Lemme tell you, our bathroom’s wallpaper wasn’t its only problem-to-be-remedied recently. So brace yourself while we weave a little plumbing tale that spanned over the last few weeks (in fact it just wrapped up a few days ago). You know how we solemnly swear to share the good, the bad, and the ugly? Well, this one can be filed under “the bad” and “the ugly” with a side of “the gross.” So for everyone’s sake, we’ll leave out the graphic pictures.
During the process of buying this house we noticed a very small, dried out water stain on the ceiling in the living room, right below where the bathroom was. We and the inspector concluded it was likely from a toilet overflow from long ago, since the stain was only about 3″ wide and long dried up. So we weren’t too alarmed and just figured it was solved decades ago, so a little primer and ceiling paint were all that it needed. We never even photographed it, but here’s a hint as to where it was.
Then this fall, the toilet started to act up. Namely in that it would occasionally clog (this is your first hint to put down your breakfast) and when we attempted to plunge it, well, it would back-up into the shower. If that first hint didn’t work, something tells me you’re putting your breakfast down right about now.
Yeah, it was gross. And since a certain half of this relationship was already queasy from growing a tiny human, I was the only one on duty (a little pun to lighten the mood). Usually a bit more plunging and maybe a bit of snaking would fix the issue. I say “usually” because this happened more than once. And before you start judging our gastrointestinal prowess, I should note that this sort of back-up sometimes happened when the toilet wasn’t even involved – maybe after a shower or after I shaved in the sink. We googled for answers and contemplated calling in a pro, but the “incidents” were few and far enough between that we figured we could hold out ’til we remodeled the room.
But last month came the back-up that plunging could not conquer.
***PHOTO OMITTED TO PROTECT YOUR DELICATE RETINAS***
And in all of my furious plunging, I managed to create a new water stain in the ceiling below. I’d later learn that all the pressure of such vigorous plunging had compromised the wax ring and water started leaking again. That was our cue to call in a pro. He removed the toilet, ran an 150 foot snake and dislodged what he concluded was “years worth of paper build-up” way down in our pipes somewhere. Phew! Problem solved.
Except it wasn’t. Fast forward another week and the shower starts to back-up again. In fact, it happens as I’m using the tub to fill up the steamer during may latest wallpaper removal spree. So not only was that process miserable on its own, I was doing it with a less than fresh-looking (and smelling) shower nearby. Not to mention that we’re both beyond frustrated that our first call to the plumber didn’t solve the problem. So yeah, clearly the picture below was taken before the back-up happened. Just look at me all footloose and fancy free.
Remember when I called this post-wallpapered look: “gas station bathroom.” I was really thinking it was more reminiscent of that scene in Trainspotting. Yeah, you know the one. And if you don’t, well, I highly suggest that you NOT google it right now. Okay, maybe our bathroom wasn’t that bad. But it was bad enough that I was embarrassed that this was the state the plumbers would see it in.
Then again, things didn’t get much prettier once they arrived. Now that I think about it, I guess they’ve pretty much seen it all.
The plumbing company sent a different guy this time and, after explaining the series of events, he had a pretty solid theory. But it meant cutting into our ceiling to confirm it. Welcome to our crash course in two-story home issues. Kinda made us miss the days where virtually everything was visible from a crawl space or attic.
His hunch was correct. All of the bathroom plumbing was configured wrong. And it had been for 30+ years since they built this house. A key element – the slope of the main drain pipe – was incorrect. So rather than having gravity to help water leave the vicinity, it was actually sloped uphill – so water and sewage that should have been flushed down and out of the house would collect and pool and eventually back-up into the lowest opening in that bathroom (i.e. the shower). In the words of Clara: yuckaroo.
The only solution was to cut a bigger hole in the ceiling and have the experts replace all the plumbing. It even meant cutting out one of the load-bearing joists and reinforcing it with a new one so the new pipes could be configured at the right angle, so it was nothing that we dared to attempt ourselves.
Did we like having our house torn apart? No. But we were pretty relieved that the root of the problem was finally getting fixed. And I’ll admit that we were pretty entertained by the view through the floor.
It only took them a day to complete the task (they came back a few days after their initial diagnosis to get it done) along with a somewhat painful $650 check, but we were relieved that this hidden-behind-the-walls issue that had plagued this house for over three decades was finally solved. Which meant we could finally get back to our little bathroom update. And hey, while the toilet was removed, we were able to strip that small swatch of wallpaper that had been hiding behind the bowl, so that was kind of funny (very marginally at the time, but more so now).
But we were still left with that gaping hole in the living room ceiling well after the bathroom was trimmed out and painted.
We went back and forth about drywalling it ourselves – which basically involves mudding, taping, sanding, re-mudding, and re-sanding. Smooth ceilings are especially tricky (imperfections are a lot more visible up there) and we knew any remaining dents or seams would have bugged us forever, so we finally just pulled the trigger and called a highly recommended local drywall guy.
