It all started when a homeowner in Queens Village started to smell raw sewage in her basement apartment. She didn’t thing much as this had never been of any issue, and was waiting for the smell to pass. After four consecutive days she decided to call a sewer cleaner to relieve the odor.
The sewer cleaner first inserted his sewer snake into the pipe and attempted to clear the line, when he continuously hit an obstruction at twenty four feet out from the house sewer trap. He then attempted to use a high pressured water jet to clear the pipe and was unsuccessful. At this point the pipe was determined to be cracked or broken, filled with roots and had to be repaired. First a camera was inserted to verify his findings
|
Sewer snake |
Camera observing cracks inside the pipe |
The sewer repair process consists of a licensed plumber obtaining permits with both DEP and DOT and at this point schedule a start date for the excavation process. In this case there was no time to waste and Harris had to begin working on an emergency basis.
The broken pipe at twenty four feet puts the required repair in the roadway, where Harris began excavating with a backhoe. The city sewer was twelve feet deep, which meant Harris would probably have to dig almost ten feet deep in the roadway before exposing the broken pipe.
|
Digging in the roadway |
Installing new cast iron pipe |
The plumber’s diagnosis was spot on, the pipe was both cracked and misaligned at this point. The cracked pipe was not allowing sewage to flow and causing sewage to get stuck on the pipe. Harris removed and installed ten feet of new cast iron pipe just in time for the DEP inspector to arrive and inspect the work site and piping itself.
Harris now back-filled the roadway with clean dirt and permanently closed the road with asphalt all on the same day. After over ninety five years’ experience, Harris Water Main & Sewer Contractors continues to serve Queens as the top tiered sewer contractor for all plumbing needs.
