trying to unclog old unused drain in slab

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blues1360

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I am converting a room in my house to a bathroom. The room was originally plumbed with a drain where I want to put mine for the shower stall. Currently, my problem is that the old drain in the slab is clogged. It wont run at all. The drain is metal. The house was built in 1976, and it would not surprise me if it has not been used since ( the room was used for storage). Trust me it was meant to be a bathroom... there is a place for a toilet as well. Anyway, I have used a hand snake, and a drill powered snake with no success. I was thinking of rentaing a power snake. Then if that did not work, it would be time to rip up the slab. I am new to this stuff and would appreciate any advice on how to attempt to clear the current drain, and when to call it, and hack up the subfloor. PS the drain is only 3 ft from the waste line. Thanks

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Gary Swart

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Forget the rental snakes. If it can be augered and cleared, you need an experienced professional plumber with a professional HD auger. Anything else is like sending a boy to do a man's job. If for some reason it can't be cleared, then he can open the slab and properly replace the line. This is not a DIY job.
 

blues1360

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If it is true that I need a plumber...What does the experienced plumber have to offer for over a DIY person when it comes to clearing a drain? Also, why can you not rent a HD auger? Aren't those the 500-1000 dollar ones at the hardware store? I mean no offense, just trying to learn. If I do need an experienced plumber I would like to be an informed consumer.
 

Mikey

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I consider myself a very experienced and adventurous DIYer. Based on what I've read in this forum, I wouldn't consider trying to use one of those pro-grade snakes/augers/amateur-maiming machines.

Free advice, worth every penny.
 

hj

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snake

One thing he can offer you that the rental cannot could be a cheaper bill. Trying to snake through a "P" trap, which is what you must be doing, creates a lot of stress on the snake and it can kink or snap in the process. If it happens to you, the rental company will probably want you to pay the couple of hundred dollars for a new snake.
 

Jadnashua

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Is this going to be a shower or tub? What size is the drain? If it is for a shower, it must be 2", for a tub, 1.5".

It's 30-years old. it could be full of dirt that got sweeped or ran into it and be packed solid. A snake would have a tough time getting through. Is it plastic or cast iron?

It might be easier to just bite the bullet and tear it out to see what is going on, especially if the thing won't end up centered where you want it. A shower works best if the drain is centered. Where the thing currently is may dictate the size of a shower that does not agree with what you really want. Doing it yourself is fairly labor intensive, but not expensive. Even if you chop out the concrete, and have the plumbing done, you'd save a good part of the cost.

Suggest you check out www.johnbridge.com for shower construction. They've also got numerous threads where people have chopped up their concrete slabs to move, fix their drain in prep for a new bathroom.
 

Casman

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blues1360 said:
If it is true that I need a plumber...What does the experienced plumber have to offer for over a DIY person when it comes to clearing a drain? Also, why can you not rent a HD auger? Aren't those the 500-1000 dollar ones at the hardware store? I mean no offense, just trying to learn. If I do need an experienced plumber I would like to be an informed consumer.


I thought the same thing, despite people telling me they are dangerous for the diy'er. I bought mine, and wound up breaking the cable which snapped back and wrapped inside was my hand. Felt pretty stupid, in less than 2 minutes. Didn't want my wife to know my hand was stuck in the cable. I tried reverse but that made it worse. I ended up spinning around in a circle to free my hand which was kinda smashed. Hurt like a bugger too! I'd leave it to the pros.
 

Got_Nailed

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If it is possible it is full of dirt why not fill with water and shop vack it out a few down times. if your getting anything out then keep it up if not then forget I posted this.
 

blues1360

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Drain unclogged! Now a new problem...

So my drain cleared out, believe it or not. I can pour water rapidly and freely down the drain. So a new problem... My washing machine is hooked up to the same waste/vent pipe. The machine dump is above that of where my floor drain enters the line. When my machine dumps its water from the cycle it starts to back up in the floor drain. This time it came just about out of the drain, then receeded. My question... what causes this and how do you fix it? Drain woking well now, just need to fix back flow problem. FYI when I am done leveling the floor etc. my drain hole will be a few inches higher than it is now. Thanks again, this forum is great!
 
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