He fixed it flawlessly in a few hours for around $100, and was also very nice (he said Sherry looked like Topanga from Boy Meets World, which pretty much made our day). So now all we’ve got to do is prime and paint it.
Update: A few folks have asked if our home warranty would have covered this issue (that actually ran out before this fiasco) but it most likely would not, since this was an “existing condition” (the plumbing didn’t break after we moved in, it was configured this way for 30 years, so that’s not something typically covered by a home warranty).
These unplanned homeowner curveballs never feel good (especially when we’d rather be spending that money on fun updates that we can actually see and enjoy) but it’s nice to have things all put back together again. The irony is that we have another “oh the joys of home ownership” story unfolding (it’s still halfway-solved, so we’ll wait for the full resolution before crying on your shoulder). Please tell us we’re not the only ones. Regale us with some of your tales of woe in the plumbing/heating/other house systems arenas. We’re all in this together. Right?
Psst- The “Volume Two” part of this post’s title is thanks to this original leak lesson that we dealt with a few years ago at our last house. Best thing about that one is that it was something we could solve ourselves (read: zero benjamins).
Amy says
We had a similar situation last summer in the house that we rent. One morning I had just finished a load of dishes and started the washing machine when every drain in the house backed up. Sewage water was spraying all over the basement from pipe leaks, and the plumbed-but-no-fixtures ensuite bath in the master flooded. The landlords were away for a holiday weekend (and we had trouble finding someone to come out for the same reason), so we were without water for three days before the landlord was able to fix it. Turns out the previous tenants did a bunch of damage to the walls before they left and decided the best way to hide the evidence was to flush all the drywall bits and dust into the septic tank. What a mess!
Jacqueline says
I was in a restaurant for lunch last Saturday in Arlington. Stopped in the restroom right before leaving, only to come out and have a perfect view of a sprinkler head popping out of the ceiling, a huge amount of water rushing out, then a good 4 ffoot square of ceiling collapsing. Everybody was okay, but we all made a hasty exit. It was probably caused by freezing pipes, but so glad I did not have to pay for that repair!
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow, talk about bad timing! So glad that wasn’t your house!
xo
s
Aisha S says
Shortly after we moved into our house, my family came to visit for a weekend. The basement toilet backed up, and in trying to plunge it, the toilet broke away from the floor – the old pipe flange completely broke off, completely soaking the orange carpet in the bathroom with grossness.
Our guests left shortly there after because our water was shut off and the plumber came to fix the clog in the main. With the bare cement floor and lack of toilet, the bathroom renovation got pushed to the top of the list and became our first complete room renovation of our home ownership adventure. It sucked at the time, but turned into a blessing in disguise :)
Jordan says
We’re still renting for now (counting down the days until we can afford to buy and let the real DIY begin) but even renting we’ve had water problems galore. The plumbing in our kitchen sink is awful, and we went through a spell where every time we showered, the toilet would lose water and would “glug” as air came up. Thankfully, our landlord had a plumber come out who snaked all the way to the street before finding a clog.
The newest fun little issue is the fact that Kentucky evidently doesn’t consider cold weather when building washing machine drain pipes – ours have frozen three times now. Oh the joy of hearing Niagra Fall-ish sounds as an entire washing machine’s worth of dirty laundry water overflows onto the laundry room floor (and the kitchen floor, and the sunroom floor)!
Hopefully your problems are nearing an end!
Peggy McKee says
You mentioned the first plumber snaked 150 feet.
My experience is that tree roots invade underground waste pipes. Did the first plumber have anything to say about roots?
Best, Peg M
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, roots are scary! Thankfully they used a camera-thing while snaking (during that first visit) that would have showed obstructions/roots and it didn’t show anything but a big ol’ ball of toilet paper that was still inside the house somewhere (he completely broke that up and made sure was all flushed away). So we’re grateful it wasn’t a root situation. He also pointed out that obstructions like that in the main line to the street usually result in the first floor systems backing up first (ex: the powder room toilet/sink and the kitchen sink would have showed issues first) and it would have taken a while to clog the stuff upstairs. That was good to know too, because we never thought about that!
xo
s
Allie says
I’m sending lots of supportive energy your way as we are currently experiencing a never-ending (it seems) list of homeowner adventures with a sunroom. First it was the room’s foundation, then all the repair work post-fixing the foundation (and all the surprises that happen during fixes), and then water damage started appearing on the sunroom ceiling and now we’re being told our entire, supposed to be new, roof needs to be replaced. Ah the joys of owning old houses full of character! Best of luck with all your adventures!
Bonnie says
NEVER assume a small water spot is harmless. The one from our home inspection (oh, they must have left the door open in a storm…) has now become a $20K project involving massive structural issues.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, Bonnie! I’m so sorry! You’re right about that. It’s a good idea never to assume that anything isn’t a big deal unless you know for sure!
xo
s
.ivy says
haha!!! Gross, but that was an entertaining read. Thanks. =)
Callie says
Good job knowing when to call the pros!! Sounds like you got a great deal on the repairs. And that was totally my guess that the slope was wrong!! Thanks for sharing – it’s always encouraging to remember that these disasters happen to all homeowners at some time or another!
