Want to replace two crude clean out holes... advice?

[tireshark]

Over the years we had called several plumbers to come unclog drains at a rent house, and they unknowingly knocked out two separate cleanout holes, and then just put a half piece of PVC over each hole.

Here's a pic of both cleanout holes, going from house to septic tank:

Pic

This summer i decided to work on the clog issue myself, and thats when i saw what they had done. I was planning on cutting that entire section out, and replacing with shielded fernco connectors and pvc... but when i excavated the pipe all the way, i discovered that each cleanout hole was punched through in an area that had concrete poured around the pipe.

So i mean... is there even anything i can do?

Could i chip out the concrete around the pipe enough to make a smooth section for the fernco to slip on?

Could i just bust up all the concrete/pipe, dig it out and put new pvc back down? My only issue with doing that would be that the lower cleanout hole is cemented in right where it joins the septic tank, and im not sure if i would be opening up a can of worms to bust all of that concrete up.

Pic of upper cleanout hole, surrounded by concrete on bottom. House is on the right, the concrete and pipe pass under the foundation.

Pic of lower cleanout hole... the hole is almost clear of the concrete enough to cut clean through, but on the bottom there is concrete extending out to where the hole is. Septic tank is on the left where the concrete starts.

Any ideas of what i can feasibly do here on my own? I mean if it's some monumental task to bust up the concrete or something, maybe i should just put the pvc back over the holes like it was, and then just dig it out myself when it clogs up, now that i know what to do?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[johnjh2o]

Replace the line and install a proper cleanout.

 

[tireshark]

Yeah, i guess i was just worried about what to do at the septic tank junction. Didn't really want to mess with the baffle and pumping it out right now if i could.

I think i might just chip out the concrete around the pipe at the septic tank, and try to join it with a fernco there if i can... then i will bust up all of the concrete and pipe going under the house, remove it, and join the pvc to the good pipe under the house.

I think i'll leave messing with the septic tank and baffle side for a later date. If i get all these holes closed up good, it should be good to go for a while i think. Oh and i'm going to put a cleanout junction on the pipe.

Thanks!

 

[tireshark]

Well here is where i'm at on it. I chipped the concrete back enough so that i think i can get a coupling on it on the septic tank side.

I was having some trouble busting up the concrete on the house side, so i was just going to chip it back and put a hub on it there... but as i was working i found out the concrete didnt go all the way to the house, it was just around a junction.

Here's a pic of where the concrete and the hole is, and where it enters the foundation.

So now i'm trying to decide if i want to chip the concrete back and just put a coupling on it where i have the pipe cut, or if i want to go ahead and bust through the foundation blocks and dig it out the rest of the way under the house (maybe 10-15 more feet) and join it there.

Here's what im dealing with under the house... the foundation wall is on the left, and the pipe is buried until it bends up into the toilet riser (or whatever it's called).

You can see where i previously replaced the cast iron that went to the tub in that pic.

Anyway, i guess i should just suck it up and dig it out the rest of the way under the house.

It's going to suck having to dig and cut in the crawl space, but i've done it before. I'm assuming that busting through the foundation where this pipe passes through wont be a big deal. Can anyone think of any issues i'm not aware of if i decide to replace all of it up to where it bends up into the toilet?

 

[Mr_David]

If you're not having a problem with the pipe going though the footing and under the house leave. Cut it right there outside and install a 2 way cleanout.

That way just incase you have a stoppage upstream from the new cleanout, you can run a cable back into the house.

 

[KULTULZ]

Hell of a way to do something...

 

[phishfood]

As a pro, with all of the tools and knowledge to do it, I would replace all of it if it were my house, and offer that as the best option if it were a customer's house. But if you haven't been having problems with it, you will probably be OK for quite some time leaving it as is, and just replacing the outside piping.

On another note, you need to get some support on that tub arm. It could slip loose on that compression joint and cause backfall.

 

[tireshark]

Thanks guys. Well prior to reading your comments, i had decided to go ahead and replace it all the way back to just before the toilet stack. Turned out to not be that big of a hassle.

The only thing is im having a bit of an issue with is getting the angles to line up correctly to go down into the septic tank. There's probably an easy way to get it to work, but i didnt know exactly how to calculate it, so i just eyeballed it to try and get it the same as the original CI route.

Here's a rough sketch of the setup... i used a 22.5 degree bend, but the straight section coming from the septic tank pushes it up about an inch to seat into the bend. It's not off by a lot, but it is causing a slight back up of water because of that hump.

They dont happen to make flexible bends do they? That would make it so much easier. If not, i wonder if putting a 22.5 bend on the bottom might make it line up better? That is if there isn't a way for me to get it cut right with just one bend in it.

 

[Matt30]

You will have to match the angle with another fitting on the bottom