HELP! Mud in chimney clean out

[Julesduke9]

Our home was built in 1896. It has 2 coal burning fireplaces which we have never used and probably haven't been used for many years. Noticed dirty water leaking out of basement clean out door of the chimney. Opened the door and found it is completely impacted with mud! I cleaned some of it out but there is still a bunch left. There also looks to be tree roots in there too 😬 Has anybody seen anything like this? I do have a chimney guy coming to look at it , but was curious if anyone else has had this happen and what kind of fix it requires.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It could be debris that fell down and composted.

 

[Julesduke9]

Today, I dug out as much mud as I could. While I was digging out the mud my husband was taking a shower. As soon as he started running the water in the shower, water started coming out of the chimney where I was digging out the mud! When he turned the shower off the water slowed down to a drip. I then had him flush the toilet and, again, water started coming down from the chimney. I have no idea what is going on here but I think I need to call a plumber instead of a chimney guy now, or maybe both 😩

 

[begreen]

Yikes. Call a plumber asap. That may be septic waste.

 

[stoveliker]

The important point for after the resolution of the plumbing issue, is whether you would trust something that has tree roots in it, and from which water can drain (i.e. it has holes) to contain fire. In your home.

Have it inspected by a professional (with credentials) before anything to do with fire comes near this thing.

 

[Julesduke9]

The important point for after the resolution of the plumbing issue, is whether you would trust something that has tree roots in it, and from which water can drain (i.e. it has holes) to contain fire. In your home.

Have it inspected by a professional (with credentials) before anything to do with fire comes near this thing.

Absolutely! We have never used the fireplaces in this house and likely never will. When we bought the house we were told they were used to burn coal as the fireboxes are very small and narrow. Regardless, we will get a proper chimney inspection once we have this plumbing issue or whatever it is, is resolved. I am very curious to find out what is going on here.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You're probably going to have to run a camera down the pipes.

 

[armanidog]

I'll bet what happened is that the drainage line developed a leak near the chimney. The waste water pulled dirt into the bottom of the chimney and some bushes or trees pushed a root through the leak and then into the chimney bottom. The leak has probably gotten bigger over the years and the roots have partially stopped up the pipe.

 

[BillBurns]

Now thats a new one for me. The whole chimney may be clogged too. I feel for you........

 

[Julesduke9]

I'll bet what happened is that the drainage line developed a leak near the chimney. The waste water pulled dirt into the bottom of the chimney and some bushes or trees pushed a root through the leak and then into the chimney bottom. The leak has probably gotten bigger over the years and the roots have partially stopped up the pipe.
View attachment 310558

Well, I did some more digging at the mud yesterday and guess what I found...a drainage pipe IN THE CHIMNEY 😩so the drainage pipe is actually IN the chimney not next to it, and there is a huge split in this big drainage pipe and that is where the water is coming from everytime we turn the shower on or flush the toilet. My question is is how the hell did they get a cast iron drainage pipe down this chimney and why would you do that 😩.

 

[stoveliker]

Is it a chimney then or a brick sewer chase...?

 

[Julesduke9]

I'll bet what happened is that the drainage line developed a leak near the chimney. The waste water pulled dirt into the bottom of the chimney and some bushes or trees pushed a root through the leak and then into the chimney bottom. The leak has probably gotten bigger over the years and the roots have partially stopped up the pipe.
View attachment 310558

Well, I did some more digging at the mud yesterday and guess what I found...a drainage pipe IN THE CHIMNEY 😩so the drainage pipe is actually IN the chimney not next to it, and there is a huge split in this big drainage pipe and that is where the water is coming from everytime we turn the shower on or

Now thats a new one for me. The whole chimney may be clogged too. I feel for you........

. My question is is how the hell did they get a cast iron drainage pipe down this chimney and why would you do that 😩.

Is it a chimney then or a brick sewer chase...?

I'm pretty sure It is an actual chimney. Our water heater is vented out through it. But, I am no chimney expert. We have some plumbers coming next week to take a look but so far none of them have ever heard of a drainage pipe being placed down a chimney before and are as dumbfounded as we are. So I am sure this will cost more money than I even want to think of. Buy an old house they said..it will be fun...they said.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Building codes were very lax if they even existed 130 years ago. Who knows what they did?. They probably leveraged the hole dug for the sewer line for the chimney cleanout. Remember no heavy equipment back then it was all by hand.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It probably won’t be too crazy to have them line that pipe. But I’m not sure what that means for the chimney staying a chimney.

 

[kborndale]

Well, I did some more digging at the mud yesterday and guess what I found...a drainage pipe IN THE CHIMNEY 😩so the drainage pipe is actually IN the chimney not next to it, and there is a huge split in this big drainage pipe and that is where the water is coming from everytime we turn the shower on or


. My question is is how the hell did they get a cast iron drainage pipe down this chimney and why would you do that 😩.

I'm pretty sure It is an actual chimney. Our water heater is vented out through it. But, I am no chimney expert. We have some plumbers coming next week to take a look but so far none of them have ever heard of a drainage pipe being placed down a chimney before and are as dumbfounded as we are. So I am sure this will cost more money than I even want to think of. Buy an old house they said..it will be fun...they said.

You say your water heater is vented thru it but it is full of mud? If you are talking about a gas water heater that is vented into a clogged chimney then where is the CO2 going? Most likely into your house.

 

[Julesduke9]

You say your water heater is vented thru it but it is full of mud? If you are talking about a gas water heater that is vented into a clogged chimney then where is the CO2 going? Most likely into your house.

I'm not sure how high up the mud goes. I was able to clear a good amount of it from the clean out and I am able to stick my hand up the middle of the chimney. So I don't think the whole chimney is full of mud, but I didn't even think of the CO2 issue. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Julesduke9]

I doubt this was done 130 years ago. How many people had indoor flush toilets in 1890?

We did some research after we bought this house and found out that the upstairs bathroom was built onto the house some time in the 1950's. Weather that's accurate or not, I'm not sure, but I do know it was not original to the house. Just wondering how a plumber is going to access this pipe to replace/or fix it 😬 💸💸

 

[kborndale]

We did some research after we bought this house and found out that the upstairs bathroom was built onto the house some time in the 1950's. Weather that's accurate or not, I'm not sure, but I do know it was not original to the house. Just wondering how a plumber is going to access this pipe to replace/or fix it 😬 💸💸

Sounds expensive to me, good luck!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

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[FPX Dude]

You kinda had me at "While I was digging out the mud my husband was taking a shower", haha, I can't help but watching and hoping you figure it out.