Reminds me of our first winter in our little house in Oklahoma – when the weather turned into an unusual cold stint of around 0F for a week straight, our gas furnace went out – that is, I would hear the gas flowing a couple seconds before it ignited and then it would ignite with a small BOOM. It was a choice between staying warm and worrying that our house was going to start a gas fire, or turning it off for days until it could be replaced. We holed up in our bedroom with a little electric heater and were able to get a new furnace after a couple cold days, to the tune of about $4k! I’m always thankful for a working furnace after that. :)
Christy says
My hubby & I bought a house the weekend we got married. It had no appliances, so we had to buy them ourselves – which significantly depleted our savings. We went on our honeymoon & when we got home, we discovered that the air conditioning system had died. Completely. So with the remaining money we didn’t really have, we had to replace the entire unit. Super expensive, but since the heat of summer was arriving, it was a neccessary evil. :) Ahh, the memories! We loved that house though – it’s where we brought all three of our kids home to!
Jana says
So I have a tale of the sewage variety. I lived in a very cool 1850’s brick house that had a rubble crawlspace foundation. Thankfully (?) someone had dug out a basement at some point to house the furnace & water heater. Unfortunately, the basement was constantly wet due to a leaky old cistern in the backyard. There was also another spot in the foundation where I saw ‘water’ leaking through a crack. The guy that bought the house from me dug around the foundation to fix the moisture issue and found out someone had added a sewer clean out by breaking a hole in the cast iron pipe and shoving PVC into it. It was leaking sewage back into the basement. Nice.
Maria says
My husband and I are renting out our apartment in the city while we live full time in the burbs. The building is really old and we have plumbing issues ALL the time. I spent almost $2k last year just resolving alot of issues. So, there’s alot of anxiety all the time when we hear from our tenant regarding complaints. Right now we’re going thru “buzzer”issues. Our buzzer doesn’t work and our landlord is completely useless! So I can understand your angst.
Maria says
Sorry! I didn’t mean landlord… I meant Super.
Annie says
So great that your plumber didn’t just cut into the joist and leave it! We’re in the process of jacking up our 1929 house and replacing the entire main structural beam — not only are there several large cracks throughout the beam, but at one point a plumber just cut right through it to let a pipe go through.
All this was discovered just after a major kitchen renovation, so we’re really strapped for cash–we assumed we wouldn’t have to do any more “projects” for years so we could finally let our savings build back up! It’s so hard to spend this kind of money when you’re not expecting it, especially because no one will ever see it.
YoungHouseLove says
So scary! Glad you caught it!
xo
s
Pam the Goatherd says
Right now we’ve got an issue going on between our washing machine and toilet. When the washing machine drains it sends huge air bubbles gurgling up in our toilet! We know it’s something in the septic system that is causing the problem, but right now there is 2 ft. of snow on the ground and the ground itself is frozen solid, so there is no way for the septic system repair guys to get into it. So we’re going to have to wait for Spring before we can do anything about it. Meanwhile we make sure we aren’t sitting on the potty when the washer is draining! And we are especially careful to make sure not to flush the toilet while the washer is draining either. If one of us manages to get the timing wrong on that one it is most definitely “yuckaroo”!
Lauren says
I had almost the exact same issue in my house. I didn’t realize there was an issue until I moved in (I owned the house for almost four months updating and making repairs before move in). My house was built in 1956 and since I bought it from the owner ‘as is’ a home inspection was not required.
Not only was the draining system backwards in the toilet – but the entire bathroom, the sink, shower, and toilet all went to that one pipe. So when I showered the toilet overflowed, and then the sink, then it reversed. It was horrible.
The horrors of showering with the clogged and backed up drain … are unspeakable. I had been in my house for less than 24 hours when faced with an issue I had no ability to repair. So, I did what any woman without plumbing skills does, I called my dad. In which he promptly broke my water shutoff valve (luckily there was not water explosion – it just wouldn’t turn back on). The plumber who came out ended up having to rework my entire bathroom and replace the ball on the shut off valve, which according to him “it pretty much impossible to break.”
Kate says
We have a 3 story walk up. And noticed a leak running down a wall in the stairway near where the upstairs guest bath was located. After cutting a giant hole in the ceiling & removing the soggy drywall discovered that the roof is leaking. After then accessing the attic (by removing the master closet) we determined that the roof needs replacing. Since it’s 30-40 feet in the air, it’s a $4,000 job for a 20×30 slab of shingles & two sheets of plywood. And here we are 16 weeks later, still working to finish the closet rehab have now discovered that the master shower is leaking into the kitchen. I’m about ready to move into that van down by the river…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, Kate! I hope it’s better from here on out!
xo
s
Heidi P. says
Topanga!!! Hahaha!! I totally see it!! So now you’re a hybrid of Topanga and that other celebrity that you sound like… ?
