Jason Davis
New Member
Summary of the problem: I have a bubbling toilet in the mid-level commode, seen in the blue cloud on the attachment, yet things are draining fine in the entire house.
For reference I have attached a plumbing line drawing for reference. I didn't get too detailed into the line drawing because (a) I can't see behind the walls and (b) you can probably figure it out quicker than I can draw it.
History:
For reference I have attached a plumbing line drawing for reference. I didn't get too detailed into the line drawing because (a) I can't see behind the walls and (b) you can probably figure it out quicker than I can draw it.
History:
- I've been 3 years in a 6 year-old Ryan Homes mid-unit 3-level townhome with a hung sewer in the walkout basement.
- A few weeks after I moved in I noticed that while the washing machine (level 2) was draining, the powder room commode (level 1, directly under laundry) would bubble pretty violently. It was occasional and not frequent so I kind of ignored it.
- A few months later, I had a backup in the level 1 powder and level 1 kitchen as I was doing 2nd floor laundry and as my daughter was taking a shower at the same time in the 2nd floor hall bath. It was saturday night and not going away so I called RotoRooter. They snaked the main from the cleanout just outside the foundation wall outward to the main. He claimed he couldn't get into the home because of the config of the pipes. He said he hit some resistance between house and sewer main but not much of an obstruction (so little that he didn't even charge me), and the clog was gone and the drains were clear from then until now (2+ years later with no issues).
- The powder room commode still bubbled occasionally when doing a washing machine load above, occasionally, for months, but again not persistent or causing any problems so it went under the radar.
- Under advisement of a local plumber I tried to test the openness of the vent on that side. It's a 3rd level townhome roof so I couldn't snake from above without hassle. All I had access to directly was the attic, so I cut that vent line open and stuck a blower in the roof side and a vacuum in the house side, and got nothing. I sealed up the connection. Occasionally the powder still burped in laundry use.
- Recently I finished the basement bathroom and added a bsmt wet bar sink. This is all on that same stack that I was having trouble with. The basement bathroom group was already installed before I moved in, including the ejector pit. There was also an ejector-dedicated vent line and ejector-dedicated waste line, stubbed directly above the ejector crock but not originally connected, running out to the main house sewer line. When I installed the basement bathroom and sink I also connected the ejector waste line and ejector vent line, as well as the vent line for the basement lav and kitchenette sink to the same vent as the ejector vent that was already installed.
- The basement bathroom now gets a lot of use, and I've noticed that whenever the ejector pump cycles the same powder room commode (on main level 1, same stack as the other trouble plumbing, and same as above issue before this bathroom was installed) will burp and bubble when the ejector pit discharges.
- The problem is all in the blue-clouded stack in the attached drawing. And I apologize for the crudeness of the drawing!