Is this a tree root? Is it a cable?!

[Pancakemeow]

Hi everyone, hoping I can get some advice. I moved into an older home last year and have had sewer issues with backup occurring 2x. I had the line snaked and eventually they put a camera down. First plumber said it looks like a cable of some sort blocking the pipe 34ft away. 2nd guy said tree root. I attached a picture. It isn't what tree roots typically look like (not hair like). The rest of the sewer line is clear. The part that is blocked is clay pipe and it is difficult to get to because I have a stone flower bed attached the length of my home and directly under it is clay pipe. The city (or someone) replaced the rest of the clay pipe with PVC that goes to the road. I am being quoted $5000 to dig it out and repair it, the flower bed could get destroyed in process. I have weeping tile that is also connected to the sanitary sewer which I believe is now a no no, and I'm afraid that the city will force me to also get a sump pump, which is being quoted at around another $5000. I really don't know what to do. I am thinking of asking them to try to auger the line and put some copper sulfate down for prevention. I live in Ontario. Thanks for any information and advice!

 

[Reach4]

Could it be a rubber seal that got displaced during installation?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

My mothers place had a natural gas line drilled through the sewer line out to the street.

 

[Bannerman]

The distance is typically zeroed when the camera enters the pipe. As the distance displayed is only 4.5' (1.2 metres), either the obstruction is closer to where the camera entered or, the operator neglected to zero the distance.

If the distance is actually 34' away and within your yard or municipal easement, you could request a utility service locate to determine if there is a correlation of services to the location of the obstruction. There are no fees charged for utility service locates.

Despite the name, Ontario One Call will locate and identify water, natural gas, telephone and cable TV service locations, but for buried hydro services, you will need to make a separate request to the local hydro utility that actually provides your electric power.

I have seen the roots of Weeping Willow tress penetrate deep clay sewer pipes. Willow roots often appear thick and solid, not hair like.

 

[Pancakemeow]

The distance is typically zeroed when the camera enters the pipe. As the distance displayed is only 4.5' (1.2 metres), either the obstruction is closer to where the camera entered or, the operator neglected to zero the distance.

If the distance is actually 34' away and within your yard or municipal easement, you could request a utility service locate to determine if there is a correlation of services to the location of the obstruction. There are no fees charged for utility service locates.

Despite the name, Ontario One Call will locate and identify water, natural gas, telephone and cable TV service locations, but for buried hydro services, you will need to make a separate request to the local hydro utility that actually provides your electric power.

I have seen the roots of Weeping Willow tress penetrate deep clay sewer pipes. Willow roots often appear thick and solid, not hair like.

Thank you for your reply! I did get a locate done and they did not find any lines in the area. The front tree is a honey locust. I still feel worried about getting it augered. Do you think an auger could break a root that thick if it is a root? Would it be possible that it could be a private line of some sort that Ontario one call would not find? It is just in a weird position in my yard, horizontal with my property when I know most lines are run vertically.

 

[Bannerman]

Would it be possible that it could be a private line of some sort that Ontario one call would not find? I

Someone else's service lines should not be located within your property. Ontario One Call use metal detectors and other devices to locate services as as-built drawings are not usually too reliable. I don't know how far below the surface your sewer line is located, but other than water, other services are not usually buried overly deep.

When you have taken the proper steps to request and wait to have service locates completed, you are relying on the appropriate specialists to advise where each of the utility lines and pipes are located before you proceed with your project. If you inadvertently afterward cut an active line or pipe where they did not indicate one should be, that is not your error.

When tree roots are present in a large diameter sewer line, a cutter similar to this is often utilized on the end of the sewer auger.
https://images.app.goo.gl/apshAR7KQgEfbYRz9

Even if the obstruction is a rubber seal as Reach4 suggested, utilized between sections of pipe, that piece within the pipe is doing nothing to seal that joint. As the piece inside is now a nuisance and something that is likely to cause a flow problem, there is little drawback to having it cut off and removed.

 

[DIYorBust]

I want to hear more about the gas line that penentrated a sewer.

 

[MACPLUMB]

I Have run into a gas line running though a 4" clay sewer line myself and
many times on a professional plumbing forum, it happens when a Utility company
BORES a new line though to a house, telephone,cable TV,GAS,Electric, ETC,
That is what it looks like to me !!

 

[Jeff H Young]

I want to hear more about the gas line that penentrated a sewer.

Ive heard of itand heard of drain cleaners running snake into them. not good