My parents have that same problem – plumbing that goes uphill. Luckily no issues with the toilets. But it meant that we had to have a special shower head that didn’t put out too much water, and even then, the shower was always filling up while we showered. I’m glad it was fairly easy to fix for you guys!
Sue says
We returned home from a week at the beach a number of years ago. When we opened the door, the house smelled like someone was taking a shower. Turns out, some days prior, the toilet tank on the second floor had split in half due to a water pressure surge (these had been happening off and on for a while). Water poured through the ceiling, down the stairs, and all the way to the basement, where it was 2 inches deep. We had to have all the floors refinished (they did not all get wet, but the hardwood was continuous on each floor), carpeting ripped up and replaced, and of course, the toilet replaced. Insurance covered everything but the culprit in all this, the toilet. The insurance company said it was not worth pursuing the water company. For years after this we always turned off our toilets when we left town.
Amy says
Where to begin?!
Our first house was an old Cape Cod built in the 40s. After pouring in tons of love and DIY projects, we listed it for sale during the summer/fall of 2012. Two days before we were to leave on a family vacation (and the night before three showings), we discovered our hot water had died. The side split and flooded our finished basement. While we were thankful it happened before we left for vacation, it was a long night trying to clean up a wet basement and then explain the situation to everyone coming through the next morning. Then, when we were finally under contract on the house, the AC (only 2 years old!) decided to quit the morning of the inspection. The HVAC company that had installed it had an issue with their answering service that morning and we were in a panic trying to figure out what to do as the temperatures quickly crept. Thankfully, we finally made contact and the company was able to repair it about 15 minutes before the inspector showed up. Never a dull moment!
We thought we’d leave our troubles behind by building a brand new home last year, but apparently they seem to hoover over us like rain clouds. We moved in to our new home last April and have already remodeled the laundry room due to a faulty washer hose (flooding the laundry room, powder room, hallway, part of the garage and part of the basement). Besides that, our brand new hot water heater and furnace have also required emergency repairs. In fact, our furnace went out again on Sunday during the recent below-zero temps. Aye. There’s a break at some point — right?!
So thankful for warranties!
Kimberly says
Love when you guys do posts about issues every home owner faces. Its great to know about these “behind the pretty” issues from your perspective. How did you find your drywaller? I am always warry of hiring joe schmo, but don’t want to pay a premeium for a company with a nice website. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
He came well recommended by an electrician we love, so it was nice to have a reference. In general, lately we have been really into reading about people’s references online or finding someone we like/know who can personal vouch for someone. You still have less than stellar results sometimes, but it seems less random than just calling people in the phone book!
xo
s
Morgan says
You guys are too funny! Very good at telling a story and so well written.
Emelia says
Gag-worthy. In our old house the previous owners didn’t install one of those floaty ball-y things to stop rodents from climbing up the drains. Added to that.. a basement shower drain that was basically hovering over the drain in the floor. So not one, but TWO rats climbed up. One lived under our shower for awhile, that’s when our dog (and eventual smell) tipped us off. We had to rip out the entire shower, that’s when we discovered rat #2. He got stuck in the pipe before actually getting out. Then we properly installed the bally-thingy, a shower pan and re-tiled everything. Talk about gross!
YoungHouseLove says
AHHHHHHHH! NooooooooooOOOoooooooo!
xo
s
Linda R says
We bought our house in 2010 (moved in 2 weeks before I gave birth to our now 2 year old) QUICKLY learned that the master bathroom did not work at all. Water pooled in the shower, the toilet wouldn’t flush and let’s not even talk about the “vanity”
Within the first year our water heater in my daughters closet leaked out and ruined her floor, We had to have someone come in and re-floor (sub floor and all were ruined) They didn’t clean it properly and not too long after we found mold growing in our bathroom through the tile on the wall. (her closet is on the other side of the bathroom wall) Tiles were falling off and I put my hand through a tile while giving my daughter a bath. No bueno…
During this whole mess our “brand new” heating unit went out so we went an entire winter without central heat using two infrared heaters to keep our home warm. Roughly $15,000 later we are warm and cozy with two functional bathroom!
YoungHouseLove says
Ouch, Linda! So glad you’re warm and cozy now though!
xo
s
Emily says
Oh, you want bathroom nightmares? We have a strategically placed towel when we take showers so the water doesn’t drip through the ceiling downstairs! I know that’s bad, but we’re saving up for the remodel.
Fortunately my husband is one of those rare guys who has been trained in remodeling, so we’ll be ripping out this bad boy on our own…eventually.
Rebecca says
You all are speaking my language lately (medicine cabinet hole in the wall, surprise plumbing problems.) We just remodeled our kitchen, which involved swapping the sink and stove to make it more functional. When the plumber was under the house, he said our super minor leak (that we knew about when we moved in) under the main toilet was now such a major one that one wrong “sit” could send the toilet and person through the floor! And at eight months preggo, it could’ve been me! Anyway, that doubled the original plumbing bill, but we are SO glad we didn’t find out about the problem the hard (shard?) way!
