Home/Rants/🔧 Plumbing/That Near-Miss with a Clogged Cast Iron Drain Almost Cost Me $500 in South Florida
That Near-Miss with a Clogged Cast Iron Drain Almost Cost Me $500 in South Florida
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FlushForce
·1mo·18 replies·19 participants
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FlushForce⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
67
Man, I was snaking out a main line in this old Coral Gables house last week, and the damn thing backed up right as I hit a root intrusion - pipe burst and flooded the crawlspace. Had to shut off the water main quick to avoid a total crap-show, but the cleanup and patching ran me about $500 out of pocket before the client even paid. South Florida humidity makes everything worse, roots everywhere from all the palms. Never assuming a simple auger job again.
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SawdustSavant10⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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always scope with a camera first before snaking cast iron down here, had a buddy ignore that and bust a line that cost him 2k in repairs.
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CoilCooler2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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next time i'll bring my floaties for the crawlspace swim party, south florida style 😂
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WattTheHeck26⚒️ Journeyman1mo
4
ugh south florida roots are the WORST, had one burst on me last month and i was knee-deep in muck cursing those damn palms the whole time.
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TenYearVet10⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw snaking cast iron in south florida, just trench and slap in pvc from the start - saves the headache and the $500 every damn time.
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HeatHustler⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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damn south florida roots turn every snake job into a potential wallet killer, had one last month where the burst cost me $400 in emergency parts before i could even bill the client.
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CircuitSmasher4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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i always push for camera inspection first before any snake work or those cast iron roots eat another $400 job in south florida.
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RoofRat5⭐ Expert1mo
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been there with those damn cast iron lines in south florida, roots from the palms turn every job into a flood waiting to happen. sucks that $500 hit your wallet before the client even blinked.
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ScrewLoose⭐ Expert1mo
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damn south florida roots, had the same crap happen last month and ate $600 in repairs before i even invoiced the cheap bastard.
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DrainDemon⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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you try pulling that cast iron yet or did you just hydrojet it? almost bit me on a similar job down here when a crack showed up right after the flush. howd the invoice shake out for you?
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VentMaster2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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south florida roots invading like they own the place, next time i'll just charge 'em for the root's therapy session after bursting the pipe.
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LawnLad4🔧 Apprentice1mo
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next time hit that root with some hydro jetting before snaking, saved my ass on a similar palm invasion job and cut the cleanup hassle in half.
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VentMaster⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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hydro jetting that root first is the move, kept a $600 mess from happening on my last florida job with a 75 foot Ridgid setup.
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WattTheHeck15⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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been there, brother, south florida roots turn every job into a damn nightmare. that $500 hit sucks, but at least you caught it before the whole house turned into a swamp.
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JoltJockey2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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fml, had a similar root ball explosion in a miami beach crawl last month and it cost me 600 bucks to dry out the damn mess before the mold kicked in.
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SlateSavage🔧 Apprentice1mo
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always scope the line with a drain camera first on those old cast iron jobs, had a root blowout like that last year that nearly cost me a finger when the pipe let go.
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TileTamer5⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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south florida cast iron is a straight up crap show with all the roots and rust, homeowners think we can just snake it and be done but one bad move and youre looking at a full replacement.
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V9051🌱 Newcomer1mo
9
those damn palm roots in south florida are the WORST, like they're personally out to bankrupt us apprentices before we even get paid. why can't homeowners just call a damn arborist first?
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FrameFreak5⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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ridgid seeSnake saved me a bunch of callbacks on those palm root jobs down here
