halfdime
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It's officially winter now, with frigid temperatures and a pretty thick covering of snow, so treasure hunting has been suspended. There is reason for optimism, however, as the weather forecast for the next few weeks shows an upward trend in temperature. According to the forecast I just saw, we could be in the high 40's soon!
Over the weekend, it became apparent, in our basement, that something was amiss with our sewer line. We have a grand old maple in the front yard, and the old sewer line running from our house to the street has to sneak past it on the way. The problem is that the line consists of clay pipes with a seam every three feet or so. The maple allows the sewer line to operate, but not without exacting a heavy toll. It's roots, you see, have a nasty habit of penetrating the seams, which eventually keeps the waste from going where it needs to go. This was a problem even before we bought the house; we actually paid for the line to be cleared and were able to view a video image of its interior. Since it was in good shape after that original cleanout, we went ahead with the purchase knowing that the line would require snaking occasionally. That's been about every two years, and it was due. It was no surprise, then, that the tell-tale odor in our basement recently meant that the maple had been at it again! The problem was actually worse this time, as the sewer's contents actually backed up onto a portion of our basement floor
! A plumber came and cleared the line, but this time the video showed a veil of roots at every seam, even though he'd broken through each one!
What we're looking at today is some pretty extensive work on the line, which should bring the old line up to code and eliminate the option of maple roots ever again. Where is the irony, you ask? As I stood on a wet floor, with evidence of a sewer backup all around, I noticed several boxes of recently cleaned bottles. So what, you say? These bottles were recently rescued from six different privies; somebody else's sewer line, you might say
. Those "sewer lines" were much more pleasant to work with! Sorry, no pictures with this post 
.
Over the weekend, it became apparent, in our basement, that something was amiss with our sewer line. We have a grand old maple in the front yard, and the old sewer line running from our house to the street has to sneak past it on the way. The problem is that the line consists of clay pipes with a seam every three feet or so. The maple allows the sewer line to operate, but not without exacting a heavy toll. It's roots, you see, have a nasty habit of penetrating the seams, which eventually keeps the waste from going where it needs to go. This was a problem even before we bought the house; we actually paid for the line to be cleared and were able to view a video image of its interior. Since it was in good shape after that original cleanout, we went ahead with the purchase knowing that the line would require snaking occasionally. That's been about every two years, and it was due. It was no surprise, then, that the tell-tale odor in our basement recently meant that the maple had been at it again! The problem was actually worse this time, as the sewer's contents actually backed up onto a portion of our basement floor
! A plumber came and cleared the line, but this time the video showed a veil of roots at every seam, even though he'd broken through each one! What we're looking at today is some pretty extensive work on the line, which should bring the old line up to code and eliminate the option of maple roots ever again. Where is the irony, you ask? As I stood on a wet floor, with evidence of a sewer backup all around, I noticed several boxes of recently cleaned bottles. So what, you say? These bottles were recently rescued from six different privies; somebody else's sewer line, you might say
. Those "sewer lines" were much more pleasant to work with! Sorry, no pictures with this post .
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That sounds like a septic tank.
