Backwater Valve Identification

[EricInCA]

Fellow plumbers:

I purchased a house not too long ago in Orange County, California. The house was built late 2002 and 2003 and is 2 stories. Long story short, I had a plugged downstairs toilet caused by a plug in the main line probably shortly downstream of the backwater valve. Plumber snaked the line through the disassembled sink p trap in the downstairs bathroom past the backwater valve. Line cleared and you could see the snake going through the backwater valve, but the flapper was not there. Cost to repair is about $500 if they can find the replacement flapper, or $5,200 to $5,800 to jackhammer the valve out and replace it. Problem is the backwater valve is in my garage, a few feet from the garage door. Two big problems though. First, the backwater valve is about 3-4 feet deep in the ground, and second, I have a post-tension slab. Now I have a small 36" driveway, but I don't think I own it (I think the HOA owns it), so I cant install a new one there. Now I've been told by a neighbor that there is a 3-4 foot contraption (for lack of a better word) that has the flapper at the end and slides down into the riser from the backwater body valve. The closest thing I've found online is a RectorSeal Extendable Clean Check backwater valve. Perhaps this is the manufacturer, but an older model of what I'm finding online. So, I'm hoping somebody here in the forums is able to identify the manufacturer of my backwater valve in the picture that I've included.

 

[hj]

Unless there is an overriding reason for the check valve, other than "it is required by code", my preference is to take the gate OUT, because in most cases they cause more problems than they solve, which your plumber would have discovered if the gate were there and his snake went through it. Unless your valve was designed for the "extendable" device, which is very possible since it is not longer there, it will not work, but in any case you would need the EXACT replacement because they are NOT "generic".