drain King looks like it's the shizzle.

It is but he is going to need to get it in the main line to fix this problem. The toilet is the best access point based off what I understand of what he is working with. If the lines tee in after the toilet then the Drain King won't work unless he can plug the other lines. It will have a 99% chance if he dug up the line outside of the house and put it in the pipe.
 
Based off what I have seen in the houses from the 40s, there is a good chance that the line has is trying to get the plug out is going to go right back and connect under the toilet. The direction of the plug should give an idea of what direction the line is running... if it doesn't turn. As Bob said, I have also found the kitchen line was tied in direct to the main line outside the house.

Chances are it is all cast iron under the house but if it isn't then he could put his snake in and then use a metal detector to trace it.

Owning a bunch of rentals over the years, I have ran in to all kinds of situations that was less than pleasant to deal with.
 
We all thought he had a basement based off his comments so that brings me to this question. Is the house a single story or a multiple story having a toilet upstairs too? If it is a two story with a toilet upstairs then there has to be a trunk line in the wall so that could also be an access point. The toilet access I spoke about won't work if this is the case.
 
Okay, I guess I need to make some clarifications. This is an old National Homes Corporation prefab house from the late 40s/early 50s. It is built on a slab, and is a single story. The direction the clean out plug in the floor drain points is 90 degrees away from the bathroom. The orientation of that picture is the clean out plug is to the west, the bathroom is to the north, and the kitchen is to the south. There is a small clean out/y-pipe to the southwest where the kitchen sink drains, and there is a larger clean out/y-pipe almost directly north where the bathroom sink drains. This larger y-connection is also at the base of the main vent that comes down from the roof. The toilet drain is under the floor, but I imagine it meets up with the main line down there somewhere. All of these connections, drains, y-pipes, and clean outs are within five feet of each other. It was my understanding that they all pretty much met in the vicinity of the floor drain, and then began their path toward the outside of the house. Not being able to see through concrete, my estimation in that regard may be a little faulty. I've included a rough, not-to-scale representation of our house. If you look in the laundry room, the red dot is the floor drain with the stuck clean out plug. The two blue squares are the y-pipe clean outs. The one behind the washer and drier is the larger one at the base of the vent stack. The one behind the sink is the smaller one. Is it possible to reach the main line if we were to snake either of the two y-pipe clean outs? I know I can get those open. Thanks again for all the advice. Even if it isn't something that we can feasibly do (i.e. costs money) it is still appreciated.
 

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Sorry, I did forget that part. The street and city sewer line would be at the bottom of the picture, to the west of the house.
 
PROGRESS! Well, sort of. I'm in the process of drilling out and removing the plug. I've got a big enough hole that I should be able to stick my sawzall through and cut it the rest of the way out.
 
"The one behind the washer and drier is the larger one at the base of the vent stack."

I would bet this is where you need to get in. You need in a bigger pipe than a sink drain.
 
"The one behind the washer and drier is the larger one at the base of the vent stack."

I would bet this is where you need to get in. You need in a bigger pipe than a sink drain.

That would make sense, because this is the spot where my grandma used to have rats trying to crawl into the house from. That tells me that there is a direct line to the city main from this opening. Not sure why I didn't think about this before. Possibly because this clean out is behind the washing machine and not easily accessible.
 
That would make sense, because this is the spot where my grandma used to have rats trying to crawl into the house from. That tells me that there is a direct line to the city main from this opening. Not sure why I didn't think about this before. Possibly because this clean out is behind the washing machine and not easily accessible.

Ya had to remind me about that!!! I had my hand down in the clean out last night... I'm glad nothing decided to swim up and say hi, or take a taste test. :finga:
 
Ya had to remind me about that!!! I had my hand down in the clean out last night... I'm glad nothing decided to swim up and say hi, or take a taste test. :finga:

Technically, you had your hand in the drain, not the clean out. Also, if any had taken a taste, we would never have to worry about rats ever again! :finga::finga:
 
That vent stack is most likely straight in line with the drain line to the city sewer. Looks like it would be right out the west door. If you have more time than money, you can dig it out and get into it as described by famousbob in a previous post. You would have to "break into" the line and use your 20' snake in both directions from there.
 
Technically, you had your hand in the drain, not the clean out. Also, if any had taken a taste, we would never have to worry about rats ever again! :finga::finga:

Damn. Just DAMN.
 
God I don't know why I opened this thread on a Friday night. We have some apartments with access panels over stacks with rubber couplings because they get clogged so often. Clogs suck and that's the bottom line. You can run snake through every drain in your house and it's always the last one. Boring dirty work. Turn on all faucets in the house and let them run. First one to back up is where I would focus at first.
 
A little update. I'm in the process of cutting the clean out plug off, but it's slow going. I'm getting there, though!
 
God I don't know why I opened this thread on a Friday night. We have some apartments with access panels over stacks with rubber couplings because they get clogged so often. Clogs suck and that's the bottom line. You can run snake through every drain in your house and it's always the last one. Boring dirty work. Turn on all faucets in the house and let them run. First one to back up is where I would focus at first.

The first one to back up is the floor drain in the laundry room. That's where we've been focusing all along.
 
Just to be clear and I am not sure this is relevant, but the drain that you washing machine uses is typically not connect to the sewer lines, it has its own drain field.
 
Just to be clear and I am not sure this is relevant, but the drain that you washing machine uses is typically not connect to the sewer lines, it has its own drain field.


It shouldnt as he is on municipal sewer. If he was in the country and septic tank then "maybe"
 
Just to be clear and I am not sure this is relevant, but the drain that you washing machine uses is typically not connect to the sewer lines, it has its own drain field.
That's the way this house was until I added another 1/2 bath and another septic tank with lateral lines. The kitchen and laundry were piped out and drained down the back hill.
 
Another update. We were getting a little discouraged because the bi-metal blades we have were taking forever to cut through the plug. So, we spent money we really couldn't afford to and bought this. Figure it's still cheaper than calling a plumber. Hopefully things move a little quicker now.
 

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