Cherri says
We also live in an old 2-story and had an upstairs plumbing fiasco. My husband had tried to snake and plunge the sink drain with no success. We finally called in a professional who did lots of snaking and proclaimed it fixed. About an hour after he left, I walked into the kitchen below said bathroom and was met with water running through the light fixture and a river on the kitchen floor. He had punctured the main drain pipe. Long story short: giant hole in the kitchen ceiling to make the repairs. I feel your pain.
Katy says
Three weeks after moving into our first home, our downstairs can backed up into the shower. It was F-ING NASTY and it happened a) on easter and b) while my parents were visiting. Turns out the pipe leading to the street was cracked in 6 places, and the sewer trap was 30+ years old. We had the pleasure of watching two guys dig up the front yard to get at everything. It explains why our japanese maple is so beautiful: her roots have been swimming in the good stuff for years and years. We call her “the s**t maple” in the most loving way possible and when she buds in the spring I remember our first (and not our last!) thousand+ cheque sunk into fixing things we can’t see in our 100 year old home.
Angela N says
I think plumbing is the worst thing about home ownership. Now only is it expensive to get repaired, but when it goes wrong it really seems to go wrong. I have also learned that not just anyone can do plumbing. We had our second bathroom remodeled and had a flood under our sink as we learned the guy that did the remodel really did not know how to do plumbing so we had to spend more money and get an expert in it to get it fixed. Then we had a cold winter not long after we moved in and a pipe froze in our master bathroom tub as it is over the garage and we had a flood in our garage. To get to the pipe they had to tear up the garage ceiling and the tile surrounding the tub. Fortunately, we had not remodeled that bathroom yet so that remodel had become our new project. Needless to say plumbing issues always make me nervous because I know they mean $$$$$$.
Trischa says
Picture this: You buy an adorable little bungalow on your favorite steet. Less than a month after closing you are sitting on your perfect porch enjoying an awesome thunderstorm. Flash forward 6 hours and the basement has 18 inches of water that has backed up into your house because the city drainage pipes are too small for so much rain. Yeah…as a first-time home buyer, I actually thought about calling the police….because to me, it was a legitimate emergency!
YoungHouseLove says
OH NO! You poor thing! I hope it’s all back to being perfect and wonderful now. Sounds so charming!
xo
s
Heather says
I feel you. I won’t like up to remind you of the cat-bathroom-in-the-crawl-space-excavation fiasco from when we first moved into our house. It’s almost lunch time, and also, spew.
Emily says
-45 degree wind chills caused the pipes that feed our half bath sink to stop, even though we let them drip while we were at work. The weather “warms up” a little and we get home to a waterfall emptying into our yard (thank goodness it was the yard and not our living room and laundry room!)
We shut the water off to our house. We just bought it so we’re not sure where anything else shuts off from. We figure that our and manage to only shut off our cold water, b/c that’s the problem pipe. Not ideal.
Thanks to the temps, it took us 3 days to get a plumber to come to our house – and that was the “calling in a favor” wait list! When I called other places, I was told they wouldn’t be able to get to us for 5 days! FIVE DAYS!
They cut a hole in our wall and realize that it was not a burst pipe that would require a very large hole and a lot of money but instead it was a joint that had broken free and fallen apart! One small hole, and hour and $250 and the thing was fixed!
It was also not covered by our warranty because they claimed it broke because the pipe froze and the joint broke loose. Without the “froze” part, it would have been covered. Freezing = act of God = not covered.
Kim says
This December after a long Friday of holiday shopping for both gifts and food, a doctor’s appointment and normal errands we got home to find our Water Heater had a leak – a small one thank goodness but a leak. We immediately called my father in law and the next day my husband and fil spent the entire day replacing it. BUT while carrying out the old one – they stepped on the door jam and the wood below had been rotting so the whole thing fell off. In the middle of a snow storm we had a 2 inch gap at the bottom of our door. Needless to say they were out there till late fixing the door – which now has a temporary sealing of lots of foam insulation stuff to seal the cracks until New England warms back up to non-freezing temperatures so we can fix it permanently. It took a whole day but saved us about $1500 by not having to call a plumber/electrician to fix the water heater, it was only about $600 total. Any home fix that is bigger than decorating stuff and under the $1k mark is cheap in my book!
Maria says
Last Monday we had our annual heating system check-up done by our normal service company, no issues, everything was working fine. The very next day, as the snowfall really started picking up in our area, I heard a loud POP and the heat shut itself off and would not come back to life. I called multiple HVAC repair companies (including the one that was at my house the previous day) and none would come out due to the roads. That night the outside temp fell to 3 degrees. Of course we would lose heat on the coldest night that I can remember which happened to coincided with a snowstorm that kept all repairmen off the roads. We kept a fire going in our family room and had a few space heaters around the house, but there is no denying it was COLD. Thankfully a crew made it out the next day and the repair was covered under warranty. I guess it could have been worse!
