Calling all plumbers

[Kman]

This was all on the 1st floor. But I'm gonna do like you said and leave it for a week and see if anything still leaks.

It’s an easy and cheap attempt at a fix whether it solves the problem or not. It will be one less possibility. My last plumbing leak was a mother****er on the second floor a few years ago.



This didn't occur to me until harrycalahan posted above, then it clicked. I think y'all are right.

 

[ReelWizard]

That’s your house?

 

[Kman]

It’s an easy and cheap attempt at a fix whether it solves the problem or not. It will be one less possibility. My last plumbing leak was a mother****er on the second floor a few years ago.

 

[fast306stang]

That’s your house?

Yes

 

[fast306stang]

It’s an easy and cheap attempt at a fix whether it solves the problem or not. It will be one less possibility. My last plumbing leak was a mother****er on the second floor a few years ago.

Yeah that sucks. I had the upstairs toilet wax seal start leaking on Christmas day last year, woke up to a wet ceiling in the hallway and in the half bath, the upstairs bathroom is directly above. I had to cut the ceiling and look inside to see what was leaking. I almost started by pulling the sink and cabinets upstairs bc it sounded like that's where the leak was. I'm glad I cut the ceiling first! Just thinking well, the ceiling had to be cut out anyway...

 

[harrycalahan]

Around about 2008 I dropped a scupper trout at work and plugged the line. I plunged like my life depended on it. Then I started seeing water. Come to find out, my trout wasnt the problem. But I made a new one. I learned about hydraulics that day 🤣🤣🤣

 

[wildbill1973z28]

I know, I know, asking for advice on ODT...anyway...

Today, the master bathtub, shower, toilet all stopped up. Bad, bad. Took a 25' snake and still couldn't get it cleared. Plunging the toilet made all the toilet drainage back up through the shower. Disgusting.

Walked away for 30 minutes, all of a sudden heard it just drain, clog must have loosened.

Go out in the hallway (the other side of the wall where the toilet and the sinks are) that's about 20' long and water is seeping between the laminate when you walk on it.

Pulled all the laminate up. The entire hallway was wet underneath the boards. I'm on a slab. Where could the water have been coming from? I cut the sheetrock where the drain and vent is for the double lavatories. I didn't find any signs in the wall there. I didn't expect to find any but it was the easiest place to start.

The shower and tub vent is on the exterior wall. I couldn't find the vent for the toilet. Not sure if it ties into the vent for the sinks?

So my thinking is that water will take the path of least resistance. So if the clog is gone (and hopefully doesn't come back) then I can put the flooring back down and keep my fingers crossed?

Or do I need to tear the rest of the sheetrock off and find the toilet vent? Being on a slab, I really don't want to bust up concrete if I don't need to.

Thoughts???

View attachment 9742300View attachment 9742301

What gets used the most? Tub? Walk in shower ?
That what I would look for first

 

[Kman]

Yeah that sucks. I had the upstairs toilet wax seal start leaking on Christmas day last year, woke up to a wet ceiling in the hallway and in the half bath, the upstairs bathroom is directly above. I had to cut the ceiling and look inside to see what was leaking. I almost started by pulling the sink and cabinets upstairs bc it sounded like that's where the leak was. I'm glad I cut the ceiling first! Just thinking well, the ceiling had to be cut out

Yup, been there before. I left a couple iron p traps in when I remodeled and knew one day…..

 

[Spikey]

Lot of people use a wax ring called a can’t leak . Wrong ! It’s a plastic flange , kinda shaped like a funnel that goes down in to the drain , with a wax ring on top . Sadly there’s nothing between the plastic “ funnel “ and the flange . That is where you’ll find the issue , if you used one of those . If you had a mainline blockage , which it sounds like you did , it would seep/ leak out from between the flange and can’t leak . The thing with a water leak is it always looks like 10 times the amount of water than it really is ! Frank Zappa said , “ never flush a tampoon “ . Those will catch on any rough cut in the pipe and cause a blockage . As a former Master Plumber , 75% of stoppages I sent guys out on were caused by these things ! The other 25% was mostly grease accumulation .

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HOME-FLEX-Extra-Thick-Reinforced-Toilet-Wax-Ring-with-Plastic-Horn-and-Zinc-Plated-Toilet-Bolts-HFWR-B/329028802

 

[fast306stang]

Lot of people use a wax ring called a can’t leak . Wrong ! It’s a plastic flange , kinda shaped like a funnel that goes down in to the drain , with a wax ring on top . Sadly there’s nothing between the plastic “ funnel “ and the flange . That is where you’ll find the issue , if you used one of those . If you had a mainline blockage , which it sounds like you did , it would seep/ leak out from between the flange and can’t leak . The thing with a water leak is it always looks like 10 times the amount of water than it really is ! Frank Zappa said , “ never flush a tampoon “ . Those will catch on any rough cut in the pipe and cause a blockage . As a former Master Plumber , 75% of stoppages I sent guys out on were caused by these things ! The other 25% was mostly grease accumulation .

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HOME-FLEX-Extra-Thick-Reinforced-Toilet-Wax-Ring-with-Plastic-Horn-and-Zinc-Plated-Toilet-Bolts-HFWR-B/329028802

I can't remember if I used one of those gaskets or a wax ring. I replaced all 4 toilets and I know some got the wax and some didn't...just according to what seemed to fit the best at each toilet.

We used to use those flushable wipes but we stopped awhile ago. But I think it caused some problems earlier and might have caused this one as well.