A homeowner near Ames Lake, east of Redmond, had a sewer that kept backing up near the septic tank. Someone else had already scoped it and found the pipe shifted apart beside the tank, and the lid was off when we arrived in early October. Bradyn, Tim and Kevin dug it out and repaired it the same day.
What We Found
Our camera went in from the existing cleanout and reached the problem about five feet short of the septic tank: the line was collapsed and separated under the deck, in ground full of roots. Nothing a cable or a jet could fix. It needed a spot repair, dug under the deck and carried as close to the tank as the excavation allowed.
What We Did
The crew dug down to the pipe between the concrete stairway and the tank and found it snapped, not just shifted. They cut out the broken section, ran new sewer pipe and fittings from the tank side back to the stairway, tested the line for flow and leaks before anything was covered, backfilled with the soil they had taken out and cleaned up. One day, with the septic tank left as it was.
Why It Matters
- A backup by the septic tank is usually the pipe, not the tank. The tank was fine; the last few feet of line before it had settled, separated and finally snapped.
- A camera before the shovel. Knowing the break was five feet from the tank and under the deck set the size of the dig and the price before anyone lifted a board.
- A spot repair earns its price when the rest of the line is sound. Replacing the failed section cost a little under $8,000; replacing a whole run would have cost far more and solved the same problem.
- Test before you backfill. Flow and leaks are checked with the trench open, because the deck goes back on top of it.
Why East of Redmond
The country east of Redmond, toward Ames Lake and Union Hill, is unincorporated King County, on wells and septic, with houses set back on wooded lots under big trees. The sewer line here is the short run from the house to the tank, and when it fails it fails at a joint, in ground that roots have been working for years. It is the same work we do on septic-side lines in Fall City and Carnation, about 20 minutes from our shop.
Fix the Line Before the Tank
Call 425-549-2400 or schedule an appointment.
More: sewer line services · plumbing in Redmond · sewer line questions and costs · why sewers back up in the rain · well and septic plumbing in the valley