What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they have on a
house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that our garberator is
the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to need continual cleaning of
"grease". The garberator gets mostly vegetable scraps. We're very careful
about putting most things where they ought to be (bacon fat in a can,
solvents to the recycling depot etc...).

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:30:34 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they have on a
house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that our garberator is
the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to need continual cleaning of
"grease". The garberator gets mostly vegetable scraps. We're very careful
about putting most things where they ought to be (bacon fat in a can,
solvents to the recycling depot etc...).

For four years after I moved into this house, I had to have the
plumbers crew clean out the main sewer line 3 or more times a year
because it would start to run slow around 2-3 months after they left
(imagine the cost!)

"Soap scum and grease" was their diagnosis. I had them do the camera
thing (what a nightmare!) and there was nothing obvious other than
some roots. But the camera guy was different from the cleanout guys;
they came on different days.

I was baffled because I couldn't figure out where so much alleged scum
and grease was coming from. Based on what I know goes on in the
house, it simply didn't make any sense.

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:30:34 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they
have on a house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that
our garberator is the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to
need continual cleaning of "grease". The garberator gets mostly
vegetable scraps. We're very careful about putting most things where
they ought to be (bacon fat in a can, solvents to the recycling
depot etc...).

For four years after I moved into this house, I had to have the
plumbers crew clean out the main sewer line 3 or more times a year
because it would start to run slow around 2-3 months after they left
(imagine the cost!)

"Soap scum and grease" was their diagnosis. I had them do the camera
thing (what a nightmare!) and there was nothing obvious other than
some roots. But the camera guy was different from the cleanout guys;
they came on different days.

I was baffled because I couldn't figure out where so much alleged scum
and grease was coming from. Based on what I know goes on in the
house, it simply didn't make any sense.

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

So tree roots was the problem? Would he put the camera in first? Then trim
then check, then repeat the cycle. I've got my plumber guys both coming in
today to 4 p.m. with the rooter and the camera to see what's going on. It
been an on-going problem for the last year and a half. When they were here
two weeks ago they clean my main and one branch of my system but neglected
to clean the second branch (I have a two stack system) and sure enough
branch number two is showing the tell tale signs of being plugged or slow.

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:55:37 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

Curly Sue wrote:

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

So tree roots was the problem? Would he put the camera in first? Then trim
then check, then repeat the cycle. I've got my plumber guys both coming in
today to 4 p.m. with the rooter and the camera to see what's going on. It
been an on-going problem for the last year and a half. When they were here
two weeks ago they clean my main and one branch of my system but neglected
to clean the second branch (I have a two stack system) and sure enough
branch number two is showing the tell tale signs of being plugged or slow.


The original plumber guys simply were not clearing enough of the roots
(tree or shrub). They cleaned until it ran free, but they couldn't
see what they were doing because they didn't have the camera.

When I saw the situation with the second guy's camera, the original
guys had made a nice neat (small-medium) hole in the roots which were
growing in from the pipe. Using the camera as a guide, the second guy
made a much bigger passageway; he couldn't shave the pipe clean but
apparently it was enough. Note: the first guys didn't pull out a
skein of roots because that wasn't the problem after the first year.
It was the stiffer roots growing in toward the center of the pipe that
seemed to be catching stuff ("soap scum"? "grease"?), like a lint
catcher.

I was also very unhappy with the way the first company charged me for
the camera work, but that's another story :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:55:37 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

Curly Sue wrote:

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

So tree roots was the problem? Would he put the camera in first? Then trim
then check, then repeat the cycle. I've got my plumber guys both coming in
today to 4 p.m. with the rooter and the camera to see what's going on. It
been an on-going problem for the last year and a half. When they were here
two weeks ago they clean my main and one branch of my system but neglected
to clean the second branch (I have a two stack system) and sure enough
branch number two is showing the tell tale signs of being plugged or slow.


The original plumber guys simply were not clearing enough of the roots
(tree or shrub). They cleaned until it ran free, but they couldn't
see what they were doing because they didn't have the camera.

