37
My basement floor drain backed up and I thought it was a quick fix
Turned out the cleanout plug was sealed under two inches of old concrete patch from the previous owner. I spent six hours with a hammer drill and a cold chisel from Princess Auto just to get to the plug. Has anyone else in the Mill Woods area had to deal with a buried cleanout?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
sage_ramirez4210h ago
Wait, he PATCHED OVER the cleanout with concrete? That is WILD. You need to be able to get to that thing for exactly this kind of backup. Sealing it for gas is one thing but you can't just bury it forever. That's asking for a nightmare. I'd be so mad after six hours of drilling.
4
ray36310h ago
My uncle's old house had a cleanout sealed under a patio slab. When the main line clogged years later, they had to jackhammer the whole concrete pad just to find it. That temporary gas fix created a ten thousand dollar repair bill for the next owner. Sealing it completely ignores the basic fact that pipes fail eventually. A proper threaded plug or even a removable cap would have solved the smell without making the cleanout useless forever.
4
hollyc9212h ago
That concrete patch was probably a smart move by the last guy to stop sewer gas. My old place had a terrible smell until I sealed mine up properly with hydraulic cement. Sometimes covering it is the better fix for the problem you don't see.
1