YoungHouseLove says
That stinks Maria! I’m so sorry you had to deal with that in the snow and super cold temps!
xo
s
Maria says
Oh and here’s my leak lesson::
I have had the main sewer line to my house back up into my basement at least 4 times – talk about disgusting. Lesson learned on that one – ALWAYS call your county’s water & sewer department first when you have sewage backing up into your house (which is apparently noted on back of my quarterly bill that I’d never read before). Our county sends someone come any time of day/night in under an hour – they will check whether the clog is in pipe from the house to the street, or in the public pipe that is their responsibility – if it is beyond my property they’ll clear it without stepping foot in the house. Unfortunately plumbers didn’t tell me this, and the first 3 instances plumbers charged me a fortune to come out as an emergency and use the 150+ ft snake line to get to a clog that would have been past my property line. Not to mention they tracked the sewage throughout my house and made an absolute mess in my already gross basement each time… So start with the County, only after they determine it is on your property contact a plumber. And best advice I got was to avoid it from happening at all by using a Main Line Cleaner & a Root Killer produce twice a year (you can buy them at Home Depot and they just get flushed down your toilet).
Sherry says
I feel your pain at unexpected expenses. We found mold in our crawl space. It turned out to be a huge problem which is costing $16,000 to correct. There goes my dream of buying a cute used Volkswagen bug. :-(.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man! I hope you get your bug someday Sherry!
xo
s
Stephanie says
Last spring our basement flooded. We could not figure out where the water was coming from, My husband thought it was coming up from the drain in the middle of the floor near the laundry. This just didn’t make any sense seeing that it was dry around there. When we had another hard rain I went down there to see if it was leaking anywhere and I hit the bottom of the stair and all I hear is rushing water! It sounded like one of those fountains in a park. Here to find out it was a leaky seal around one of the windows. What didn’t help is one of our dogs dragged the draingage pipe away from the house so all of the water running off of our roof was now rushing into the basement. That day I think I shop vaced 45 gallons out of my basement . We sealed up the window and replaced the drainge pipe. No problems since.
Caitlin C says
Never a fun experience and thanks for keeping the photos clean…I’m a lunch time reader :)
I was curious if you thought to hold off on the work if you are going to be updating the entire bathroom anyway. Could you have used the other bathroom in the meantime?
Sorry if you already answered, I did my best to read through your blue responses, but there were just too many <3
YoungHouseLove says
Good question! We literally had about a foot of sewage in our tub that we couldn’t drain when we called them that second time, so just to get that out of the house we needed their help. We probably could have paid less to have them snake the clog again and then just avoided that bathroom completely (not even to shave or brush our teeth, since that backed things up too) but that would have been pretty inconvenient, and it would have cost us more in the long run (fixing the real issue right then and there was more cost effective than having them back again in the future, since each time they come there’s a trip charge). Ultimately, since nothing about a reno would have made this fix cheaper to deal with later, we figured we’d rather spend that money now and enjoy a fixed and functional bathroom now instead of waiting for one and paying the same amount (or more, since it would be a third trip charge).
xo
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Debbie says
we recently had the septic system in our log cabin freeze up. although we didn’t know that was the problem at the time. we have water bug sensors installed in our mechanical room where all of our drains are. they tie into our security system. so if any water backs up, the sensors go off & it reports to our security company & text messages us. we’ve never had a problem in the last four years we’ve owned the place. we did extensive rehab on the place, costing millions, when we bought the cabin. we had the septic system inspected & was told that it checked out fine. luckily the issue occurred when we were there for a weekend. unfortunately it was the weekend & our cabin is remote, the nearest town of 900 is more of a summer tourist town that rolls up the sidewalks come labor day. we finally found one person who was willing to come look at the system, but not until we determined for him which truck he needed to bring. either the pumper truck (in the case of the septic system being full & in need of pumping) or the service truck for everything else. the reason he wanted us to do all the grunt work was because it was -35 out & our septic system is in two separate locations (not counting the multiple drain fields) buried under landscape & at the time, also about four feet of snow. so w/ no other choices (literally) we first dug up our lift station which is buried under a lovely 12 foot diameter raised landscape bed. luckily we had before photos saved on our ipad from when we bought the place so we knew where to start digging. digging through dirt, wood mulch & sand all frozen solid, to the giant concrete cap. when we raised it, all the balls were floating & although it didn’t smell pretty, everything looked as it should. normally, that would be good news. but that just meant that it was a problem w/ the pipes that lead to the house & those pipes just happen to be buried under our 1400 sq ft paver patio. again, we had photos that showed the pipes that our landscaper capped off below the surface, but trying to get that first frozen paver block out was akin to trying to get the first brownie out of the pan. there is just no way not to destroy it. w/ the back of an axe, a crow bar & a torch to try to heat up the sand, we spent two hours in -35 degree weather getting a five foot sq area dug up. after all that, the septic co finally came out & ran a perforated hose through the pipe & steamed it back open. a job that took about 30 mins & they did it from the warmth of their service truck. in the end, since we did all the hard work, they didn’t charge us for the service call, but we gave the guy $200 cash anyway. this summer we’ll have to rip up a much larger section of the patio to “winterize” all the pipes. to do the job, they quoted us a whole $85. if only i couldve jumped into my delorean to four years ago. lesson learned.
