What might be wrong with my toilet?

Question

First, yes, I'm going to call a plumber... this week.
South Texas had extreme freezing temps this past week. I let all my faucets drip to help keep the pipes from freezing. But on Thursday, after the major freeze was over, my toilet wouldn't flush. So, I plunged it, thinking that would help. It helped only a little. The next time I flushed it, water came gurgling up through my bathtub drain! After a couple hours, the tub water drains, but whenever I either flush the toilet or plunge the toilet (as flushing it doesn't really drain the water from the toilet) water bubbles up from the tub drain.
Also, the house is about 27 years old. And it was built by the Ray Ellison company, which is notorious in this area for having built some really shoddy houses (they've already gone out of business).

So... are my toilet problems due to freeze, oldness, bad building technique? How pricey does it sound like this will be? Thanks.

It's on city-wide sewage.

My brother-in-law came over on Saturday with a "snake." I was sooo hoping to not have to call a plumber. But the snake didn't make any difference at all.

Wow! You all have given me a LOT to consider. Here are some more details, if that helps clarify whether I have a shallow sewer system. The house is a duplex, and I live in the one side. There is no basement at all. Also, my back yard is small and there are no trees, but my adjacent neighbor has one tree... and the neighbor on the other side has a couple of trees.
What is an airstack on the roof, and what does it look like?
Thanks again!! (Am spending nights at a relatives, until I can get something done in my bathroom).

It's going to be tough picking a best answer, as everyone has given me food for thought.. so to speak..
I am holding out until the first, as that is when I'll have money again to deal with this. Wish I could pick all of you as a best answer.

Answer 1

Your problems sounds alot along the lines of a clogged main drain pipe. All drains in a sewer system merge together into a main line which ties into a municiple sewer line. Your toilet is backflowing into the tub probably because of blockage further down the line. The slow drainage shouldn't have anything to do with the cold temperaturs unless of course the sewer lines are not very deep. If homes in the area don't have basements, then it's possible the lines are less then 3 feet under ground. In order to have a frozen drainline, which is basically unheard of, the line would have to have something clogging up further down the line. The snake your brother used would only go over the "P" trap in the toilet and not into the main line at all.

One problem you may have, is a blockage caused by scum build-up within your lines. Perhaps someone has flushed a clothing item down the toilet and it is causing the back-up.

Another problem you could possibly have is tree roots that have worked their way into the sewer pipes in search of a moisture base. Roots track through the ground and will go to water sources in order to feed the tree, particularly in drier climates. Older sewer pipes were called tiles primarily for the reason they were made from formed clay products. These pipes were belled on one end and flared on the other so the narrow end from one pipe would insert into the wide end of the next pipe and so on. To seal the joints, caulking by means of a rope were punched around the joint, and as the pipe was used, moisture would seep into the rope caulking and tighted the seal.

My suggestion to you would be to have a Roto Rooter or some company that specializes in thorough drain cleaning look at your problem.These companys have an electric operated circular knife attatched to a long cable that rotates and grinds away any buildup in the sewer line. The grinding reduces these blockages to fine pulp which inturn flush into the sewer system.

Good Luck in your drain dilema

Answer 2

If your house is 27 years old and this is the first trouble you have had with your sewer, who ever installed it did a good job. Have you checked with your neighbor, is his sewer working OK?
If his is OK, my next move would be follow my sewer line to the city sewer. Take two metal coat hangers, straighten them, then bend in a 90 about 5 inches from one end. Hold them straight in front of you and walk slow back and forth across your yard. Start where you think the sewer line comes out of the house. When they cross that will be the line. Follow it all the way to the city sewer. I have did this many times. You might be surprised what you find. One time a neighbor had put an anchor to hold up a clothes line, another time it was a dog fence with a fence post thru the middle of my sewer line. I am not saying that is your trouble, but if is, it will save finding the clean out hole, or taking up the stool, as the roto rooter will not got thru iron. You probably are going to wind up digging some where. A roto rooter is fine for a time, but not a permanent fix.

Answer 3

Sounds like you have a blockage somewhere, The only ones that can take care of this are plumbers. You could try to do it yourself, but i'm not sure of you have the right tools
Look around your house and see where them main flushing system is. It might look like something with a black cap on it, usually located outside. Or if in the garage or basement it might be silver.
Open that up and if you have a vacuum powerful enough to vacuum and flush that out, then do so, otherwise call a professional.

Answer 4

You can only go so far with a regular (household type) snake. It certainly sounds like you have a clog (blockage) somewhere in the line. I say this mainly because when you plunged it you got water coming into your tub. I've had that same thing happen. It's most likely just farther down the line. A plumber will have the proper snake to remedy the problem. I'm sure that's what's causing the problem.
Good luck to you.

Answer 5

Sounds to me like the cold weather froze your drain and cracked the pipe, either through a weak spot or via the ground freezing and putting pressure on the pipe and collapsing it . A home owners snake very seldom clears clogs, you either need to rent one with a power cutter head or call some one who advertises for clearing drains.

If the pipe has collapsed, rooting it will do very little good but the guy using it may have some suggestions as to what needs to be done. The rooter guys generally don't charge as much as plumbers, so I would try them first.

Answer 6

The plumber will most likely find a blockage due to roots growing into sewage line my guess.I dont think the freeze had anything to do with it. The gond insulates th sewage lines.Its supposed to. Another thing was the house built on a concrete foundation,or is there a crawl space.if there is a crawl space ther may be frozen sewage.Damn thats gross!!!!

Answer 7

just a guess, but i'll bet the drain out to the sewer lines has frozen up on ya. call a drain cleaner, not the plumber, if he's busy 'till next week, you'll know every ones got the same problem as you, shallow drain pipes. good luck.

Answer 8

I don't think the freezing had anything to do with it.

I think you have a blockage in your sewer line. The plumber will remove the toilet, run an electric rod through it, replace the toilet and be gone in one hour.

$150 to $175 would be my guess.

Answer 9

Since you weren't having problems until the freeze. I would say most likely your toilet drain froze. You can rent something called a snake and route it out yourself if you want, but if you can afford and or stand it wait for the plumber. good luck!

Answer 10

Sounds like your main sewer line is plugged somewhere, if you have trees on your property it is probably tree roots in your sewer line. You need to have a plumber come out and rooto rooter your sewer line, usually less than $100 depending on where you live.