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Sewer line cleanout under construction (C) D Friedman Galow HomesBuilding Drains & Sewer Line Piping
Index to types & applications of drain & sewer pipes

Sewer piping:

Index to plumbing drain system articles on inspection, installation, diagnosis, & repair of building drains & building sewer or septic system connecting piping.

This article series describes how to diagnose problems with building drain, waste, and vent piping (DWV), main building drains, and sewer connection or private septic system piping.

We include information about the proper inspection, installation, diagnosis, and repair of building drains including clogged or slow drains, damaged or broken drains, and improperly-constructed DWV piping.

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How to Diagnose & Repair Problems in Building Drain Waste Piping & Sewer or Septic Connecting Pipes

Terra cotta drain piping © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Our page top photo shows a sewer line cleanout under and building exit piping under construction at a New York Home, courtesy Galow Homes.

Definition of building drain

Plumbing codes define a building drain as "that part of the lowest piping of a building drainage system that receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls [or upper floors] of the building and conveys it to the building sewer [or septic system] beginning two feet (0.6m) outside the building wall."

This piping and its horizontal branches are required to have cleanouts, however no cleanout is required for any pipe or piping above the first floor of the building.

Our photo (below-left) illustrates terra cotta sewer piping described in more detail at PIPING in BUILDINGS, CLOGS, LEAKS, TYPES.

In our list of plumbing piping articles below you will find description of inspection, installation, diagnosis, and repair articles concerning building drain waste vent (DWV) piping. Types of building supply piping and supply piping problems are described and listed at PIPING IN buildings, Clogs Leaks Types [Link given just below]

© InspectApedia.com 2014 Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author.

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question:

(Oct 31, 2011) Alex in Seattle said:

the sewer line that comes through the foundation wall has a large irregular hole around it. the space between the copper sewer line and foundation is between 2" and 6". It was crudely made. I have water seeping in here and would like to seal it. If it was smaller I'd use hydrolic cement, but it seems to large. Can I fill the hole with regular cement and call it good? I'll use a bonding agent. Or I was thinking of doing some sort of sleeve that would allow the pipe to move a bit if needed.

I was thinking of wrapping the pipe with rope and then taping plastic over the rope. fill the hole with cement. after the cure, then pull out the rope and the plastic. should give me some space between the cement and the pipe. seal this space with a high quality sealant or spray foam. Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful. I can't seem to find any helpful info on this issue. Thanks.

(Aug 13, 2012) Gary Rice said:

I have a septic system with a house on blocks that I can crawl under. We have two toilets downstairs discharging into a 3 inch PVC with a 3 inch vent pipe going upstairs and venting outside the house. I want to add one more toilet in an up-stair bathroom and I want to discharge it into the 3 inch vent pipe - will i have any problems if I do this?

(Aug 11, 2014) Dave A said:

What would be the acceptable limit for foundation settling before it would seriously affect the pitch of the drain pipe leading to
the septic tank? My pre-purchase home inspector suspects that the foundation for the home I'm buying has settled as much as 1-1/2"
over 15 years.

Reply:

Dave

There's no smart succinct "right" answer to the question as you post it.

Any settlement that results in loss of the proper minimum pitch of 1/8 to 1/4" per foot in the drain line can lead to clogging.

I'd be worried that settlement might also break a sub-slab drain line leading to leaks, blockages, and possibly unsanitary condtions. Some investigation is in order. YOu could start by having a plumber send a camera through the line.

I'd also want to know the cause of settlement and what else it may have affected.


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Continue reading  at ABS PLASTIC PIPE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR

SEPTIC TANK, DRAINFIELD INSTALLATION - includes sewer piping installation details

Suggested citation for this web page

DRAIN & SEWER PIPING at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to PLUMBING SYSTEMS

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