To think no toilet is an emergency?

[buggeringbuggery]

Our bathroom has been crap (no pun intended), since it was refurbished! The 'builders' who did it, bodged the whole thing, including having the pipe from the bath and sink, going flat and upwards to the soil stack, everything was just siliconed down (including the toilet cistern).

We've had problems with blockages from the toilet and even had a leak in our kitchen from the soil stack (raw sewage behind the cooker, lovely). The leak wasn't fixed because they'd have to pull up the complicated tiled box that the stack is connected to; this couldn't be done at a weekend, but when they returned on the Monday, the leaking had stopped.

I went for a wee a couple of hours ago (just a wee, one sheet of toilet roll). I flushed and was surprised to see the toilet half-filled with water. I assumed there was a blockage, so filled the bucket and poured it down (as I do at least once a week), but instead of draining, the water is level with the top of the toilet.

I tried to wash my hands in the sink, it just made bubbling noises and then sewer water came out the bath plug hole and it stank!

The bath now has water sitting in it, the sink does, but when you turn on the taps, big bubbles throw water out of the toilet onto the floor.

We phoned the HA, they say a blocked toilet is "not" an immediate emergency and they have 24 to 48 hours to fix it. That is fine if it was just blocked or not flushing and you could pour water down it, but it's filled to the top so cannot be sat on, not even for the tiniest wee!

It is the only toilet we have in the house and I have not only bladder problems but irritable bowel, and I'm not keen on shitting in a bucket that DD and DH will also have to use, let alone not having anywhere to empty the waste.

Sorry OP for hijacking your thread. Coping alone is not at all the same as having no loo when you’ve a family there!

I would take those builders to the small claims court
You can buy stuff, it's very strong, to unblock a toilet, although it may not be perfect.

If you have no luck then bucket it is. You will have an outside grate somewhere. Lift that to dispose of your waste

@YourWinter if you can rope in someone else you are best plunging both at the exact same time. If both blocked at the same time it has to be below where they connect.

Going somewhere is good. If you are getting some movement buckets of hot water mixed with a bit of washing up liquid. It can help to break down some rubbish. Leave it then plunge and repeat.

There are Enzyme based chemicals which are safe for septic tanks and might be worth a try. They would at least start breaking down hair clogs, soap residue and the like.

I'm so sorry @YourWinter , sounds horrendous!

I'm not entirely sure who it was who came, he had a van with flashing lights and had lots of rods. He wanted rear access, but we don't have it.

He tried to clear it from the manhole up, but it didn't work.

To rod from above, he just used a ladder (and DH stood on the bottom to hold it steady), he didn't need a scaffold.

Really hope you manage to get yours sorted soon

I don't think it makes it any easier being alone x

Oh it does, I can cope with conditions none of my kids could have tolerated - but they’re all grown and gone, so I can do this off-grid stuff without upsetting anyone else. It’s good to see your guy didn’t need to use scaffold, which would bump the price up.

Seaography, I really don’t know anyone I could ask to help so it will have to be a professional firm. Having yesterday bailed out the brown matter that backed up into the shower tray after I’d poured a bucket of hot soapy water down each loo, the water level in the shower is still right at the top of the drain outlet. If the shower tray overflows it floods through the kitchen ceiling and water coming through is bad enough, but sewage is a dire prospect. I’ll get on the phone in the morning and try to get a local firm rather than one of the big national names, and just hope they can get it cleared.

How did you go? Mine's happened again (started a new thread about it). The toilet is not blocked (would be easy to sort if it were), it's definitely the soil stack again (when the toilet's been blocked, using shower and sink helps clear it and the pipes are not in the same place, so if it was the loo, then there wouldn't be any comeback in the sink/shower).

I'd forgotten that we had a leak from the soil stack into our kitchen (lovely sewage in kitchen). DH think that when they cut out a segment of the soil stack to fit the bathroom, they didn't join it properly, and the leak may have been it pulling away (no one checked as it meant pulling out the box in the bathroom), as they fitted EVERYTHING with sealant, it's not a surprise (even the vent cover for the fan, which fell off, allowing wasps in the bathroom).

