Can't find plumbing problem!

cian8

Hi,

I need some advice regards my plumbing. I have just moved into a brand new 2bed apartment on the first floor and I have been having problems with the plumbing. We are only in the apt for ~3 weeks and the appliances are brand new Zanussi.

Firstly when we installed the washing machine we knocked off the hot water supply (i.e. there was two hot and cold water available for the w-machine, but it only takes cold) and turned it on. That let a lot of water into the apartment and the two downstairs!! Luckily there wasn't too much damage, a de-humidifier and some new paint down stairs solved most of the problems. Anyway since then I have been keeping a really close eye on the plumbing in the kitchen.

So my real problem occurred yesterday, I woke up yesterday to find that the overflow pipes behind the dishwasher and washing machine had overflowed. This had also knocked off the trip switch as the overflow pipe is directly above a plug-socket (is this normal?). The dishwasher and washing machine were not on at the same time, even though I would have thought that proper plumbing could handle this, at the same time I could understand that this might overload the plumbing.

I called the builders/developers and they sent out their gofor and a plumber. When they came out they found that the sink was not draining properly (sink, dishwasher, w-machine all join together just to the right of the sink behind the dishwasher). I didn't know whether that was cause/effect of my leak, but proceeded to get grilled/lectured over not putting stuff down the sink. I am fully aware of this, I take at least the usual precautions, i.e. scrape food into the bin, and when I do have to clean the grill tray (not often) I heat it and use paper towel to scrape into the bin etc etc.

So after an hour and a half of pouring boiling water down the sink, banging the pipes and trying to get a kind of spring thingy through the pipes - the water was draining perfectly even when the taps were on at full blast. So they were convinced that I had put something down the sinks, fair enough, I thought it wasn't outside the realms of possibility.

When they were gone I ran the washing machine on its own, still pulled out a little from the wall, and about 3/4 of the way through the cycle the waste pipe overflowed again (behind both machines). So I got the builder and plumber back.

This time the sink was draining perfect, again they didn't find any problems, but when the w-machine ran again it apparently was fine (I had to leave for a few mins). So now I am at a standoff with the builder. They say we can find nothing wrong, hence, we have fulfilled our responsibility. I say they have not found the problem, hence, the problem is not solved.

So what I would like people's opinions on is whether I am correct in the following:

The problem is not with the dishwasher machine or washing machine, the leak is due to the waste pipe backing up.

Proper plumbing should not get blocked with a mere three weeks of careful use.

Proper plumbing should in theory allow the two machines to run at once.

If I have not blocked the pipes then the plumbing is not up to scratch, or, the builders blocked the pipe. In this case it would be their responsibility to fix the problem.


Also does anyone have ideas for what we should do next?

I agreed with the builders that I would monitor the situation carefully and inform them of any problems. I also told him I would be getting a second-opinion on the plumbing. What should I get my plumber to check, is there any tests people could recomend?

Furthermore I was intending contacting my solicitor to see where I stood, is there something I should instruct the solicitor to do?

As always brevity is not my gift.

Please help!!!!

AdrianR

As always brevity is not my gift.

You're right:D

It sounds like the waste outlet is partially blocked. While living in a rented house I had a similar problem, in the end I disconnected the waste pipe under the sink and stuck in a wet vac, it sucked out something solid, when i checked the vac container I found a lump of concrete in the perfect shape of the bottom of the U bend. basically what happened was the plumber hadn't covered the end of the waste outlet pipe before the plastering was done, you can guess the rest.
Anyway, you need to show the builder that the problm is occurring, why not video the problem next time, and show it to the builder;)

antoinolachtnai

Yep, if this is a new build, junk in the pipes is the most likely thing. If you'd thrown something down there it most likely would have caught in the trap.

The problem is that the original blockage (which might only be half-blocking the drain) is catching other fragments, and it is this other waste which is causing the full blockage. Then when you go to clear it out, the fragments are removed but the original blockage remains.

I would try some caustic soda or other drain cleaners through it, though to be honest, if there's a lump of cement in there somewhere it may not shift easy. But what worked for adrian might just work for you!

Concentrate on fixing the problem rather than trying to apportion blame. If your own plumber is any good, he'll sort it out for you, even if he has to cut some pipes or drill some access holes. As you can imagine, there are two main chances of getting the builder to pay the plumber's bill.

cian8

Thanks for the replies!

antoinolachtnai wrote:

As you can imagine, there are two main chances of getting the builder to pay the plumber's bill.

Well in fairness the builders have been pretty good (and exceedingly prompt) in dealing with issues as they arise, so I think if I found the problem they would prob fix it. I'm waiting to hear back from a plumber at the moment, if they can find the problem, I will ask the builders if they want to send out their own plumber or foot by bill? I'll see what they say then.