Never did trust Rodgers Plumbing

Rodgers were the dreadful sub-contractor selected by our main contractor for our remodel. The remodel was finally finished just over a year ago, with numerous mistakes by the pluimbers. They failed city inspectsions twice (thank god we HAD the plumbing inspected) but now I suspect some errors went unnoticed.

The kitchen sink (and dishwasher, which is connected to that), the master vanities, and the jacuzzi tub all drain into one pipe. Somewhere in there, below the bathtub, the pipe is now firmly clogged. I'd noticed problems with the bathtub and master shower draining slowly recently. About a week ago, the shower somehow fixed itself. But now, if we run the dishwasher, it backs up into the tub. Ugh. So, at home now waiting for Roto-rooter. I have printed out numerous pictures I took of the plumbing as it was being installed. Hopefully this will give him a good idea of how to address the clog; there are a number of access points, but I think the cleanout under the ktchen sink will be the easiest way in.

My major concern is that this affects either the new plumbing, or some small stretch of the old cast iron pipework that was left intact during the remodel. If we need to access them, the most likely routes are through the ceiling in the laundry room, or possibly removing the cabinets in the laundry room and pulling down drywall. A worst case scenario.

All of which will be expensive and a huge frustration; but in the grand scale of world disasters, really nothing. It doesn't make me feel any better though about Rodgers, who I suspect caused the problem in the first place. I'll never be able to prove it of course; but it doesn't stop me thinking it.

Plumbing regained

Master bath, full to brim and drained - check.
Dishwasher, run through a rinse cycle - check.
Vanity basin in master bath filled and drained - check
Shower - check.

Roto-rooter have been very good on the few times we've had to call them. The guy today was no exception. Using his snake, he was able to determine there was no real clog in our line, but that silt had built up, probably in a right-angled bend that shouldn't be there in the first place. He could 'feel it' being wrong as he cleared the end of the new plumbing and headed into the main drain. Who knew you could tell so much from a snake in a line? Since digging the wall out and putting the correct angle-bend in, rather than the right-angle would be an expensive job, he recommended using a biological-drain conditioner - bugs that keep the drain line 'slippery' so that silt doesn't build up. Add every two months, repeat. It's not expensive, so we'll probably try that. He also gave us a 12 month guarantee - any repeat clogs, he'll clean for free. Though if we get three in a year, we start paying again. Then again, if we get three in a year, it'll be time to rip out some dry-wall and fix the underlying problem properly.

(Oh and he also said they get lots of calls from people that have been regularly using Draino and/or liquid plumber as a 'maintenance' option. Not only do they not keep the line clear, they actually can damage the seals in plastic pipe, and corrode cast iron pipes. Another piece of plumbing trivia!)

So - we're left with a nice, clean, well-running drain, but a line that may have a chronic problem. We now wait and see...