Hello. I recently had some backup in my basement through the shower and toilet. After having a plumber come out and snake and video it, there was a clog found that was punched through and everything started working normally again.
Here is where my lack of experience really comes in. Downstream of the clog the plumber saw 2 spots of maybe 2 feet each where there was some standing water. It looked like in the 4 inch pipe there was maybe water filling the bottom 1 to 1.5 inches. It was hard to tell but anytime the camera would be pulled, you could see a large space above the pooled water that was unfilled.
He told me these were bellies and I absolutely had to get them fixed for 25 grand.
Aside from the clog I had (which is now fixed), everything works fine and has worked fine the entire time I've been in the house. The house was built in the 1950s, doubt there has been much done on the house plumbing since then. I've owned the house for 6 years now and planning to sell soon. My assumption is this isn't a recently formed belly and it's probably existed for quite some time.
My question is
A) is this even a problem? I'm assuming at some point in a pipes lifetime, it may sag. If it does and causes no problems, does it matter?
B) if there are no problems with drainage in the house, smells, etc, are there any other criterion to where you would want to fix this? Ie, if the line is full of water and spans 5 or more feet, then fix anyways. For 2 spots of 2 feet and partial fill, is this a must fix item?
C) for disclosure to the buyer when I sell, what should I do? I don't know anything about plumbing and have a small concern that the plumber was trying to get extra work where there wasn't a problem. I will absolutely disclose, but, I'm worried about "disclosing a non-problem." I have no plumbing knowledge and the buyer probably won't either. I'd hate to raise alarm flags for something which may be benign and normal. The only analogy I can think of is if someone said "your engine gets really hot while running.... we need to add a 25 grand intercooler or your car might explode." Then, a perfectly good car gets flagged for something normal.
Thanks in advance for your advice!!
Chris.
Here is where my lack of experience really comes in. Downstream of the clog the plumber saw 2 spots of maybe 2 feet each where there was some standing water. It looked like in the 4 inch pipe there was maybe water filling the bottom 1 to 1.5 inches. It was hard to tell but anytime the camera would be pulled, you could see a large space above the pooled water that was unfilled.
He told me these were bellies and I absolutely had to get them fixed for 25 grand.
Aside from the clog I had (which is now fixed), everything works fine and has worked fine the entire time I've been in the house. The house was built in the 1950s, doubt there has been much done on the house plumbing since then. I've owned the house for 6 years now and planning to sell soon. My assumption is this isn't a recently formed belly and it's probably existed for quite some time.
My question is
A) is this even a problem? I'm assuming at some point in a pipes lifetime, it may sag. If it does and causes no problems, does it matter?
B) if there are no problems with drainage in the house, smells, etc, are there any other criterion to where you would want to fix this? Ie, if the line is full of water and spans 5 or more feet, then fix anyways. For 2 spots of 2 feet and partial fill, is this a must fix item?
C) for disclosure to the buyer when I sell, what should I do? I don't know anything about plumbing and have a small concern that the plumber was trying to get extra work where there wasn't a problem. I will absolutely disclose, but, I'm worried about "disclosing a non-problem." I have no plumbing knowledge and the buyer probably won't either. I'd hate to raise alarm flags for something which may be benign and normal. The only analogy I can think of is if someone said "your engine gets really hot while running.... we need to add a 25 grand intercooler or your car might explode." Then, a perfectly good car gets flagged for something normal.
Thanks in advance for your advice!!
Chris.