katyelliott.com

A daily design journal about new england life, home decorating resources, and renovating a 257-year-old house in Marblehead, MA.

Weekend Warriors: Tackling Floors and Clogged Drain

Posted on | August 10, 2008 | 2 Comments

Lunch Break At Maddy's

Greg chilling at the local bar after a long day of hard work.

We just back from a weekend of working hard on our house. I managed to pull up the old tile from the bathroom and kitchen floor. What a pain in the ass. I got blisters on both fingers!

On Sunday, we tackled one of our nastiest jobs yet. We been having a problem with a backed up drain that causes water to back up in the toilet every time we take a shower. We tried the standard issue snake to get the clog out with no luck. Turns out we needed to rent the “Electric Eel” which is a motor powered large snake with a cutting bit. Friends suggested that the clog was due to roots growing into the pipes.

The electric eel proved to work but not without a lot of mess. We pulled up 4 large root systems that resembled small animals. Seriously gross! The situation got ugly once the electric snake started flinging excess poo up from the drain. I had to make a poop gaurd so that we didn’t get soaked. (I know doesn’t it make you want to throw-up!). We eventually got it all cleaned out and feel pretty good that the problem is solved. I would have never done the job without Greg. It was way so messy and stinky! Thankfully he’s tougher then me. See more images on my flickr page.

Kitchen with Tiles

Kitchen with tiles down

Katy Pulling Up Tiles

Katy pulling up the tiles

Greg tried the standard snake

Greg using the standard issue snake

Home Depot: Rented Electric Eel

Rental sign for Electric Eel at Home Depot

First Giant Root

First big root

Giant Root

And the giant root


Comments

2 Responses to “Weekend Warriors: Tackling Floors and Clogged Drain”

  1. Jennifer
    August 12th, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

    just found your blog — looks like an intense renovation! can't wait to see the progress.

  2. Bathtub Drain Repair
    May 20th, 2009 @ 12:29 am

    We had the same problem and pulled up the same disgusting stuff! We were able to do it with regular tools too ((never used those kitchen tongs again) but somehow lost the screw that keeps the drain cover on and have tried to find a replacement and cannot find one that works!!!!

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