Plumbing Repairs Archives - Scottish Plumber

What’s Up With the Mound of Dirt After a Sewer Repair?

So you’ve just had your sewer repaired.

You’re still recovering from the shock of learning that a pipe that carries waste out of your home was broken and cost thousands of dollars to fix. Let’s face it, before this happened, you hadn’t given much thought to your sewer and its function. You probably didn’t even remember it was there. Now your yard has been torn up and your pocket book is substantially lighter.

A rude awakening, no doubt. But now to top this all off, you come home from work and find a 4-foot tall mound of dirt in your front yard. Thinking that the job is incomplete, you call the contractor to see what’s going on and you get another surprise. The contractor tells you that the mound is there for settling, and settle it will…for months. And that if you take away any of that dirt before it has a chance to settle, you will be left with a hole in your yard.

So, you’ve now had a sewer backup into your house, paid thousands for the repair, and now you have to see one of these every time you look out your window.

How and Why Dirt Settles

First, let’s consider the physics behind soil settlement. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the following is a fairly typical soil composition by volume:

• 45% Minerals (silt, sand, clay, stone, etc.)

• 25% Water (depends on water holding capacity of soil and precipitation)

• 25% Air

• 5% Organic matter (living and dead organisms)

The majority of soils is made up of minerals which vary in size and can range from large stones all the way to tiny clay particles, smaller than .002 millimeters in diameter and invisible to the naked eye. The spaces between these particles are occupied by water and air.

When a sewer repair is performed, the excavation disturbs the soil, the pockets between the minerals become larger, and water and air move in. The decades of compression which formed this naturally compacted soil have just been undone in a single day.

The Scottish Plumber digging to repair sewer — The Scottish Plumber repairing a sewer in Barrington.

And so here we are, with the giant mound in your yard, wondering what can be done. The good news is that at this point, there are still some things you can do to speed up the process. The bad news is that it won’t be by much.

What Can Be Done to Speed Up the Settling of the Mound

You can start by digging small holes several feet apart in the mound, just large enough to fit a garden hose. Then stick the garden hose into each opening, and run the water for a few hours. The water will help push out some of the pockets of air, and reduce the spaces between mineral particles, which will help with the settling process. If you have a piece of metal pipe, you can use it to get a little deeper into the mound, feed the hose into the pipe, and then run the water for a couple of hours

You should do this every few days, especially in the absence of rain. You can also use a hand tamper to tamp down the dirt every so often, and finally when the dirt is low enough to push a roller over it, you can give that a try for a nice finishing move.

Unfortunately, the majority of the work needed to reduce the settling time should have already been done. Quality plumbers and excavators will take some additional steps during the backfilling process in order to expedite the settling, including using a tamper to compact the dirt with every foot or so of backfill.

There’s no way to make the dirt settle instantly. Even the most well-compacted backfills will still require a small mound to be left behind to settle, but that mound should be no higher than a foot or two at the most, not three or four (one exception to this is when the ground is frozen – in such a case, it will be more difficult to compact.)

The best companies will also take account of how much new material was introduced into the trench when the repair was performed. Keep in mind that the dirt forming the giant mound is only the dirt that was taken out of the ground during the excavation, nothing more. However, plumbers will often bed new pipe in gravel to keep it from settling and shearing off, and sometimes the repair will include more or larger pipe than what was replaced. The best contractors will take the volume of these items into account when measuring the amount of backfill, and take away just enough soil to make sure that the mound settles perfectly a few months after completion.

Alternatives to Excavation

Of course the best way to avoid the giant mound of dirt in your yard is not to dig in the first place. There are several options available to repair a broken underground pipe without the need for excavation.

The Scottish Plumber specializes in these types of repairs. Our Trenchless Sewer Repair System and our Pipe Stent procedure can help homeowners avoid messy digs, and can repair most broken sewer pipes without the need for demolition, excavation, or restoration.

For more information, check out the video below, click on the links above, or visit us at www.scottishplumber.com.

