Underpinning And Sewer

Snt

We have underpinned the basement and gone down more than 2 feet. Our main connection to the city sewage system is now above us. How does that work and how do we reconnect. Do we need a pumping system?

Cuda

yes.! Unless you need a new sewer anyway and have the grade to make it work it's pump time!

tgeb

Really?

No one thought this out before the underpin?

How do you know the invert elevation?

What is the difference in elevations?

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

S.R.E.

No, just let the new basement fill up and go out the original sewer pipe. Really?? If you have to ask you are over your head.

cleveman

I would try it out first. If you set the toilet up on a stage type thing you should be alright. Be sure to have handrails because you'll need 4 risers.

Another plan would be to adapt some space craft technology. They must have some way to keep it from coming back and hitting them in the face.

Keep us updated as things progress.

rino1494

Injector pump

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PipeGuy

Actually, that's what my truck needs.

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Fortunately I keep my feathers numbered for...for just such an emergency. -Foghorn Leghorn

PipeGuy

Above all, make sure the inspector is there to watch when you do the reconnect. It's best you try and get him to show up maybe 10 or 15 minutes after you start the "tapping" process described below.

First: Dig around the pipe and clean it off real good using steel wool and some dawn dish detergent. Rinse it off well with straight bleach or varsol or a product called "chlordane".

Then wrap the pipe with like two layers of duck tape (not "duct" tape) along maybe 18" of its length. Make it three layers of duck tape if you want a really good job.

Next, take a razor knife and cut a nice neat hole out of the duct tape on the side of the pipe nearest the building in whatever size hole you need for the new connection. If you just cut a 6" hole that should be fine.

Get 3 cans of spray foam (like the kind RINO1494 uses to seal around pipes), a decent size ball peen hammer (at least 2#), an oxygen/acetylene torch kit, a buch of old rags and a short piece of any kind of 4" or 5" diameter pipe ("orangeburg" is a good kind for this application) maybe 3' long.

If the ex. pipe is transite or concrete: Take the hammer and start "tapping" the pipe right at the center of the hole you cut in the tape. By "tapping" I mean beat on the pipe as hard as you f'n can making sure to hit it in the same spot each time (it's best if you can schedule inspection so the inspector shows up right about now). Eventually you'll start to see a small hole take shape. Once you've started a small hole in the pipe (the size of the ball peen) begin making it larger by working your way around the edges of the hole with successive blows.
If the pipe is metal or plastic use the torch to just burn (melt) a hole in the same location as you'd other wise "tap".

Here's the part where you gotta' work quick: Once you've got the hole big enough, stick the short piece of pipe in (being sure to push it all the way into the existing pipe until it hits the far side of the inside of the existing pipe) and quickly jam rags into any gaps between the new pipe and the hole and then spray the foam sealant all over the rags being sure to cover the rags well all around the outside of the pipe. It's OK if parts of the rags which kinda' hang beyond the hole don't get covered. You can just trim them off neatly after the foam sets.

Always be sure to get your inspector to "sign off" on the connection before backfilling.

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Fortunately I keep my feathers numbered for...for just such an emergency. -Foghorn Leghorn

dayexco

you smokin good chit rick

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Cuda

I am rollin on the floor and the ol lady is askin whats wrong

Snt

I am still waiting to see a cumulative ounce of intelligence or knowledge. Glad you're having fun boys, it must be a guy thing. 'eye-roll'

tgeb

I had a few questions, see post #3 above.

Most likely you will need a pump system.

You must be a lady contractor? A little introduction might be in order.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

Cuda

Ok everything above the basement is still going to tie into the original sewer, if you planned any fixtures in the now lower basement you need a sewage /pump ejector system that will pump up and tie into the sewer line. Or if you camera the sewer line and find a spot that is at some point lower than the new basement you don't need a pump and can tie in there.

Snt

@tgeb: sorry, you are right. I didn't reply to your questions b/c I don't know for sure. My underpinning contractor says there is no problem and he knows what to do, but I wanted to do some research so that I would know what's going on.
As for introduction, we are a family run design and build team. As you noted the one-third of the team that is female (me) doesn't appreciate BS as much as the other two.

dayexco

snt...by now you must know being in the construction business...of the banter that comes along with the trade....ESPECIALLY from ornery old farts like me. welcome to the forum...understand, newbies get beat up pretty bad...we all went through it. it's now your turn. legitimate questions get legitimate responses...now we know where you're coming from..and i'm sure you'll gather a wealth of knowledge that will spew from these guys....watch out for pipeguy though...he's ornerier than i am...rino? well, if you're young and attractive...NEVER show him a pic of you...that's all he'll dwell on...denick? well, what can we say...he's older than i am...tgeb? tom? he's probably going to be the one who'll give you the first straight advice...again...welcome. don't be afraid to come back. there's a wealth of knowledge on this forum..understand, we get MANY DIY's here that dived into a project waaaaaaaaaay over their head...and are trying to figure a way out of it without calling a professional. maybe i'm not reading your initial post right, but you underpinned? any reason the plumber can't core the new wall and hook up the plumbing as was?

__________________
This man speaks volumes of wisdom...a piece of a PM I got from him

(Denick) The only good things to learn are the things worth teaching others