Kyle says
We feel your pain. We bought our house in May and immediately went to work stripping wallpaper, painting, and fixing some very poorly executed DIY projects from the previous owner. Two weeks after the kitchen was completed, we awoke to the sound of water. The half-bath toilet supply line had been over-tightened by the previous owner and had snapped in the middle of the night. Somewhere around 100 gallons of water were dumped all over our kitchen floor, leaking through to our basement. We had to have the entire wood floor torn out and replaced, giant dehumidifiers installed, drywall repaired, cabinets reset, and everything had to be repainted. The kicker is that this occurred three weeks before our wedding. Don’t even ask what the total was for repairs (hint: comfortably into six figures). This was in July and my wife and I still wake up in the middle of the night hearing phantom-water.
Kyle says
Whoops! Typo. Five figures on the repair cost, over six months on the repairs.
KiTX says
Oh, Team Petersik. Let me make you feel less alone, and possibly better.
So we bought our house at a good deal- a good enough deal that we were ok with the fact it would needed a new roof since the roof was 16 yrs old. No big, we said. We’ll just save up the money and do it next year, we said. Flashforward to 6 weeks after moving in (3 days after Christmas), and our connection to the washing machine busts and floods our kitchen/breakfast area/laundry room that had laminate wood flooring. There went 4k or so, even after home warranty (we opted to replace flooring with tile so there was some upgrading involved, plus drying fees, repainting that had to be done over new drywall, etc.) Then that summer, my husband brought home a stray dog. I love that dog, but I do not love that he ripped up a piece of our carpet across a space that spans two rooms in our main living area. This has yet to be dealt with because we want high grade laminate (puppy nails are killer to wood.) So this winter 2 years after buying, we were all “WOO, new roof time!” Got estimates, was getting approval by the HOA, and our furnace completely craps out. Goodbye to another 3500. And this totally isn’t our forever home, we only plan to be here another 3 years or so.
Is it bad that I’m just hoping for a small hurricane now that takes care of the roof? Because I am. ;)
Marianne in Mo. says
Our old house had almost the same problem, except it was the kitchen plumbing. We would go for months with no problems, then all of a sudden, one side of the double bowl sink would clog. Try plunging those – the force just shot it into the other bowl. So he would plunge while I held a stopper down with all my might. Still no help, bring on the snake. Finally, I was told not to use the disposal. We eventually found out the pipe didn’t have enough slope after hubs went down and took it apart and all the disposal gunk rained down on him! He got some strapping and rigged it enough to have a better slope. Boom- shaka- laka, good ’nuff! Luckily it was a ranch with full basement! Now I know why I never want a two story, after hearing your saga, plus I hate stairs! ;-)
Laura says
Oh I know how you feel. I live in an 100 plus year rowhome in Baltimore. With these frigid temps our pipes froze. So as I sit here typing my other hand is holding the heat gun at the pipe leading into our home. Apparently, it’s frozen under our sidewalk soooooo we can’t do anything besides try to heat the pipe enough to defrost from the inside and wait for the temps to rise. Hoping we have water again soon….
Shannon says
Ugh, we have our own issue. We remodeled our bathroom. Took the shower out, laid a new floor(we were on a tight budget so went with rolled vinyl) and put in a new tub. Well, that wasn’t all but that’s what we’re having problems with. Now the tub leaks, somewhere in the wall and it has gotten under the flooring. It has obviously turned to mold because the floor has changed color and feels almost squishy. The wall next to the tub is starting to fall apart. It was just last year that we did all this, it was a HUGE change for the bathroom and looked great and now we have to start all over again. I’m so upset about it, one step forward, two steps back.
Katherine says
Yup. I have some “buying a new-old house” stories too. We had many lovely surprises on the first house that my boyfriend and I bought together (and still live in and love today). The first surprise happened when we first moved in and realized that the old owners switched some of the nice plumbing and lighting fixtures that were a part of the deal for the cheapest ones you could buy. Thankfully, our real estate agent helped us with that, and the nice fixtures were all returned to us in a cardboard box on our front step.
Except for one, which I didn’t realize until about six months later when looking at some old listing photos.
Lesson learned #1: Take photos of the house prior to closing, and do a thorough walk through the day of the closing to make sure that everything you asked for is there.
Then, pretty much all of the appliances went kaboom within 2 months of buying the house. The side pannel of the stove fell off. The hood fan that did not vent outside smelled like McDonalds when turned on. The washer didn’t drain on it’s first use, the fridge leaked. The dishwasher pretty much exploded. We replaced everything but the fridge that we fixed ourselves.