Elmhurst Plumber Tip #28: Attic Pipe Repair

At this time of year, Elmhurst plumbers and Elmhurst plumbing contractors have their work cut out for them. In this part of the country as temperatures continue to drop, the likelihood of your residential plumbing and commercial plumbing systems experiencing freezing and potential bursting increases. When pipes are exposed to cold air and then to moisture, the result can be frozen pipes which can eventually lead to bursting. The pipes that may run through your attic are typically more susceptible to freezing, and therefore, a thorough plumbing maintenance visit at this time of year should include attic pipe maintenance and inspection.

Attic pipe repair is a plumbing service that can really make winter easier to bear this year. Attic pipes are usually more exposed than pipes that run underground or near the foundation of your home, meaning cold air can reach them more easily that submersed piping. Cold air coupled with moisture is a recipe for attic pipe freezing, so rather than incur the expense of repairing those hard-to-reach attic pipes, we encourage you to contact an Elmhurst plumber or Elmhurst plumbing contractor for an attic pipe inspection visit.

The Scottish Plumber is proud to offer many residential plumbing and commercial plumbing services such as video camera pipe inspection, pipe relining, trenchless sewer replacement, plumbing fixture installation, sewer cleaning, drain cleaning, and sewer and drain maintenance, bathroom renovation assistance, toilet repairs, sink repairs, kitchen fixture repairs, bathroom fixture repairs, and much more. Call an Elmhurst plumber or Elmhurst plumbing contractor from The Scottish Plumber to learn more.

Downers Grove Plumber Tip #27: Winter Flood Prevention

The Downers Grove plumbers and Downers Grove plumbing contractors at the Scottish Plumber are devoted to helping you improve your winter flood prevention efforts. Winter flooding may seem uncommon, but consider how much snowfall we get each winter in this part of the country. On warmer days, this fallen snow can melt and produce a great deal of runoff, and that is where winter flood prevention becomes important. Runoff water can enter your basement just as easily as rainfall during the winter, so on warmer days you want o make sure that you already have in place those basement flooding prevention systems that will keep the foundation of your home safe and dry.

Having a working sump pump is one way to ensure that your basement will at least have a means of ameliorating a basement flooding situation. Same with a battery back up sump pump. The battery back up sump pump is what provides power to your sump pump in case of a power outage or power surge. Having these sump pump systems in place with routine sump pump maintenance (or sump pump installation if your basement does not have one) will reduce the risk of basement flooding damaging your home.

The Scottish Plumber’s team of Downers Grove plumbers and Downers Grove plumbing contractors are professionally trained to install, maintain, and replace pumps and battery backup systems which can help prevent winter flooding in your residential or commercial property. Simply pick up the phone and call us today to learn more about winter flood prevention tips.

Trenchless Sewer Repair – Des Plaines

Trenchless Sewer Repair is a term Des Plaines homeowners should learn. With many homes over 100 years old, and an abundance of clay piping, most residents will at one point or another experience some kind of problem with their sewer.

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves Your Lawn and More

Sewer repair done using traditional methods is often a messy project. It usually involves excavation which means either digging in the yard or breaking up the basement floor. Often, the sewer is located under another object, such as a deck, a stoop, or a concrete walkway – and all of these things have to be removed in order to make the repair.

This is especially impactful in towns like Des Plaines where homeowners really put a lot of care into their yards. What’s worse, after the sewer has been repaired, the homeowner has to deal with the headaches and costs of restoration. This is where the Trenchless method comes in and completely saves the day.

Conventional sewer repair often requires a lot of digging as you can see in the photo above. It takes quite a bit of time and effort to restore your lawn to its original state.

How Does Trenchless Sewer Repair Work?

There are two types of Trenchless Sewer Repair Des Plaines customers can take advantage of:

Sewer Liner (also known as Trenchless Sewer Relining or Sewer Lining) – typically used to repair longer sections of pipe – usually 20 feet or longer. It can also be used in place of conventional sewer replacement.
Pipe Stent Trenchless Sewer Repair – typically used to repair shorter sections of pipe and for spot repairs.