When I saw the situation with the second guy's camera, the original
guys had made a nice neat (small-medium) hole in the roots which were
growing in from the pipe. Using the camera as a guide, the second guy
made a much bigger passageway; he couldn't shave the pipe clean but
apparently it was enough. Note: the first guys didn't pull out a
skein of roots because that wasn't the problem after the first year.
It was the stiffer roots growing in toward the center of the pipe that
seemed to be catching stuff ("soap scum"? "grease"?), like a lint
catcher.

I was also very unhappy with the way the first company charged me for
the camera work, but that's another story :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

unless you like paying each year, why don't you just fix the hole? it's only
going to get worse.

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 12:48:23 -0700, "Charles Spitzer"
wrote:


"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:55:37 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

Curly Sue wrote:

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

So tree roots was the problem? Would he put the camera in first? Then trim
then check, then repeat the cycle. I've got my plumber guys both coming in
today to 4 p.m. with the rooter and the camera to see what's going on. It
been an on-going problem for the last year and a half. When they were here
two weeks ago they clean my main and one branch of my system but neglected
to clean the second branch (I have a two stack system) and sure enough
branch number two is showing the tell tale signs of being plugged or slow.


The original plumber guys simply were not clearing enough of the roots
(tree or shrub). They cleaned until it ran free, but they couldn't
see what they were doing because they didn't have the camera.

When I saw the situation with the second guy's camera, the original
guys had made a nice neat (small-medium) hole in the roots which were
growing in from the pipe. Using the camera as a guide, the second guy
made a much bigger passageway; he couldn't shave the pipe clean but
apparently it was enough. Note: the first guys didn't pull out a
skein of roots because that wasn't the problem after the first year.
It was the stiffer roots growing in toward the center of the pipe that
seemed to be catching stuff ("soap scum"? "grease"?), like a lint
catcher.

I was also very unhappy with the way the first company charged me for
the camera work, but that's another story :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

unless you like paying each year, why don't you just fix the hole? it's only
going to get worse.

I think you misunderstood. The hole in the roots to which I was
referring was what the water flows through from the house to the
sewer, not a hole in the pipe.

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

Maybe someday, but hopefully quite a ways off. :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

According to Alan Smithee :
What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they have on a
house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that our garberator is
the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to need continual cleaning of
"grease". The garberator gets mostly vegetable scraps. We're very careful
about putting most things where they ought to be (bacon fat in a can,
solvents to the recycling depot etc...).

Your problem is mostly to do with roots apparently, I'm mainly pointing
out that a garberator is going to throw lots of fibrous/chunky bits
down the drain which will tend to plug things up (given the roots acting
as a "filter") much more readily. Also great food for the roots ;-)

If you're lucky, you'll be able to make your drains operate well even with
the garburator. If not, well, there may not be a lot you can do unless
you like roto-rooting it every year or two as the roots grow back.

As a FYI: muncipalities vary as to whether they "like" (or even permit)
garburators. Those running out of garbage dump space but with good sewage
systems tend to encourage them, those with the converse situation don't.

Composters are usually better anyway.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

What would the payback be if the toilet backup into the house? (Hint: I had
to replace the bathroom floor, replace the bedroom carpet and underlayment
on my rental.)

Now you know where the penetration is so just dig out that portion,
repair/replace and kill the root shouldn't cost that much relative to
replacing the whole main run. I did it myself 10 years ago and no problems
so far. Cost for parts was almost nothing, just a lot of digging since I
didn't know where the penetration was without the benefit of a camera, and
some cutting.

There are also chemical treatments that you can pour down the drain that
help reduce future root intrusion but you may want to check into any
ecolocical consiquence first.

Another cause for slow draining is failure to run the water long enough
after grinding the garbage. You need to run it long enough for the stuff to
get to the big pipe.

If you ever do replace the pipe, remember, plumbers can be very destructive
to your landscape. My job was a nightmare. 3 weeks, $2000 and they still
left me with a hole and a broken retaining wall that took me 3 more weeks
and $500 more to repair.



