Called in the Big Guns yesterday....

Mad Dog_2

Harlan "The Colonel" (Sanders of KFC 🍗 Fame..the only other Harlan I know!) Wank, Licensed Master Plumber and Valley Stream Plumbing Board Member jumped in the trenches with me yesterday.. a 14 Hour Marathon.   

This commercial building was having sewage backups every week...Mad Dog 🐕 

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

The biggest issue here was that the house trap was 4 feet down in a tiny barely accessible pit, so it was never getting properly serviced.  Once we got all these clean outs cut in, and deluged the building drain with all the Toilets flushing at once, the raw sewage lying under the basement slab in the 4" Drain oozed human Splunck
And Poo poo 💩 for a Full 3 minutes (backed up and lying in there for God Knows How long??   Now the sewer cleaners can really maintain it.  We burned out on old Lead & Oakum joint & poured a new one.  Great Working with you, Colonel!  Mad Dog 🐕 

EBEBRATT-Ed

Gee, that looks like fun

Steamhead

So, you all were trying out for "Magnum, P.U."?

Mad Dog_2

Something wrong with me. The grimier and low down, the more I embrace it...Harlan The Colonel was a champ..Got 5 years on me... Fine plumber and man to work the trenches with...Mad Dog 🐕 

SlamDunk

Backing up sewers is this maintenance man's nightmare. Just the mention of a backup triggers me

Paul Pollets

Nasty work! Hope you were paid a lot....

realliveplumber

I can smell it from here.

ethicalpaul

What does a house trap do? Keep sewer gas from reaching…the individual fixture traps? Help me understand 

SlamDunk

ethicalpaul said:

What does a house trap do? Keep sewer gas from reaching…the individual fixture traps? Help me understand 

I dont have one in this house but my brother has one in his. Basically a four inch trap ( I think my brother's is double trapped) before it goes thru foundation to street main.

guzzinerd

Holy crap!

mattmia2

why are there like 6 cleanouts?

ethicalpaul

SlamDunk said:

What does a house trap do? Keep sewer gas from reaching…the individual fixture traps? Help me understand 

I dont have one in this house but my brother has one in his. Basically a four inch trap ( I think my brother's is double trapped) before it goes thru foundation to street main.

Yes that’s what it is, but what does it do? What is the benefit?

ScottSecor

I have a slab home and have a house trap about a foot in front of my house. It is my understanding the purpose of the house trap is to prevent sewer gases from the street from entering my house. Right next to the house trap is a cleanout for the street side. Closest to the house is a full size vent.

ethicalpaul

OK so if you have a house trap you don't need a trap under each sink then?

neilc

ethicalpaul said:

OK so if you have a house trap you don't need a trap under each sink then?

no, you still do, there's still stinky poo poo inside the house

ScottSecor

House trap to prevent your neighbors smell from entering your home. Your traps (sink/tub/toilet) prevent your smell from entering your house. Something like that.

ethicalpaul

OK that makes sense then. I only want my sewage smell inside my pipes, not anyone else's sewage smell in my pipes. And I'm willing to risk eventual clogging and backups to ensure it!

STEAM DOCTOR

House traps are  a NY thing. Maybe to keep rats out? 

ScottSecor

House traps on this side of the Hudson River too. Maybe they are supposed to keep out the NYC rats from NJ?

By the way, nice job @Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

Paul. Yes a Building House trap serves two purposes: 

1) Keep Methane Gases from the street sewer main and lateral from entering the Building.  There have been incidents in NYC when a Gasoline ⛽ tanker turned over and gas vapors filled and unoccupied Building whose main house trap had lost its water seal through evaporation.  The traps on the sinks were dry too.  Something ignited the gas vapors and Building went BOOM 💥 🤔 👌. 