With the Trenchless method, we’re able to install a new section of pipe inside of the damaged pipe using woven fiberglass and resins. The new pipe is stronger than any cast iron, clay, or PVC pipe (see video at bottom of page), and it’s smooth and seamless, which improves flow and ensures proper drainage.

Clay pipe, which is very common in Des Plaines, has a major weakness. It allows roots to penetrate through the connections between sections of pipe. Trenchless Sewer Repair completely seals off these connections wherever it’s installed and completely blocks the roots from entering the pipe.

Watch the Pipe Stent Trenchless Repair process in this short video

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves You Money

Trenchless Sewer Repair is also less expensive than conventional repair and that’s BEFORE you take the costs of any kind of restoration into account. It also comes with a 50-year warranty, which is about 5 to 10 times longer than the typical warranty on conventional sewer repair or replacement.

The Scottish Plumber has some of the most experienced technicians in the industry when it comes to Trenchless. We have done hundreds of such repairs all over Chicagoland, many of them in Des Plaines, so homeowners can rest easy knowing that the job will be done quickly and properly by a well-trained and experienced professional.

In this short video, we test the strength of the Pipe Stent using a sledgehammer and some elbow grease.

For more information or to schedule a free estimate, use the red appointment form at the top of this page, give us a call at 888-451-6137, or contact us here.

Villa Park Plumber Tip #23: Kitchen Faucet Repair

Does your kitchen sink faucet drip or leak? If so, please contact The Scottish Plumber so we can investigate the cause of your leaking kitchen sink or dripping kitchen sink right away. Leaky kitchen faucets are a nuisance, so rather than cope with the annoying dripping sound, please call The Scottish Plumber so we can put an end to your misery.

A kitchen faucet may look like one continuous metal object, when in fact the faucet is composed of smaller parts, screws, nuts, and bolts.

If another the kitchen faucet had not been installed properly, then it could drip or leak. The key is for the faucet to be secure. The Scottish Plumber’s technicians are licensed to repair kitchen faucets or install new ones.

Sediment can build up in the various rings that secure the faucet head to the waterspout. This sediment can harden or accumulate, causing the kitchen faucet to loosen.

Once the kitchen faucet loosens and the sediment has even more space to accumulate, the kitchen faucet can no longer effectively transport water from the pipes below your kitchen sink into the kitchen sink itself. Sediment buildup is one potential cause of leaky kitchen faucets.

Please allow our plumbers to share their plumbing expertise with you. Once a plumber from The Scottish Plumber repairs your leaking kitchen sink, you’ll wonder why you ever put up with the annoying drip! We look forward to being your number one choice for plumbing services.

Villa Park Plumber Tip #22: Repairing Leaking Pipe Joints

The Scottish Plumber is well known in the Chicagoland area for delivering excellent Chicago plumbing services, Villa Park plumbing services, Chicago plumbing repairs, and Villa Park plumbing repairs to our valued Chicagoland plumbing customers. The Villa Park plumbers and Chicago plumbers at The Scottish Plumber employ the newest plumbing technologies to fix leaking pipes, clean clogged drains, and protect your Villa Park basement from basement flooding.

Since 1970, PVC piping has been the dominant piping material, as an upgrade to clay or concrete pipes. PVC piping is a very common household plumbing material that is typically more durable and less susceptible to erosion than clay, concrete, or orangeburg piping. Although PVC certainly has greater structural integrity than most other piping materials, it can also leak. These leaks usually result from leaking PVC pipe joints, which are the junctures between distinct pieces of PVC piping. Over time, these PVC pipe joints can loosen, and eventually begin to leak. Leaking pipe repair is a job best left for a Villa Park plumber from The Scottish Plumber. Please contact us to learn more about how we repair leaking pipe joints.

Have you noticed a growing water stain on the ceiling of your basement? If so, please contact The Scottish Plumber today. A leak in the ceiling is not a minor plumbing issue. If left to worsen, the leaky basement ceiling could collapse, leading to worse problems and much more expensive repairs.

