Backed up Kitchen Sink, Dripping Drain line, Water in the crawl space ...oh my!

[redkendog]

Backed up kitchen sink is draining to outside and down into crawl space. There is no water in the cabinet under the sink. The sink does not clear, but does eventually drain ...down to crawl space (subfloor is pretty saturated) and outdoors apparently. Plunging does nothing.

Side note, a few months back we had a sump failure and after replacement of the pump, I found that the drain line from the sump is blocked. I rerouted that line and have not done anything to open it to date.

Is it possible that the same drain line from the sump pump as the kitchen sink/disposal is blocked? That said, the pump line goes out of the house and into the ground whereas the kitchen drain line goes down to crawl space and then cuts across the length of the house.

All help welcome! Forgive me if anything seems obvious ...I am simply trying to learn and DIY it

 

[Mr_David]

You most likely have a broken drain inside the wall.
Do you have cast Iron drain system or plastic(PVC or ABS).
I just made a similar repair a few months back.
Not for the DIYer unless you are particularly very handy at fixing things.
The one I fixed was the steel vent had rotted out just above where the kitchen drain goes into the wall.
I have pictures of how I cut it out and repaired it.
I might have already posted them here somewhere but I'll have to go look and see.
Open the wall under the sink to see if it's broken.
Take some pictures if you can. It will help a lot. Or Call a Pro and let them do it.

 

[Mr_David]

Found the pictures. also some of how I cut out the cast iron in the wall.

 

[havasu]

Those are some great pics Mr David! Just wondering, what is the reason for cutting the square hole in the pipe? Just for better access?

 

[johnjh2o]

Those are some great pics Mr David! Just wondering, what is the reason for cutting the square hole in the pipe? Just for better access?

The square hole is so he could get the cutter to reach the other side of the pipe.

John

 

[havasu]

That's what I figured. Thanks John.

 

[redkendog]

Wow! That was quite the project! Nice to learn from others ...

Update here: I removed th p trap, which I have never done in my life ...never expected it to be ridiculously easy. Started the auger into the tail pipe by hand and it felt rather 'crunchy' when I hit resistance. The few bends were a challenge but not a big deal. Once I coud no longer hand feed, I connected my drill to the end of the auger and let it run a bit while adding little pressure and when more feed entered the line I stopped and let more out of the auger until I hit its' limit of 25 ft. Slowly and deliberately I removed the auger foot by foot while cleaning it until it was all the way in, connected the p trap, and then ran cold cold water for about a half hour.

I have made numberous trips to the outside, crawl space, and even followed the drain line to feel for continued water flow. Then ran the dishwasher ...all signs point to a clear drain line and lesson learned - stop putting stuff down the disposal!

Thank you ALL for your support and guidance - told my dentist about this yesterday and when he asked who I would have do the work ...all he could say was 'good for you for trying' ...my big fat ego can't wait to update him

 

[havasu]

Taking the time to learn home repairs is a very rewarding experience. Thanks for the update, and feel free to hang out with us to learn some tricks and shortcuts as well.

 

[Mr_David]

Those are some great pics Mr David! Just wondering, what is the reason for cutting the square hole in the pipe? Just for better access?

The square hole is so he could get the cutter to reach the other side of the pipe.

John

Thanks. JohnJ is correct. I use a 5" metal cut off blade.
I use to use a sawsall but you burn a few blades cutting through cast iron.
That little Ryobi 4-1/2" grinder has come in real handy.
Same tool I use to slice that toilet down the middle.

 

[havasu]

I would never have considered using the grinder and would have pulled out the SawZall, with a trailer full of blades I guess.