Duct tape & Plumbing

We've had problems with the plumbing at the cabin for the last 5 years and had it worked on a number of times by different plumbing companies.  It had gotten so bad that it was impossible to live with and work around, so I called a local plumbing company and had them come out today with the hope they would do the job right.

In the past they would want to roto-rooter out the pipes and say the job was done.  Wrong!  It would work for a while and then back to the old ways.  When I called them I made it clear I didn't want the pipes cleaned out, I wanted them replaced.  Even then it was difficult getting the workman to understand the problem.  He still wanted to trouble shoot it and try the clean out.  I explained that was not what I wanted and he finally came to the conclusion that the pipe was broken.

He started to dig to find the pipe coming from the septic tank into the cabin and after an hour of digging he hadn't made much progress.

About this time I realized he wouldn't be able to find the pipe and if he did find it, the job was much bigger than he realized.  I asked if they had a backhoe to help dig the pipe out and the light came on with him.  Yep, he called for help and another worker showed up and a little while later this guy shows up.  Of course, he asked how in the world did we ever find this place in the first place.

He sized up the situation and off loaded the backhoe and came chugging over.  I sure would love to have one of those to play with and move dirt around.  Anyway, he seemed to know his stuff and figured out how large our septic system was and then began to clear the dirt away from the side where the plumbing pipe came in.  It was at least 3 1/2 ft down, much to everyone's surprise and the pipe was indeed broken and the soil soaked from being blocked. 

Backhoe in action

The original plumbing pipe was very thin and had broken in a number of places.  We think it was broken under the cabin also, so the new pipe was put in just above ground and then dropped lower as it got closer to the septic tank.  It has a good slope and runs cleanly and I think that solved our problem.  You can see the white pipe in the view below as it enters the septic system.

By now you may be wondering what duct tape has to do with all of this.  One of the previously mentioned attempts at a remedy for the problem was by wrapping duct tape around a hole in the pipe.  That part was intact, but the rest of the pipe was broken in many places.  So much for that earlier company's repair job!

They also installed an air vent to supply air to the pipes.  The workers were amazed that the septic system even worked without the air supply.  Now we have a pretty white pipe running up to the roof of the cabin.  I wonder how long it will take for Gerry to want the pipe painted red to match the cabin.  (Comment from Gerry - I already thought of that.)

Now the difficult part ahead of us is paying the bill for all of this work.  Plumbers aren't cheap and excavating equipment and operators are not cheap, either.  In any case, it had to be done and done right, so whatever the cost, it will be worth it.  I may have to set up a Paypal account so all my loyal readers and friends can chip in to help me in my time of need.  Ya, right.

I would ask "what next", but I am afraid to even ask.