"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 12:48:23 -0700, "Charles Spitzer"
wrote:


"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:55:37 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

Curly Sue wrote:

Finally, I got a referral to a sewer specialist (no plumbing, just
cleaning sewers) who also had a camera but he used it to guide his
trimming the roots as much as he could (trim, check, trim, check...).
It did take a while before he was satisfied he'd done as much as he
could.

He's my hero : It's been almost a year and I haven't had any
trouble, knock on wood.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

So tree roots was the problem? Would he put the camera in first? Then
trim
then check, then repeat the cycle. I've got my plumber guys both coming
in
today to 4 p.m. with the rooter and the camera to see what's going on.
It
been an on-going problem for the last year and a half. When they were
here
two weeks ago they clean my main and one branch of my system but
neglected
to clean the second branch (I have a two stack system) and sure enough
branch number two is showing the tell tale signs of being plugged or
slow.


The original plumber guys simply were not clearing enough of the roots
(tree or shrub). They cleaned until it ran free, but they couldn't
see what they were doing because they didn't have the camera.

When I saw the situation with the second guy's camera, the original
guys had made a nice neat (small-medium) hole in the roots which were
growing in from the pipe. Using the camera as a guide, the second guy
made a much bigger passageway; he couldn't shave the pipe clean but
apparently it was enough. Note: the first guys didn't pull out a
skein of roots because that wasn't the problem after the first year.
It was the stiffer roots growing in toward the center of the pipe that
seemed to be catching stuff ("soap scum"? "grease"?), like a lint
catcher.

I was also very unhappy with the way the first company charged me for
the camera work, but that's another story :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

unless you like paying each year, why don't you just fix the hole? it's
only
going to get worse.

I think you misunderstood. The hole in the roots to which I was
referring was what the water flows through from the house to the
sewer, not a hole in the pipe.

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

Maybe someday, but hopefully quite a ways off. :

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 13:29:33 -0800, "Kim" wrote:

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

What would the payback be if the toilet backup into the house? (Hint: I had
to replace the bathroom floor, replace the bedroom carpet and underlayment
on my rental.)

I guess that would depend on where your fixtures are. If my toilet
backs up, it won't be because the sewer is running slow. The backup
will appear first in the sump. I will know about it looong before it
gets to that point. It doesn't happen all of a sudden; it's gradual
and I have a water alarm in the sump. Besides, it's a low-flow
toilet.

Now you know where the penetration is so just dig out that portion,
repair/replace and kill the root shouldn't cost that much relative to
replacing the whole main run. I did it myself 10 years ago and no problems
so far. Cost for parts was almost nothing, just a lot of digging since I
didn't know where the penetration was without the benefit of a camera, and
some cutting.

People next door had their main sewer line replaced last summer. The
contractors used a backhoe and ended up with a 6' pile of dirt.
There's no way I could move that much earth myself, even if I knew how
to fix a sewer pipe. Which I don't.

I appreciate the advice, but I had two separate contractors do camera
work and neither indicated that the section should be replaced.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:09:07 GMT, (Curly
Sue) wrote:

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 13:29:33 -0800, "Kim" wrote:

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

What would the payback be if the toilet backup into the house? (Hint: I had
to replace the bathroom floor, replace the bedroom carpet and underlayment
on my rental.)

I guess that would depend on where your fixtures are. If my toilet
backs up, it won't be because the sewer is running slow. The backup
will appear first in the sump. I will know about it looong before it
gets to that point. It doesn't happen all of a sudden; it's gradual
and I have a water alarm in the sump. Besides, it's a low-flow
toilet.

Now you know where the penetration is so just dig out that portion,
repair/replace and kill the root shouldn't cost that much relative to
replacing the whole main run. I did it myself 10 years ago and no problems
so far. Cost for parts was almost nothing, just a lot of digging since I
didn't know where the penetration was without the benefit of a camera, and
some cutting.

People next door had their main sewer line replaced last summer. The
contractors used a backhoe and ended up with a 6' pile of dirt.
There's no way I could move that much earth myself, even if I knew how
to fix a sewer pipe. Which I don't.