Villa Park Plumber Tip #20: $99 Video Camera Inspection

The Scottish Plumber is a trusted provider of Villa Park plumbing services by Villa Park plumbers and Villa Park plumbing contractors. Our licensed plumbing contractors perform a variety of jobs, from unclogging toilets and unclogging shower drains to sump pump installation and battery back up sump pump installation. The Scottish Plumber is proud to offer its plumbing expertise to all plumbing jobs that our Chicagoland plumbers and Chicagoland plumbing contractors perform.

Video camera inspection is a plumbing procedure that the Scottish Plumber offers at a shockingly reasonable rate. Villa Park video pipe inspection is exactly as it sounds – a Chicago plumber or Villa Park plumber feeds a video camera into your drain or sewer pipe to investigate those areas hardest to reach. Because video pipe inspection uses advanced technology, this plumbing service can be very costly to you, the consumer.

At The Scottish Plumber we are constantly looking for new solutions to the plumbing issues that our Villa Park plumbing customers and Chicago plumbing customers most commonly encounter. A central goal of ours is to build a satisfied customer base so that, when you are pleased with the work our Villa Park plumbers have done, you will reach out to us in the future.

Video camera pipe inspection from The Scottish Plumber is part of our $99 drain cleaning package. That’s right, for $99 we provide a Villa Park plumbing service that includes video camera pipe inspection and drain cleaning. Villa Park plumbing services should be affordable, so please contact The Scottish Plumber to learn more about how we deliver outstanding plumbing repairs at a great value.

Drain Tips: Soft Drain Blockages

At The Scottish Plumber, our team of Chicago plumbers and Villa Park plumbers are always seeking to find the most innovative plumbing solutions to common plumbing issues, emergency plumbing issues, and those plumbing issues that are not so easy to fix.

Whether you are dealing with a persistent slow bathtub drain or a garbage disposal that makes more noise than a high fidelity stereo, a Chicago plumber or Villa Park plumber at The Scottish Plumber is eager to investigate your Chicago plumbing issues and find a cost-effective, timely solution.

Last week’s Chicago plumber tip focused on drain blockages, of which there are two main types – hard blockages and soft blockages. Let’s take a closer look at what causes soft drain blockages and how the Chicago plumbers at The Scottish Plumber deal with these soft blockages.

Soft drain blockages settle into Chicago drains and sewers all the time. Although soft blockages are usually less dense than hard blockages, such as Chicago sewer roots, the soft blockages can sometimes be harder to remove. Unlike hard blockages, soft blockages are often composed of solid debris such as soap residue combined with liquid debris such as body oil. Soft blockages require diligent drain cleaning to help loosen the blockage material.

For all of our Chicago drain cleaning customers and Villa Park drain cleaning customers who are reading this article, we apologize if we are making you nauseous, but do not fret – our Chicago plumbers will handle all of the gritty details of clearing soft drain blockages. A great way to combat soft drain blockages is with The Scottish Plumber’s $99 drain cleaning package. A Chicago plumber will use high pressure water jets to clear away the oily soft blockage residue, so you don’t have to!

Trenchless Sewer Repair – Skokie

Trenchless Sewer Repair is a term Skokie homeowners should become familiar with. With many homes more than a century old, and almost exclusively clay piping, many residents will at one point or another experience some kind of problem with their sewers.

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves Your Lawn and More

Sewer repair done using traditional methods is often messy. It usually involves excavation which means either digging in the yard or breaking up the basement floor. In some cases, the sewer is located under another object, such as a paved walkway, a bush, or a deck – and each of these has to be removed in order to make the repair.

This is especially impactful in towns like Skokie where homeowners really care about their landscaping. What’s worse, after the sewer has been repaired, the homeowner has to deal with the costs of and time lost on restoration. This is where the Trenchless method comes in.

Conventional sewer repair often requires excavation as you can see in this photo. It takes lots of time and effort to restore your lawn to its original state.

How Does Trenchless Sewer Repair Work?

There are two types of Trenchless Sewer Repair Skokie customers can take advantage of:

Sewer Liner (also known as Trenchless Sewer Relining or Sewer Lining) – typically used to repair longer sections of pipe – usually 20 feet or longer. It can also be used in place of conventional sewer replacement.
Pipe Stent Trenchless Sewer Repair – typically used to repair shorter sections of pipe and for spot repairs.

