Maybe the problem with the roots in sewer is localized to that area where the invaders grow. What kind of plants are they?
Forgot to mention that a report was provided by the plumber that he scoped the sewer lines under house and didnt find any issues. This is when the moisture issues started and there was a leak under the master bath sink.
I may be paying for another camera scope just to be safe.
^^^I was just wonder about this -if the plumber really scoped the sewer lines how did he miss this?
Maybe this is an isolated issue and is localized to that bath area. I wonder how water tight the sunken shower really was…
Get some Shockwave to spray inside the walls and anywhere you think there was mold
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U83A7MK/
They use this stuff in hospitals and FEMA recommends it after floods. It works great and doesn’t smell bad. No bleach.
I’ll take a picture tomorrow. I don’t know the name of the plant, but I have one in my yard and the roots are Everywhere!
If the roots are on the outside of the drain pipe, I would think that means they aren’t in the inside of the pipe, so scoping the pipe will show nothing.
Most glass places can replace a broken double pane window, I would call a few places first before tearing out the window. Unless you want a new window anyway.
Agree. If the roots are on the outside of the pipe, it means there was something outside the pipe that attracted their growth. Roots usually don’t like to grow under cement slabs… me thinks the shower maybe the one to be blamed…
I assume the toilet with the roots is in the same bathroom as the sunken shower. That would be why the other posters are blaming it. Yes?
Yes, that is the toilet next to the sunken master shower.
I have prioritized that the guys need to get that tile up out of that shower so we can do a thorough investigation. We have no evidence that the roots are anywhere inside the pipe, just traveling up around the outside of the pipe
Photos Loaded
Here are some key issues we discovered yesterday:
All of the tile has been removed from the shower area. There has been a big failure with water intrustion from the window in the shower and the tile that was on the window ledge. It is obvious that water has been running down inside the wall forever. Window has to get pulled out and the wall rebuilt under that window area. It’s not necessarily mold, it’s more like total wood moisture rot. Since that window has to be yanked out (it’s shattered also), I think the new window going back in will be raised higher off the ground level.
We are in the midst of tearing off all the terracotta tile. We discovered a square slab cut under the kitchen floor. We think this was a plumbing repair under the slab, but that portion of new slab has moisture and is not looking good. Even though I am sitting on a full plumbing report (from same plumbers who failed the AC Condenser installation) that states they inspected drains under the slab, I have called for a camera scope of the cast iron under the slab. I want to make sure there are no issues and/or root intrusion before we start closing up this house.
My structural engineer is coming for a consultation tommorrow to help analyze vaulting the A Frame roof and what we might need to do to open up the kitchen wall to the living room. I think this will be the biggest issue because that is the load bearing wall for the A frame roof structure. Might have to leave some posts (which is OK with the architecture… you see a lot of posts in mid century ) but we will have to probably open up the slab and pour some deep footings to make everything sound
I also loaded photos of the invasive plants outside the shower area
They are a type of elephant ear, or taro. Latin name colocasia. They are sacard in Hawaii and invasive everywhere else! Hawaiians make poi from them. At least they’re not poisonous.
Our temps hit 24 degrees a few times last winter and my two taros (smaller, with heart shaped leaves), looked like hell but they came back. You can’t kill them! When I see little ones around, I dig them up quickly. I’ve never seen flowers or seed so I have no idea how they get around my yard. Dig deep with yours, and be persistent.
Re the plants with intrusive roots - don’t know what they are but we have one in a pot by the garage door and DH routinely has to chop off the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot along the concrete. They are aggressive, growing quickly and long.
That sucker does not look like “taro” to me. IMO, it looks more like silloum philodendron. Best grown in a pot indoors. It definitely needs to go.
We have a very large one near our swimming pool. At least twice a year their roots travel along the top of th e soil and come down the side into the pool trying to get water! They are aggressive roots going anywhere there is water
It looks like a relative of monsteria, NOT taro. Yes, it sends out lots of roots and yes, it has to go!
Good News!
Very rare, but we actually had a great inspection today. As I explained earlier, I was suspicious about the sewer lines under the slab because we found a big square of new slab under the kitchen floor. So I called for a camera scope of the sewer lines.
Evidently the cast iron was re-lined in the past, and the guess is that the slab was where the company opened up the sewer line to do the re-lining backwards and forwards. Lines are clean, no root invasion, no clogs and in good condition!!! Small victory
Had to rent a big 24 ft stake bed truck to haul all the demolition debris because a dumpster doesn’t fit in the driveway. It took the guys all day to fill it and 3 guys to the dump to unload it. They about fell over when they got to the dump…14,500 pounds and $500 dollars to dump. OMG, those poor guys lifted and loaded 14,000 pounds today
And that’s just our first run:)
Good news is always good news!!
Excellent.
Great news… nice to put that potential issue behind you…