I appreciate the advice, but I had two separate contractors do camera
work and neither indicated that the section should be replaced.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

You did good.

About how much does camera work cost?

PJ

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:30:34 GMT, "Alan Smithee"
wrote:

What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they have on a
house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that our garberator is
the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to need continual cleaning of
"grease". The garberator gets mostly vegetable scraps. We're very careful
about putting most things where they ought to be (bacon fat in a can,
solvents to the recycling depot etc...).


My garbage disposal broke about 4 years ago. We changed the way we
do business and all garbage goes in the trash. I haven't missed it
and I haven't had a clog.

PJ

are we talking about a garbage disposal?

if so, i am of the opinion that NOTHING should go down the garbage disposal
on purpose. i dont care what it says in the manual. it is a backup for the
stuff that accidentally falls down it. you peel your potatoes over the sink
and if a few skins fall down the hole you dispose of them. the rest you
deal with yourself.

randy

"Alan Smithee" wrote in message
news:ex2Vd.540087$8l.532546@pd7tw1no...
What's the general opinion about garberators and the effect they have on a
house's sewer system. I have the sneaking suspicion that our garberator is
the root of a "slow" sewer system which seems to need continual cleaning
of
"grease". The garberator gets mostly vegetable scraps. We're very careful
about putting most things where they ought to be (bacon fat in a can,
solvents to the recycling depot etc...).

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:49:12 -0600, PJ wrote:

About how much does camera work cost?

PJ

I had it done twice...

First contractor. Short answer: $300. Long story: This is the
company I'd been using for a while. The cleanout guys came and
cleaned the sewer. I paid. I decided that I'd had enough and wanted
the camera work to find out what was wrong. So I arranged to have it
done, by this company, two days later. Quoted price: $300. The
camera guy starts and finds out that there was "soap scum" and
"grease" (already) and he had to clean it out. But is going to charge
me $75 extra per foot (to the obstruction). 2 ft =$150. Does the
camera work, then writes up the bill, putting down the "end time" as
the time when he finished writing the bill (which took 10 min or so).
So I called the boss right then and there and gave him hell for
charging me for re-cleaning the drain and not telling me that until
the guy was in the middle of the project, plus charging me for the
time it took the guy to write up the bill. He gave me some sob story
about having to reclaim the cost of the video equipment (Why is that
my problem???) but reduces the price. Sends video and report
(nothing remarkable or that would explain the problem). In a few
months, it's running slow again.

Second guy. Short answer: $250. Long story. After a few more
times of having the other guys clean out the sewer, I called a sewer
company highly recommended by one of the plumbers at work, thinking
that I'd have to replace the sewer main. They don't do diagnostics,
but recommended this guy who has a camera. If he says I need it,
we'll go from there. He comes with camera, cleans out the drain, and
10 months later, still no problem. (I also got the video, very
popular with visitors :) He says he'll give the roots a trim once a
year for $200. That's about normal for this area, in contrast to 4
times a year with that other company.

Anyway, with the camera, be careful about "extra" costs.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:

As to the root penetration, the cost of replacing the sewer main is
much, much greater than giving the roots a haircut once a year. It
would be a 30-year payback. Neither plumber nor sewer guy suggested
replacing it at this time.

You have to take into account that the roots continuing to grow into
the pipe will greatly shorten its life expectancy. Once you have a
catastrophic failure, your options for repair become more limited. Also
your house will be uninhabitable till you get a repair, and that cost
has to be considered.

I had a bad root problem. We were lucky that I happened to be puttering
in the basement each time the overflow occurred such that it was
quickly minimized and nothing of value was damaged, however I
considered the real possibility that we'd not be so lucky in the
future.

Like you I did a cost/benefit/payback analysis. Once it got to 4 clogs
per year, I placed a value of $500 on each clog just for the disruption
to the family for not being able to wash dishes, flush, brush and
shower on the normal schedule (which had repercussions on our jobs) and
the inconvenience of cleanup.