He thinks that if the soil stack has moved, there may be a ledge or something catching in it. No amount of plunging will cure that (and anyway our toilet bend is ridiculously small, much smaller than the stack opening, and that is not blocked

Oh no, sorry to hear you’re still having trouble.

I left messages yesterday with two local firms who haven’t responded. Tried a third company today, a family firm with excellent reviews. Rang at 12.00, he arrived at 14.30… he’s still here, and another guy arrived later. He cut a hole in the soil stack and jetted it, all good. Lots of mess churned out, then ran clear, loos are now flushing normally. Then he put a camera down.

The pipe that goes from the soil stack across the garden to the septic tank has subsided into a curve and loads of limescale has built up at the lowest point. No problem he said, and fed a serious bit of equipment down there to break up the limescale.

Unfortunately it got stuck, and now they’re trying from both ends of the pipe to get smaller tools down there to break the limescale away from the tool that’s stuck. Worst case scenario is that they’ll have to dig down to the pipe, break it open and replace the sunken section, they know how far along the blockage is.

No idea how much this will be, but at least they’re focusing on the faulty drain and not insisting the whole lot is replaced.

@YourWinter Oh no, I am so sorry!

I really hope it gets sorted soon x

And everything in my shower room is boxed in with sealant too - he commented on the idiocy of the plumbers who installed it.

They just said they think they’ll need to start digging.

@YourWinter how are you getting on?

They came with a camera on Thursday, found some concrete or something, then jetted the soil stack from above. The pipe was nice and clean, no more problems they said.

Yesterday I noticed it was taking a time to drain...no problem I thought, at least it's not blocked!

I went to the loo this morning and it won't flush away! I waited for the water to drain (leaving all waste), put a bucket of water down. It just filmed to the top with waste 'soup'.

I flushed it again every time it gets low enough (about an hour and half), but it just fills to the top. No waste is leaving at all.

I've been waiting on phone for 35 minutes. Terrified they will get angry as they came out three times in last week, and say it is fixed.

55 minutes, still no answer, I wonder if their emergency line goes to someone at home, who is out or not answering the phone for some other reason,

That's an hour and a half without anyone answering their emergency number. It will be dark if someone does come out, so they won't be able to investigate and fix this. I don't know what to do if no one answers?

Over two hours now and still no answer! 😡

Are you still getting waste coming up into sink or bath OP? I'm just wondering whether it would constitute an emergency/health risk to the council's environmental health department if so and whether the fact that your HA's 'emergency' line is not being answered might mean they would come out and just bill the HA after the event? Or could you afford an emergency plumber and then you bill the HA/withhold rent to cover cost? I wouldn't have thought they have a leg to stand on if they can't even answer the phone.

Not at the moment thankfully. The water drains very, very slowly, but when flushed is level with the rim again...however, no waste is getting through at all, so every time I flush, it just fills with my waste and toilet paper.

Thankfully they did answer and I'm waiting for someone, a different plumber this time. I just know he will get it unblocked (maybe, but if he hasn't got a ladder he won't be able to rod it).

There is clearly a problem with the stack. They only put the camera down as far as the first blockage they saw, which they then jetted, but I suspect there is one further down, which they didn't look for. I swear it is caused by the bathroom fitters and the replacement stack part they put in., especially as they found concrete stuck in the stack.

It was 2 hours and 40 minutes before they answered.

Op it's probably sorted now but when we had this I brought a.plastic loo from Argos, £30. Obviously it doesn't flush etc and you need to swill it but actually it was ok.

Nope, not sorted. Thanks though, will probably have to look into it (though not sure where to empty it - is it in a bag?)

@buggeringbuggery Wondering who your housing association is. You need to raise a stage 1 complaint now. Unfortunately I don’t think you’ll get a decent resolution til you do as they sound shocking.

