yes, we’re comfortable with that.
ok, actually, we aren’t. some of you have already heard the story…
exactly three weeks after we closed on the house, the Obligatory New-Homeowner Sewage Backup occurred. considering that everything we own was in the basement, we were lucky that only a bit of water actually overflowed onto the basement floor. which is sortof like saying you’re lucky when you only find a little bit of hair in your food.
five days, three contractors, 100 feet of cable, two clumps of roots, and one video camera later, we learned that our sewer line needs to be replaced in not one, but two spots: one in the front yard and one [grits teeth] under the basement.
so far, we’re figuring it’ll be a $10-11k project. i say “so far” because once they replace the pipe, they’ll finally be able to see what’s going on throughout our pipes. right now they can only see halfway, because the other half is backed up with water and their cameras can’t see underwater. for all we know, we’ll have to dig up the entire basement this year instead of just half. which is sortof like saying…
i can symphatize…sort of. i lived in my townhouse/condo when I had my sewage back up, so i didn’t have to pay for anything but did have to live through the disgusting mess! i had owned my townhouse for 6 months, and i had just installed a 1000 sq. ft. of Pergo in the hallway and kitchen-the installation saga is another tale of woe! my townhouse is on a slab, and i didn’t know anything about the drain hole in the closet where the washer and dryer live. one night-just a few weeks after the floor was finished- i was washing a load of clothes and i glanced in the hall to see a giant puddle forming. i thought the washing machine had gone kaput (as had the hot water tank and refrigerator in the 6 months i lived there) and i grabbed all of my bath towels in a futile attempt to save the Pergo flooring. i tossed the wet towels on the carpet in the living room i’d planned on replacing, anyway. the water was gushing from the floor seams and in a psychotic break i jumped up and down on the floor to watch the water spurt out. i realized that it was over, the water had surely ruined the floor. the next morning (saturday), i came downstairs and encountered a horrible stench-it wasn’t the washer, it was sewage. had a plumber snake the drain and discovered that it was roots from the beautiful trees out front. the condo board acknowledged that there was a contractor paid to make sure this didn’t happen, but they paid for the clean up and removal of the floor and carpet, and despite the annoying fans running for a day, i actually came out ahead. i had installed the floor myself, so they reimbursed for labor and i was able to get tile installed professionally. i also had not completed the bathroom or closet, and they paid for that too. it’s still difficult to see your hard work go down the toliet…and i found out in the process that my personal homeowner’s insurance had a cap of $2000 for sewage damage, which i definitely exceeded. i will always check that part of the documents from now on!
Wow. That will teach you to wash your clothes! We have been on a washing hiatus (for me that means “back to normal”) ourselves because of it. I’m glad your story has some happy ending parts. I hope you are back to a good spot.
Thanks for visiting!
Howdy, What in hell is a blog anyway? We have had our experiences with back ups of sewer lines. In both cases when we had guests staying at our home. In both cases in winter. In one case I had to remove 8 inches of snow and then dig around 4 inches of dirt to find the outside clean out because of the distance to the road. I didn’t know the exact location of the clean out so the area I had to dig was about 20 sq. ft. As usual roots were the cause. Also had a problem with water leaking from the main water line to the house, could it have been on the city side of the connection, nay, not so. My side, my problem, my expense. God, isn’t if fun owning a home! You two are doing a great job and anxious to seeit.
Uncle Monte and Aunt Nanci
wow! What a nightmare! See what all I missed while sedated!! Well, I know you have it all under control but I am sorry you had to deal with all that at once…
Having been through multiple slab/wall/ground leaks over one year I can definitely sympathize!!
You guys are doing an amazing job! Keep up the stamina/good work!
Love,
Mom