We had a video camera analysis, and based on the sizes of the roots in
the pipe I figured we didn't didn't have more than 2 years before one
of the terracotta pipe sections split and collapsed, necessitating a
costly and disruptive trenching operation. So I added the cost of
losing trees and shrubbery and relandscaping to the cost of "riding it
out" instead of replacing it now, because those were avoidable costs. I
came up with the result that replacement within a month or two was the
most cost-effective, using one of the following technologies:

http://www.zoompower.com/bursting.htm
http://www.perma-liner.com/lateral.html

Note:
Both above technologies need to feed something through the existing
pipe, which is not possible once the pipe is collapsed. After a
collapse, there is no option but to dig out the collapsed portion.

I had the pipebursting one done. Replaced 10 ft of cast iron and 50 ft
of badly rooted terracotta. The new lateral will probably outlast the
house.

Both of those links above show a pit dug next to the house. In my case,
it made more sense to cut the slab floor of the basement so as to pass
the new pipe under the foundation. That was a 4 ft deep hole, as
opposed to 12' deep in the front yard.

To research this yourself, search terms for Google are

sewer lateral
trenchless
no-dig
pipe-bursting
relining
cured-in-place liner
CIPP

in various combinations.

%mod%

Curly Sue wrote:
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:49:12 -0600, PJ wrote:

About how much does camera work cost?

PJ

I had it done twice...

First contractor. Short answer: $300. Long story: This is the
snip
So I called the boss right then and there and gave him hell for
charging me for re-cleaning the drain and not telling me that until
the guy was in the middle of the project, plus charging me for the
time it took the guy to write up the bill.

When I had my pipe TV'd, they made clear when I set up the appointment
that there would be a flat-rate charge for the video eqpt, plus an
hourly charge which would of course increase if they needed to clean
the pipe again to get the camera past an obstruction.

He gave me some sob story
about having to reclaim the cost of the video equipment (Why is that
my problem???) but reduces the price.

A business passes all costs onto the customer, unless they are somehow
able to make money without having customers (in which case I want some
of that action too). He probably reduced the price because he felt your
complaint was legitimate that you were not made clear beforehand what
the charges would be.

Some business owners like to amortize the costs of specialized
equipment over the customers who actually require the use of that
equipment, and some customers like it that way. For instance, if I hire
a plumber just to sweat some pipes, I don't want to be paying a
surcharge for the backhoe he happens to own, but if I need a lateral
rehabilitated, I understand that it's reasonable to "rent" his backhoe.
For about the same total price (or higher) I have the option of hiring
a plumber who doesn't have a backhoe and hiring a separate excavator.

%mod%

xrongor wrote:
are we talking about a garbage disposal?

if so, i am of the opinion that NOTHING should go down the garbage
disposal
on purpose. i dont care what it says in the manual. it is a backup
for the
stuff that accidentally falls down it. you peel your potatoes over
the sink
and if a few skins fall down the hole you dispose of them. the rest
you
deal with yourself.

Do you think the chewed-up stuff that goes through the garby is more or
less likely to clog the lateral than the stuff that passes straight
through the toilet?

%mod%

On 2 Mar 2005 10:40:41 -0800, wrote:

Curly Sue wrote:
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:49:12 -0600, PJ wrote:

He gave me some sob story
about having to reclaim the cost of the video equipment (Why is that
my problem???) but reduces the price.

A business passes all costs onto the customer, unless they are somehow
able to make money without having customers (in which case I want some
of that action too). He probably reduced the price because he felt your
complaint was legitimate that you were not made clear beforehand what
the charges would be.

Some business owners like to amortize the costs of specialized
equipment over the customers who actually require the use of that
equipment, and some customers like it that way. For instance, if I hire
a plumber just to sweat some pipes, I don't want to be paying a
surcharge for the backhoe he happens to own, but if I need a lateral
rehabilitated, I understand that it's reasonable to "rent" his backhoe.
For about the same total price (or higher) I have the option of hiring
a plumber who doesn't have a backhoe and hiring a separate excavator.

