chrisrosenb
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- Sep 1, 2007
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For the last 4+ months
I am not sure if I was lucky or unlucky today or a little of both.
- Thread starter chrisrosenb
- Start date
WarnerConstCo.
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- Apr 14, 2008
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I would think they would want to install some sort of check valve for you house, or have an alarm when something happens.
Having been through a similar event while staying at my sons house a few years ago, I totally understand how bad this smells!!! I am so glad you were around to reduce the damage. Has there been new construction anywhere near you? Here in Louisiana this is a fairly common issue as so many new subdivisions are being built. Either outdoor drainage caused flooding or sewer backups from overloading or improper sloping. Best wishes Chris. Hope you have a great turkey day.
Yuck. nough to make me want to move out. Good thing you cought it. 28 years or not, I would want something installed to prevent any real chance of that happening again.
Seth
Seth
greenMonster
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- Aug 28, 2011
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I hear this happening too many times, that I'd install at least a check valve myself...or at least a ball valve that I could manually turn off if the stuff hit the fan
Edit; word filter.
Edit; word filter.
tiralie
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Sounds like a good idea. How much is that gonna set you back?Chris Rosenberger said:
BTW, does your insurance cover you for any of the current damage? Will your (insurance) rate go down if you install a check valve?
Our household insurance is lowered if we add some portable alarms near appliances etc. (water heaters, dishwashers) in the event that if they fail they could cause flooding and water damage.
Next, they will be electing you mayor!Chris Rosenberger said:
Tim
Here there are two sewer systems - waste and also storm water - in the cities. Mixing the two into one requires more treatment expense.
Check valves on sewer lines are not totally reliable. Stuff that gets flushed can hang up and prevent the valve from closing.
I managed a condominium community that had sewer line issues; poor slope or backwards slope. It is fitting that I tell this story now, the day before Thanksgiving here in the states. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I would have to hire a plumber to sit in the parking lot and wait for the emergency call. The shear volume of water usage would cause issues and the third floor's sewer water would end up bubbling out of the first floor's kitchen sink. That eliminated many of the pleasant smells of the holidays!
My brother-in-laws house has a septic system located uphill from the house. It has a holding tank and pump that will pump the sewage to the leech field. Unfortunately for them the contractor who installed the basement waterproofing connected his piping to the line that fed the holding tank. End result was when you had a storm and the power went out, the basement flooded because the storage tank got full and the water backed up into the basement. Funny how the drainage system that was designed to prevent flooding was the cause of the flooding.
One last story, in 1984 one of the owners complained about humidity in a house that the company I worked for had built. It was on a crawl space. The walls of the house had mold growing on them as did anything porous in the house. The cause - the plumber had never hooked up the sewer line and for two years they had been flushing raw sewage into the area below their home. OOPS. Even more of an oops is that the locality inspected and signed off on the final building inspections and issued an occupancy permit.
The various insurance companies worked it out.
Check valves on sewer lines are not totally reliable. Stuff that gets flushed can hang up and prevent the valve from closing.
I managed a condominium community that had sewer line issues; poor slope or backwards slope. It is fitting that I tell this story now, the day before Thanksgiving here in the states. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I would have to hire a plumber to sit in the parking lot and wait for the emergency call. The shear volume of water usage would cause issues and the third floor's sewer water would end up bubbling out of the first floor's kitchen sink. That eliminated many of the pleasant smells of the holidays!
My brother-in-laws house has a septic system located uphill from the house. It has a holding tank and pump that will pump the sewage to the leech field. Unfortunately for them the contractor who installed the basement waterproofing connected his piping to the line that fed the holding tank. End result was when you had a storm and the power went out, the basement flooded because the storage tank got full and the water backed up into the basement. Funny how the drainage system that was designed to prevent flooding was the cause of the flooding.
One last story, in 1984 one of the owners complained about humidity in a house that the company I worked for had built. It was on a crawl space. The walls of the house had mold growing on them as did anything porous in the house. The cause - the plumber had never hooked up the sewer line and for two years they had been flushing raw sewage into the area below their home. OOPS. Even more of an oops is that the locality inspected and signed off on the final building inspections and issued an occupancy permit.
The various insurance companies worked it out.
Chris Rosenberger said:
Chris,
[thumbs up] to you for getting involved and playing a part in your community! I am sure that your level headed thinking and experiences have proven time and again an asset to your community.
Peter
Yup, you need a backwater valve.
If you know where your sewer goes out, you could install it yourself. where the sewer goes out under your wall, cut a 2x2 chunk of cement out. Dig it up, cut the pipe, put in backwater and cover it back up. Wouldn't be a bad idea considering the damage not having one can do.
If you know where your sewer goes out, you could install it yourself. where the sewer goes out under your wall, cut a 2x2 chunk of cement out. Dig it up, cut the pipe, put in backwater and cover it back up. Wouldn't be a bad idea considering the damage not having one can do.
