Advice on Plumbing Issue - Broken Pipe under Large Concrete Driveway

iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 14:14
Last edited 25/06/2018 - 14:42 by 1 other user

So it seems I've got a broken sewage pipe running from my house to the road (see image). The images shows a house, a driveway and a red sewage pipe running through the house and under the driveway.

The white circle is an inspection point, and the yellow X shows the location of the break (at a supposed 'flexible coupling')..

Obviously I'll be seeking advice from qualified plumbers etc but I'm seeking any wisdom for the OZB crowed to hopefully understand some of my options.

The inspection point indicates that the sewage pipe is about 2 - 2.5m below the drive surface (yep, it's that deep) the break is a significant way up my driveway.

The driveway is a double pattern paved driveway and I'm keen to not destroy it to have the plumbing fixed, but I'm not seeing any way practical way to do this.

I assume (will get verified using camera) that the pipe has broken and separated and levels changed since running a plumbing "snake" (not sure what they're called) has difficulty (or can't) getting through and indicates it's "digging mud"..

Thoughts?

Home & Garden Plumbing

Comments

  • vinni9284 on 25/06/2018 - 14:17
    +4

    Whatever you do, don't chose Jim's Plumbing.
    They charge like a wounded bull.
    Go for a reputable local plumber.
    Cheers

    • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 14:18
      +1

      Advice taken! Thanks!

    • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 14:24
      +4

      All plumbers charge like a wounded bull

      • vinni9284 on 25/06/2018 - 14:33
        +3

        Name checks out :P

        Edit: Seriously I have used Jim's and I can say, their charging period is even when they are packing up, talking on the phone and cleaning their equipment. As soon as they enter your property, do their job, yap on the phone, clean their equipment until they sit into their car, they charge.

        I have now got/use a local plumber that has one charge for a job and that's it. No stopwatch, stressing etc .. and it's relatively cheaper.

        Cheers

        • Mike88 on 25/06/2018 - 21:20
          +1

          Not saying Jim’s pricing is good, but why would you expect that packing up/cleaning is not part of the associated costs of doing your job?
          Other places may not give you a direct labour charge for these things but it will be factored into their pricing.

        • vinni9284 on 26/06/2018 - 18:43

          @Mike88:

          Not saying Jim’s pricing is good

          No, they're not! Going by my experience. Never again!

          but why would you expect that packing up/cleaning is not part of the associated costs of doing your job?

          When they take their time to take just and clean a few tools knowing that time is money. You have forgot to mention yapping on the phone. I am not paying for a mother's club conversation over the phone that is not related to the job. It was a basic job that didn't require special expensive equipment.

          Other places may not give you a direct labour charge for these things but it will be factored into their pricing

          Possibly, however they don't charge like a wounded bull like Jim's.
          The last job where I required a local plumber charged the same amount for a small job where Jim's would charge just for a call out fee; not including a mother's club conversation and taking a shower with their tools.

          Cheers

        • Mike88 on 26/06/2018 - 19:40

          @vinni9284:
          Didn’t mention the phone conversation as I was talking about parts of the job that are legitimately chargeable.
          On a side note you seem to have an issue with mother’s clubs.

        • vinni9284 on 26/06/2018 - 20:17

          @Mike88:

          Hahaha! … I don't have issues with mother's clubs … only if I'm paying for it :P

    • Ocker on 25/06/2018 - 14:47
      +5

      "They charge like a wounded bull."

      Wrong - A wounded bull knows when to stop charging (lol)

  • HighAndDry on 25/06/2018 - 14:21

    Not a plumber, but I'm not sure you have any options other than digging it up and replacing/fixing it to be honest. If it were just a crack you might have been able to try and shore it up internally (maybe? again, not a plumber but I think I've heard of it), but a break? Nah.

    Just make sure whatever plumber you get has all the qualifications and ask for a copy of the new diagram after they're done.

    • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:33

      Yep, that's where I was so reached out just in case there's some new miracle solution I've not found.

  • Archi on 25/06/2018 - 14:22

    its almost like you have drawn my house. I have exactly the same thing. a main sewer inspection pit on the side of my herringbone paved driveway.

    i'll be interested to see how you get this issued rectified.

    • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:33

      I'll post back when I get it fixed.

  • battler on 25/06/2018 - 14:24

    search pipe relining.
    example only: http://drainsrus.com/index.asp?pagename=Pipe+Relining&site=1…

    • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 14:28
      +1

      only works if the pipes haven't moved and come apart, which seems to be what the OP is saying has happened.

      • battler on 25/06/2018 - 14:35
        +1

        ah, yes.. re-read the OP… "levels changed"

        • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:34

          Yeah, I don't think it's going to be fun!

  • Melb69 on 25/06/2018 - 14:26

    Could a plumbing company with the liners help you. They can put another sleeve internally. Maybe worth ringing around. In any event it wont be cheap. Make sure you get the full price quote up front and in writing. There is a reason why the other poster mentioned not to go with Jims. Just check out the plumbers reviews as well for any customer feedback.

    • HighAndDry on 25/06/2018 - 14:45

      Don't think you can reline a pipe that's:

      the pipe has broken and separated and levels changed since running a plumbing "snake" (not sure what they're called) has difficulty (or can't) getting through and indicates it's "digging mud"..

      • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 15:08

        Digging mud isn't a good sign for sure, but until the camera is down, its hard to say.

        Maybe there is just lots of mud stuck in the pipe from the OP eating too many mud pies? :)

        • HighAndDry on 25/06/2018 - 15:13
          +1

          Hahaha. Though you'd think a plumber (or whoever's running the snake) would know the difference between mud and… "mud". Any qualified plumber would send a cam down before any kind of serious works (or even planning the works). Fingers crossed for OP that the pipe isn't too badly broken I guess.

        • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:35

          @HighAndDry: Yeah, it was clay style mud (a local qualified plumber did the snake work).

        • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 20:12

          @iDroid: @HighAndDry: Without sending the camera down, its just 'guess' work……

  • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 14:26
    +2

    The driveway is a double pattern paved driveway and I'm keen to not destroy it to have the plumbing fixed, but I'm not seeing any way practical way to do this.

    At the end of the day it looks you or someone before you has built over an easement. Sadly this is the downside of that.

    Get some plumbers out to quote and get a camera down to see what the issue is.

    You can have the pipe sleeved or relined, but it depends on the 'break' if this can be done.

    But whatever path is taken, it won't be cheap.

  • akma1 on 25/06/2018 - 14:33
    +1

    Check with you home insurance sometimes they maybe able to do the investigative work for you if you have a burst pipe with no excess I am with Suncorp.

    • 87percent on 25/06/2018 - 14:51

      wait.. have you used your home insurance for something like this? I have a broken rainwater pipe under the side of my house, not a big issue but I've been quoted $10k to fix it as they have to dig up a fair amount of concrete

    • [Deactivated] on 25/06/2018 - 14:52

      This is definitely not wear and tear assuming OPs house isn't an outlier.

      Should be covered under insurance.

      Preserving the slab is going to be tough but possible. They'll have to cut relief points and lift it with balloons. If they can remove a 2x2 slab, they can reinforce the base and place it back and do some coloured grouting to mask the damage.

    • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:39
      +1

      Checked.

      Me: Cracked sewer pipe covered?
      Them: No Sir.
      Me: No way, not good enough.
      Them: I'm sorry to hear that.
      Me: I demand a different outcome.
      Them: I'm sorry to hear that.
      Me: Ok, bye.

      I did my best.

      • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 20:11

        You didn't threaten ACCC…. consumer rights!!!

  • thatonethere on 25/06/2018 - 14:52
    -1

    Might be worth seeing where your property boundary is - if the break is off your property it will be someone elses problem.

    Another option is to get a quote to divert the sewage to next to your driveway and bypass the break. Might be cheaper than building a new sewage line AND a new driveway.

    • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 15:07
      -1

      Might be worth seeing where your property boundary is - if the break is off your property it will be someone elses problem.

      Did you even read the post or look at the picture!?

      • thatonethere on 25/06/2018 - 16:24
        -1

        Sure. Point out where boundary is either depicted or in OP. Hence the query.

        • HighAndDry on 25/06/2018 - 17:25

          the yellow X shows the location of the break

          If the picture is even remotely to scale, that X is on OP's land. But yeah, OP should definitely make sure. It will be checked by a qualified plumber as one of the first steps anyway.

        • JimmyF on 25/06/2018 - 20:09
          -1

          First, the OP said HOUSE, so not a unit. So full house block.

          Second, the clearly included a picture, that shows the house, driveway and a black thing that would be the road.

          The break is clearly inside the OPs land.

          then Third, the OP replied to you to say it is!!

          So to you and the others down voted, need to turn that mushy stuff on between your ears.

      • whooah1979 on 26/06/2018 - 19:48
        -1

        look at the picture!?

        The image is unclear as to where the boundary is. Including a water meter in the image may help give an indication of where the boundary could be.

    • iDroid on 25/06/2018 - 19:42
      +1

      Naa, standard residential block. The sewer pipe runs from my house under my own driveway and joins the sewer under the road. I'd love to handball it..

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 25/06/2018 - 20:05

    When we had a suspected pipe crack years ago the quote for pipe relining was almost as much as digging up. Later on we got a no-nonsense plumber to just break the tiles where absolutely necessary and start digging. He replaced the broken segment and just filled the space with plain concrete. This isn't aesthetically pleasing but you'll never have to guess where the pipes are :)

    I don't know how to scale your drawing is or how solid your nature strip is but it almost seems like a plumber could access the pipe from a side burrow without landslide. The depth might be a problem though (perhaps requiring a trench box?). Despite being on an OzBargain forum, unbelievably I'm no expert.

    • kiitos on 26/06/2018 - 12:44

      Yeah, I was thinking that too,a trench perpendicular to the driveway to get to the required depth without undermining it.

  • ozbjunkie on 26/06/2018 - 08:33

    That's unfortunate op.

    Which city you located? Can recommend a plumber to use, and one to avoid if in Sydney.

    Says Adelaide in profile, just making sure.

    PropertyChat or whirlpool might also give good advice, I found a couple plumbers on WP in particular who were super helpful with questions and gave me advice on a price too.

    Of course, you need to get that camera work done and understand whether relining or digging in from the side is possible first.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/06/2018 - 11:36
    +1

    A mate has just had the same problem.
    He dug a trench alongside the concrete block and laid a new pipe which joined up with the old one.

  • whooah1979 on 26/06/2018 - 19:43

    up my driveway.

    Is the damage within the boundary?

  • TransportPosters on 27/06/2018 - 12:04

    If the pipes need replacing then they may be able to go in front the side and under without breaking up your driveway. This may impact your neighbours' fence and ground but may be better than tearing up your driveway if it's just a fence and some ground which is affected. Talk to your neighbour of course.

    Regardless, they will most likely bring in a small digger machine to do all the digging, which has its own costs.

  • Aust on 27/06/2018 - 20:15

    You need to ask your insurer about if your covered for the exploratory costs to find the leak.
    They won't cover the Cost to fix the actual pipe, it's the cost to excavate to find the leak they may.

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