%mod%

Of course. But that should be included in the price quoted, not used
to excuse bloated fees added later. If he gives me a price for doing
a video inspection, one would reasonably expect that a video camera
will be used. And considering that $300 is quite a price for 30
minutes of work that's not rocket science, I would hope that the
camera is included.

I just thought the guy was tacky to give me (a customer) a sob story
about recouping the cost of the camera. I wish I could recoup the
cost of all of the ineffective sewer cleanings they did for me!

Well, I'm not having them clean the sewer any more. They also charged
too much (IMO) to change a valve on my radiator. They were pleasant
though, and did come quickly when called.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Thanks for the information- I will definitely keep it in mind.

On 2 Mar 2005 09:04:18 -0800, wrote:

came up with the result that replacement within a month or two was the
most cost-effective, using one of the following technologies:

http://www.zoompower.com/bursting.htm
http://www.perma-liner.com/lateral.html

Note:
Both above technologies need to feed something through the existing
pipe, which is not possible once the pipe is collapsed. After a
collapse, there is no option but to dig out the collapsed portion.

I had the pipebursting one done. Replaced 10 ft of cast iron and 50 ft
of badly rooted terracotta. The new lateral will probably outlast the
house.

Both of those links above show a pit dug next to the house. In my case,
it made more sense to cut the slab floor of the basement so as to pass
the new pipe under the foundation. That was a 4 ft deep hole, as
opposed to 12' deep in the front yard.

To research this yourself, search terms for Google are

sewer lateral
trenchless
no-dig
pipe-bursting
relining
cured-in-place liner
CIPP

in various combinations.

%mod%

wrote in message
ups.com...

xrongor wrote:
are we talking about a garbage disposal?

if so, i am of the opinion that NOTHING should go down the garbage
disposal
on purpose. i dont care what it says in the manual. it is a backup
for the
stuff that accidentally falls down it. you peel your potatoes over
the sink
and if a few skins fall down the hole you dispose of them. the rest
you
deal with yourself.

Do you think the chewed-up stuff that goes through the garby is more or
less likely to clog the lateral than the stuff that passes straight
through the toilet?

i think i made my position clear...

randy

xrongor wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

xrongor wrote:
are we talking about a garbage disposal?

if so, i am of the opinion that NOTHING should go down the garbage
disposal
on purpose. i dont care what it says in the manual. it is a
backup
for the
stuff that accidentally falls down it. you peel your potatoes
over
the sink
and if a few skins fall down the hole you dispose of them. the
rest
you
deal with yourself.

Do you think the chewed-up stuff that goes through the garby is
more or
less likely to clog the lateral than the stuff that passes straight
through the toilet?

i think i made my position clear...

Please humor me then. What is your position on the stuff that goes
through the toilet, vis-a-vis its ability to clog the lateral, versus
that which goes through the garbage disposal? I didn't see anything
related to the toilet in your post, unless when you said "the rest you
deal with yourself" you meant you flush your potato peels after you
pass them through your intestines. This after all being a discussion of
whether a garbage disposal is likely to clog the lateral, I think a
comparison between the garby and the toilet is quite apropos, which is
why I ask.

%mod%

According to :
Please humor me then. What is your position on the stuff that goes
through the toilet, vis-a-vis its ability to clog the lateral, versus
that which goes through the garbage disposal? I didn't see anything
related to the toilet in your post, unless when you said "the rest you
deal with yourself" you meant you flush your potato peels after you
pass them through your intestines. This after all being a discussion of
whether a garbage disposal is likely to clog the lateral, I think a
comparison between the garby and the toilet is quite apropos, which is
why I ask.

I should think it'd be obvious that what's gone through your intestines
is usually a little less chunky ;-), and much closer to dissolving/
biodegrading completely, than what a garburator pumps into the lateral.

Of course, with a toilet, it's toilet paper that's the main risk.
Even so, it's going to disappear faster than, say, a hunk
of raw uncooked brocolli stem that's been shredded down to fibrous
chunks.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

why is the chicken on the other side of the street?

because he crossed it.

randy


Please humor me then.