Alot of housing associations use the services of out of hours contact service. I have also had times they haven’t answered but never to the duration you have had. This alone is a service failure. The fact you have had to had several out of hours call out now without a permanent solution is another.

Make that complaint. Copy in your MP. Await stage 1 response. It won’t be good enough. Take it to stage 2. Then send to the ombudsman. Until you do this that HA won’t change.

Glad they finally answered! You need to get onto the HA on Monday whether the plumber 'fixes' it today or not though as there's clearly a deeper issue that needs investigating and properly sorting out. I can tell you from experience it will be a nightmare to get them to do anything and you will likely go round in circles with workmen and surveyors for a while but all you can do is persevere. They're even more useless than usual 'out of hours' though so you can't let them fob you off and risk you ending up in this position over the weekend in the future, the daytime repairs team need to get the root of the problem and fix it before it happens again.

Thank you @CornishTiger and @TwowaystoUrmston .

Still waiting for the plumber. 4.5 hours since I finally got through and two hours since the plumber called and said he'd be an hour.

Raining like mad out and DD refuses to go in the toilet as it's 'dirty', so no idea what to do with her.

I lack faith anything of note will happen tonight. I expect the plumber will poke around enough to allow waste to go, which is brilliant till anyone needs to anything other than wee.

I will make a complaint on Monday.

The thing that fills me with unease, is the plumber said he was coming to fix the leak (I said blockage), so he's not even the drainage people who came before.

That's utter rubbish OP, I'm so sorry you're still waiting. I would usually say call the emergency number back and get them to chase the plumber up but I feel like that's just setting you up for more disappointment/frustration at this point! It's either that or sit tight and wait really though isn't it so I think I might at least try the number again.

Might be an idea to call Shelter for some advice before you speak to the HA direct on Monday though, just to swot up on your rights and their responsibilities. Sometimes just knowing the right terminology or bit of the law is what's needed to get the HA to step up so arm yourself with as much info as you can. They're not doing enough though, I think you're going to have to be the squeaky wheel.

I really hope your plumber turns up and can do something to tide you over the weekend at least.

OP that’s truly awful service and certainly warrants a serious complaint. It sounds as if a plumber will have to re-do the piping out to the soil stack?

I had been peeing in a big bucket with a few inches of water in, binning paper and tipping the bucket under my hedge. It’s harmless and diluted with enough water so it doesn’t smell. Could do away with the bucket and pee in the garden if it’s not overlooked. For more than a pee I drove to the supermarket or garden centre during opening hours, or the Park & Ride, open 24/7. My dear neighbours had offered use of their bathroom but I couldn’t do the necessary at someone else’s house.

I’m delighted to say that the facilities at home are now working. after 10 hours of remarkably patient and good-humoured hard work. They advise excavating the underground glazed pipe and replacing with plastic pipes and a manhole for future access, but for now, all’s well.

@YourWinter Yay! I am so pleased for you! Unfortunately we are overlooked, so doing anything in the garden is not possible.

The plumber came last night, really lovely man. He plunged it and it worked! He said it was nothing to do with the previous problems. He said our cistern takes too long to fill, so it would be toilet paper blocking the pipe due to not enough water, so to use a bucket to supplement this weekend and phone in on Monday.

So I banned everyone from using toilet paper for a wee (poor DD was not happy). I just went to the loo, did hardly anything (haven't all week, too scared to go in case it blocks and DD hasn't been since before this started due to fear).

Flushed first, slow to drain, waste left. Poured a bucket of water down - filled to the rim, not all waste gone (and it was a tiny bit but all rationed TP went with the first flush). Poured another bucket and still filling up and refusing to go.

I know if I contact them again they will say that we are putting stuff down there (they already asked if we'd put something like wet wipes or sanpro down there to cause latest issue).

I really know there is a deeper problem, but as the plumber said last night that if there was a problem elsewhere, it wouldn't have gone with a plunging, that no one will listen to us.