2) Deter Rats & Water 🐛 bugs et cetera from entering the building. I've seen videos of rats 🐀 negotiating a Water closet trap much to the shock of the person on the potty.  There are videos 📹 too.  House Trap GOOD thing.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Mad Dog_2

Mattmia: I was told going in that this was a frequent backup problem.  The old house trap was 4 feet down in a 16" sqaure pit...very hard to snake & maintain.  I designed the long access pit and the maximum clean outs for ease of ridding.  As an Old Sewer & Drain Veteran (Worked my way through College with the Electricic Eel & General, I would KISS 💋 the guy who put in all those Clean outs!  Mad Dog 🐕 

SlamDunk

We have partial basements with crawl spaces. In older post, i found my sewer main's vent pipe cracked as it went vertical into a wall. Every once in awhile, the house would wreak!

My neighbor doesnt have a house trap either and a plumber left a cap off a cleanout in basement. After three weeks, the basement was crawling with rats. They didn't go down there often.

ethicalpaul

Thanks Matt! So in your first example it took a gas tanker crashing outside the building to demonstrate the value of the trap but the trap didn’t help and the building exploded anyway…not a strong benefit there I must say 😅

and in the second example, a 1 foot swim is going to keep out a NYC rat? Yeah ok 😂

but I thank you for the response!

Mad Dog_2

No...an empty trap (no water Seal) is as useless as a Rifle without a Cartridge.. Plumbing codes generally state : "a minimum water seal of 2"-4" inches SHALL be maintained...it wasn't  that's on the building owner. If the water seal was maintained, No Gas Vapors in building no boom !  The gas vapors of The adjacent buildings were good.   No BOOM ...KAAABESCH Paul?? Mad Dog 🐕 🤣 

Mad Dog_2

I Wrote DETER...not STOP, ALL RATS. If you know Rat behavior, they always take the path if least resistance and aren't crazy about swimming but will. I've worked in public Housing, Subways, The Brooklyn Waterfront..Know rat 🐀 behavior very well. Raised them for pet stores as a teen. I Had a Large Black & a Large Brown as pets..Ben & Socrates.  They were my shoulder traveling buddies around the neighborhood to freak the girls out! Ha ha 😂 🤣 😆 Mad 🐕 Dog 

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

Colonel Harlan melting out the old hub. Mad Dog 🐕 

ethicalpaul

Mad Dog_2 said:

I Wrote DETER...not STOP, ALL RATS. If you know Rat behavior, they always take the path if least resistance and aren't crazy about swimming but will. I've worked in public Housing, Subways, The Brooklyn Waterfront..Know rat 🐀 behavior very well. Raised them for pet stores as a teen. I Had a Large Black & a Large Brown as pets..Ben & Socrates.  They were my shoulder traveling buddies around the neighborhood to freak the girls out! Ha ha 😂 🤣 😆 Mad 🐕 Dog 

I'm not sure rats are like steam and water in that way of taking the easiest route...rats will climb up a vertical stack and then squeeze through a toilet trap, as you said, no? So I think a house trap is no deterrence at all but I admit I've never been up to my elbows in a clogged one so I defer to your experience!

STEAM DOCTOR

I would assume that main purpose is redundant protection. Fixture traps are great but won't help if a pipe cracks or if a trap dries up (floor drain, unused fixture.....). Obviously, there will still be potential hazard from the lovely contents within the house piping, but significantly less than full exposure to all of NYC's lovely sewer contents. 

EdTheHeaterMan

Before. . . . . . . .AFTER

Medium Rare . . . . . . . . . . . Well Done

Matt. I'm going to have to stop reading your posts. Between the brewery and this Fillet Mignon I won't eat at the Steak House Brew Pub anymore.

ChrisJ

For what it's worth UPC does not allow building traps unless the local authority requires them.

@EdTheHeaterMan I'm at a loss for words..........




In Mad Dog's area they're required.
Most other places they're illegal.

Weird world we live in.

ChrisJ

@Mad Dog_2
Curious,
Do you guys wear any kind of dust mask or eye protection? I'm speaking in regards to viruses etc.