| Click to Post a New Message!
Page [ 1 ] |
|
|
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
The floor was poured in my barn last Tuesday. I spent several days prior to that in 100 degree heat making sure the plumbing, drains and water supply were installed perfectly (by doing it myself). Yesterday while inspecting the inside of the building I noticed that one of my 2" standpipes attached to a 4" main sewar line was tilted considerably. I thought it was struck by the skid steer used to level the floor before the pour, not a big deal, until I checked outside. The young man running the skid steer had needed a bit more material and took it upon himself to grab some gravel from the corner of my building (an area rich with 4-5 feet of fill. He severed the marking stake for my water line and kinked the plastic, then proceded to raise his bucket enough to catch the end of the 4" sewar discharge and raised it several inches in doing so. I am surprised it did not break under the floor. Now the line must be lowered. I dumped two buckets of water into it and nothing runs out, the low spot can be seen by looking into the discharge end. My question is this. I would have to tunnel under the pipe and floor aproximately four feet to fix this problem. Once I clear under the pipe, it would have to be lowered by hammering the 2" riser down through the floor a couple of inches. The fiberglas re-enforced cement is 4-5" thick in that corner. Could this be accomplished without breaking the cement? Would the pipe be loose enough to travel downwards by using a wooden block and mallet, or will I need to drill the concrete around it? On the other hand, if I leave it alone, I can get the outlet down by forcing the pipe. Will it run sufficientlly with perhaps 2" of standing water in a low spot before it hits a decline angle? Are there any other options? I am not sure yet what the builder will offer, I left him a message to call me, but I am a bit skeptical. Needless to say, I am sick over this having to be done.
|
|
 Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
Thanks guys. You confirm what I was afraid of. I have held back half the money at this point, and will feel like a jerk having to use it as leverage. The company is more or less a group of Mennonite that do very sturdy, yet not cabinet maker quality barn building. They are decent, honest people and we did this deal on a handshake. The price they gave me is half that of a Morton of the same size AND included the floor. I believe the young man running the skid steer might be the owner's son, he may have been afraid to say something to us. The floor cutting idea makes me very upset, it isn't a week old yet. The area involved is three to four feet from the end of the building in a corner. I have not filled there any more than neccessary to build the structure, so that water and drain hookup would be easier. It is gravel that was compacted well and allowed to sit in the rain and settle for three months before hand. My thought was to try to clean enough gravel from under the pipe using a post hole digger to allow it to drop by relieving the hold of the 2" riser through the cement, then compacting it back in with a sledge hammer head using sand as fill. It is apparent from your posts that is not an acceptable method and could cause problems down the road. I am going to have to see what he offers as a solution to this problem. Thank you all again for the advise.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
That certainly is a thought, we have used flowable fill to correct underminings on our cross country transmission lines. I am still waiting to hear from the builder, he has yet to finish the partitions and ceiling, let alone repair my sewar drain.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
I appreciate all of the knowledge being thrown at my problem. I am still waiting to hear from the builder to see what he offers. I am sure something will happen, I haven't paid him the balance as of yet. I am getting over the initial dissapointment and trying to focus on the good work that is apparent in my project.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
Thank you for the idea Peters. I am waiting for my builder to call me back tonight. I will see then what he offers. I understand all of the concerns that have been expressed regarding undermining of the slab, and no matter what method is used, I will make sure I am present and try to get my plumber (that is usually me, but not in this case) to assist that day as well. Is the polyethylene that you used the same material swimming pool installers are using, a white reinforced, ribbed , flexable plastic? I am going to plumb everything overhead with drain cocks and drips so the system can be winterized easily, so I will use pvc or Cu.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Plumbing Nightmare in New Barn
Jason, the project is long since paid for. We dug under the slab and chipped the concrete away around the stand pipe that was affected the most then hammered the whole thing down to the point it now drains from one end to the other. Not as neat a job as you suggested, but the most I figured I would get out of them. I don't like lawyers and so unfortunately, I pick the lesser of two evils at times. The undermine is not extensive and I am going to pack it with a sand/cement mix this spring once everything is settled.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Page [ 1 ] | Thread 31088 Filter by Poster:
1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|
()
Picture of the Day
Coachlarry
Unanswered Questions
Active Subjects
Hot Topics
Featured Suppliers
|
Gas Generator Weather Protecti
08-19-2001, 21:02 
Digg It 
Del.icio.us