With the Trenchless method, we’re able to install a new section of pipe inside of the damaged pipe using a woven fiberglass sleeve, resins, and hardeners. The repaired section of pipe is stronger than any existing pipe (see video at bottom of page), and it’s smooth and seamless which ensures proper flow.

Clay pipe, which is the most common type of sewer pipe in Skokie, is known for allowing roots to enter through connections between sections of pipe. Trenchless Sewer Repair completely seals off these connections and completely blocks the roots from entering the pipe.

Watch the Pipe Stent Trenchless Repair process in this short video

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves You Money

Trenchless Sewer Repair is less expensive than conventional repair, and that’s without taking the costs of restoration into account. It also comes with a 50-year warranty, which is about 5 to 10 times longer than the typical warranty on conventional sewer repair or replacement.

The Scottish Plumber has some of the most experienced technicians in the industry when it comes to Trenchless. We have done hundreds of such repairs all over Chicagoland, many of them in Skokie, so homeowners can rest easy knowing that the job will be done quickly and properly by a well-trained and experienced professional.

In this short video, we test the strength of the Pipe Stent using a sledgehammer and some elbow grease.

For more information or to schedule a free estimate, use the red appointment form at the top of this page, give us a call at 888-451-6137, or contact us here.

Trenchless Sewer Repair – Park Ridge

Trenchless Sewer Repair is a term with which all Park Ridge homeowners should become familiar. With some homes older than the Pickwick and an abundance of sewers made of clay pipe, most Park Ridge residents will at some point experience a problem with their sewer. If and when that time comes, Trenchless Sewer Repair can help.

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves Your Lawn

Sewer repair done using conventional methods can be a messy project. It often involves excavation which means either digging up the yard or breaking up the basement floor. Sometimes the sewer is buried under a deck or stoop, flowerbed or bush, walkway or driveway, and all of these things have to be removed in order for the repair to proceed.

What’s worse, after the sewer has been repaired, the homeowner has to deal with the headaches and costs of restoration. This is where the Trenchless method comes in and completely eliminates the need for excavation.

Conventional sewer repair often requires a lot of digging as you can see in the photo above. It takes quite a bit of time and effort to restore your lawn to its original state.

Trenchless Sewer Repair Saves You Money

Trenchless Sewer Repair is also less expensive than conventional repair and that’s before you take the costs of landscape restoration, driveway repair, or deck reconstruction into account. It also comes with a 50-year warranty, which is about 5 to 10 times longer than the typical warranty on conventional sewer repair or replacement.

The Scottish Plumber has some of the most experienced staff in the industry when it comes to Trenchless. We have done hundreds of such installations all over Chicagoland, many of them in Park Ridge, so homeowners can rest easy knowing that the job will be done quickly and properly by a trained and experienced professional.

How Is Trenchless Sewer Repair Done?

There are two types of Trenchless Sewer Repair Park Ridge customers can take advantage of:

Sewer Liner (also known as Trenchless Sewer Relining or Sewer Lining) – typically used to repair longer sections of pipe – usually 20 feet or longer. It can be also be used in place of conventional sewer replacement.
Pipe Stent Trenchless Sewer Repair – typically used to repair shorter sections of pipe and for spot repairs.

Watch the Pipe Stent Trenchless Repair process in this short video:

With the Trenchless process, we’re able to install a new section of pipe inside of the damaged pipe using woven fiberglass and resins. The new pipe is not only stronger than any cast iron, clay, or PVC pipe (see video at bottom of page), but it is smooth and seamless to ensure proper drainage and flow.

Clay pipe, which is very common in Park Ridge sewer construction, is notorious for allowing roots to penetrate through the connections between sections of pipe. Trenchless Sewer Repair completely seals off these connections wherever it’s installed and is completely impervious to root penetration.

In this short video, we test the strength of the Pipe Stent using a sledgehammer and some elbow grease:

For more information or to schedule a free estimate, use the appointment form at the top of this page, give us a call at 888-451-6137, or contact us here.