Lesson # 2: turn things on,rattle and shake as much as feasible before buying. Or ask for a price reduction.
Then, there was the pipe leading to the backyard hose that split after the winter, since the owners hadn’t drained it properly (#ColdCanadianProblems). This one, we should have gotten:
Lesson #3: Even in the winter, turn on the water lines to the outdoors and try them out before buying.
Then there was a leak near that same spot that came somewhere from the backyard sliding door, and into the basement. It took about 3 torrential downpours to figure that one out.
Lesson #4: Buyer beware when the seller tells you that he never hires anyone and does everything himself, because he is a self ascribed “handyman”. We are DIYers too, but not everyone is of the same caliber. Look at the details around the house and that can give alot away. This guy didn’t put the time in doing finishing touches like making sure his light switches were straight, or baseboards were caulked. So he didn’t put much effort to making sure the other stuff was done right too.
This same last lesson applied to the hot tub that he wired to his electrical panel himself (Wrongly). Thankfully, the home inspector caught that. Also applies to some faulty wiring for the kitchen lighting. and to the roof he did himself… and applied the tar paper upside down which made it especially difficult to remove and replace. It made replacing the roof about 10 times of a bigger job than it should have been.
I am DIYer until the day I die. But you gotta know your limits and know when to call in the experts (that covers some plumbing and electrical for us). Unfortunately, not everyone follows that mantra.
Love what you guys do. You inspire me (and by extension, my awesome bf, Greg) to try new and fun things in our own DIYs that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Thanks for that!
Katherine
Ellen says
So funny with the timing of this post! I have my own plumbing issue I need to have looked at and I was just talking to my mom about it last night. When I said I wish I knew who to call she said “who does YHL use?” and I’m like “I don’t think they’ve had something they couldn’t fix themselves…” and then this morning here is this post! All that to say: what plumbing company did you use?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re really happy with the drywall guy we used but actually wouldn’t recommend the plumbing company (they did eventually figure out the issue, but it was less than smooth sailing) so I’m afraid John and I chatted and decided “we shouldn’t pass their names along.” Does anyone local have a plumbing company they love for Ellen? We’d love to hear too!
xo
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Meagan {Green Motherhood} says
ugh! When we moved into our old house (a two story brick colonial!) we had to have our upstairs toilet ring resealed and have the ceiling in the living room patched due to the leak from it.
Then, two years later, I walked into the living room to find the ceiling on the floor. I guess the previous work on the toilet wasn’t as good as we thought and we had to redo all of the work and redrywall the ceiling.
All I could do was laugh. It was actually quite stressful though!
Glad we didn’t have sewage backup though…ewwwww.
Yes, the joys of home ownership!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so crazy! So glad no one got hurt!
xo
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heather says
Being a homeowner can definitely be painful. While trying to sell our previous house, an inspector found some bowing in our foundation. We had no signs of issues, no water coming in, etc. They had to dig out the entire width of the house, including tearing down our deck, pour a new cement wall into the existing block, and straighten the wall. This meant tearing down the drywall in our finished basement. It was a nightmare and put us back about $15,000 once we fixed the basement, put on a new deck, and had to fix the yard that was ripped up. All worked out though and the house sold and we are in our new house now :).
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, Heather, that’s so rough! So sorry! Glad you’re happily in your new home now.
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Camilla @ Something Is Done says
Doesn’t it just make you appreciate the skill of all those plumbers and drywallers? We love a good DIY but when you find a good contractor who can do the same job in 1/16 of the of time and 10x better sometimes it’s just worth it to shell out the cash!
YoungHouseLove says
YES! There truly are some skills that we just haven’t mastered. They’re ARTISTES!
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Laughing Abi says
Just posted last week about patching the drywall in my KITCHEN ceiling due to a toilet problem in the upstairs master bathroom. It was nothing as funky as your backup but still nothing I want to do again.
http://www.laughingabi.com/diy-drywall-patch/
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Go Abi, go!
xo
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Nicky says
This makes me shiver. I just bought my first house together with my boyfriend and although everything seems to be ok, I start to wonder what kind of horror discovery we are going to have in our home. I know the electricity is not as it should be but the previous owners assured us it was a quick fix. I hope they are right…
Darlene says
You’re never alone when it comes to the world of homebuying= unpleasant home surprises. We moved into our second home on a Labor Day weekend. By Thanksgiving we had experienced fire shooting out of the switch when turning on the garbage disposal, a literal fire involving the fire department when we turned on the heater for the first time – thankfully no one, including our Chihuahua, Bailey, was hurt. The final insult was the well water pump failing and finding a geyser spraying out of it about twenty feet into the air. Can you say wiring issues? But we dealt with it and went on to live there happily for many years. Just keep saying “This too shall pass!”
YoungHouseLove says
Yikes! So glad you guys (and Bailey!) were ok!
xo
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