Sewer line disconnected.

Over the winter somebody must have spent time under my house, relaxing on my sewer pipe. I discovered it has fallen, and is disconnected. How pleasant. I tried to put the pipes back together, but the pipe no longer fits the flange. Some kind of build up, old glue? Something less pleasant?

There is no 'play' in the lines. My thoughts are to cut off 10 inches of pipe, use a replacement section and a joint connector to fix this. Then use several lengths of strapping tape to support the line in several places. At least one on each side of the tee.

The tee from Amazon


The plan


Is this a good plan?

How would you cut the pipe? Hack saw?

Oh! The glue! What kind? I already have this for a different pipe issue. (From Ace hardware store)

Yes, that is the correct primer and glue.  Make sure there is enough, and the glue has not solidified.
A hacksaw will work; a side grinder with a skinny wheel would be faster.
Wear gloves, and if you have one, use a face shield.
If your original pipe has no play, you may find it hard to make all the connections.
When priming and gluing PVC pipe, you need square cuts and complete insertion of each piece to get a water-tite bond.
If you have trouble, they do sell a slip-on repair piece called a compression fitting, no glue needed.

And a big yes on adding the plumber's tape to support it.

If there is a lack of play in the lines to properly attach the tee with glue, you could look for a Fernco sanitary tee. It is essentially a flexible product that uses hose clamps to hold it on to connecting pipes.

Fernco Sanitary Tee

You may need to use an adaptor to join the old to the new pipes.
Tims suggstion may also be a solution. to join old and new pipes off off sixs.

Man, that’s a nasty surprise to find under the house

Honestly, I don’t think it’s buildup stopping it from fitting back together. More likely the pipe shifted or sagged, so now nothing lines up anymore. Once those sewer lines move, they don’t just pop back in.

Your idea of cutting out a section and rebuilding it is the right direction. I’d just add one thing use a rubber coupling (Fernco with the metal bands) on at least one side. Gives you a little wiggle room to get everything lined up without fighting it.

Also I wouldn’t trust tape for support. Grab some real pipe hangers or metal strapping and support it every few feet, especially on both sides of that tee. That’s probably why it dropped in the first place.

For cutting, hacksaw will do it, just takes a bit. If you’ve got access to a Sawzall it’ll make your life way easier.

Definitely dry fit everything first before gluing. If you have to force it, it’s gonna fail again later.

You’re on the right track though

Thanks everyone!

Oh, and the stuff I am calling straping, is metal.

Well, what I was gonna do won't work. I apparently have thin walled PVC in my sewer line. And it is 3 inch, not 4.

I tried to put the pipes back together, but the pipe no longer fits the flange. Some kind of build up, old glue?  

It is a broken inserted sleeve of some sort. It's sheered through. It covers the end of the thin 3 inch pipe which then makes the thin walled pipe fit into a sanitary tee that accepts a normal 3 inch pipe.

So. New plan.

Buy the magic black sanitary tee pictured above. Saw off the old sanitary tee. Replace with the black one. Attempt to attach in to the original pipe that fell.

If needed, saw a length of pipe from extras under the house, have a length of magic black conctors to complete the pipe.

Sound right?

The sanitary tee came in, so it's back under the house tomorrow. I think I do not need pipe glue. If I do need to glue it, please tell me before morning. I don't wanna do this twice!

Hi,

Longtime plumber here.
Don't bother with trying to glue, or rather solvent weld, old pipes.
Unless they're really clean, they won't bond properly.
Just use fernco or no hub couplings, tees or ells, or whatever combination necessary, along with whatever length pipe needed.
They are reusable, removable and adjustable after installation.
The bands are normally tightened with a torque wrench that slips after reaching the required torque value.
You can use a 5/16" hex socket on a small ratchet or a driver handle.
There should never be any pressure in a sewer line, so even if it's not tight enough, it should never leak
You can always tighten it more later.

A picture of the actual pipe in question, would make recommendations more precise

Update...

We did have to replace a section of pipe, so we installed the magic fenco Tee, and an additional off brand coupling. Nothing is leaking.

Hurrah! Thank you wonderful Permies!

That sounds like a tricky situation, especially if there’s no play in the line anymore. Cutting out a section and using a repair coupling is usually the common fix in cases like this, as long as everything is properly aligned and supported afterwards. I’d also double-check the slope so you don’t end up with future backups or low spots.