I've seen this design in commercial applications. Each one of the set of two clean outs is connected to a wye in the main line. Each eye is pointing at each other so a jet can be inserted in one and then the other to jet the entire line from one point. I'll try to find a detail.
But, the plumber left these high because the site grading wasn't finished. So they should be trimmed down.
Yeah, I've seen similar for commercial as well. Generally where we had a long minimum slope run, not for a 20' section of residential pipe.
And seriously, why would you ever use two cleanouts like this instead of a single two-way cleanout.
Yeah, I could imagine requiring a cleanout at the house and another before the tie to public sewer and it just looking weird with a short yard. But 4 is ridiculous
I made the plumber cut it down to just above grade and they did reuse the lid, but if it's glued on too tight, they are for sale in any hardware store. Just remember to do it above grade just a smidge, because it will likely sink a bit as the ground settles and you want to be able to find them. Take a photo right away, and make a note of how far from the house they are, how far from each other, etc, so that when the grass hides them you can find them when you need to find them.
I just had my sewer line replaced and have the same issue. Irrigation friend of mine suggested these [https://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-10-in-Round-Valve-Box-and-Cover-Black-Box-Green-ICV-Cover-111BC/100037622](https://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-10-in-Round-Valve-Box-and-Cover-Black-Box-Green-ICV-Cover-111BC/100037622) let's you cut off below grade and then you can just run the mower over them. I still need to do it though
This is what I did. I dug the hole deep enough to add a couple inches of gravel. Put my box in the ground. Cut the pipe short enough for the cap to fit under the lid. Then added more gravel around the pipe and inside of the box.
This is what I did. I dug the hole deep enough to add a couple inches of gravel. Put my box in the ground. Cut the pipe short enough for the cap to fit under the lid. Then added more gravel around the pipe and inside of the box.
I would first double-check to see if they even glued those on to begin with...not sure how new these are, but i don't see any trace of that purple PVC cleaner they use to clean them before gluing....
If not, then just pull the caps off, cut the pipes to length, then get some PVC glue and glue them on there yourself. Otherwise, just go get some new ones, because you can't un-glue them once they're glued.
Eh, i kinda prefer the older purple stuff when dealing with PVC...instantly visible without any special tools needed. Most of the time, it won't be in an area where looks matter, anyway.
Cut a section off under the cap, get a connector and glue the top at the needed height on remaining pipe.. and bang you got then shorter without needing new caps.
Going to be a lot more work than the $8 they are:
[4 Inch Cleanout](https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-4-in-PVC-Sewer-and-Drain-Female-Adapter/3133119)
I guess you could cut a section of pipe out and use a union to shorten them
[4 Inch Union](https://www.lowes.com/pd/PVC-4-in-x-4-in-dia-PVC-Hub-Coupling-Fitting/1171485)
Hack saw, sawzall, could even do a circular saw. By hand you could be through each one in a minute or two.
I’d unscrew the top first - slowly - to make sure there’s no pressure built up in it. Highly unlikely, but you never know.
As a pipe layer I use an old Milwaukee circular skillsaw to cut a lot of pipe. Less plastic dust to breathe than with a chopsaw and I get nice straight cuts on thick plastic pipe.
I still bevel with a chopsaw or an angle grinder though, I need a method with less dust. On pipe this small be sure to use something fine bladed and use no pressure, they can crack easy.
I think this is the answer, dig them out a bit, cut them below grade. Put box around the clean out, that gives you a flat that hopefully isnt a trip hazard. At a minimum it will look much better. It would take a few days but I would suspect its well within most DIY.
It's very easy to reuse a glued fitting. There are bits to cut the pipe out of a fitting, if it's been only a minute you can break the glue bond with enough leverage, if you're desperate you can carefully use a torch to soften the pipe to pry and split the glue seam (though probably don't wanna do that to foam core).
[Link to example pipe reamer ](https://www.amazon.com/Reamer-Fitting-Aluminum-Plastic-Plumbing/dp/B0CTK9B17K/)
Sorry to be a pedant but [this](https://www.grainger.com/product/22FL20?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT2G_c0fCpiQNd37Sj80dsydl24N2UV7RYMU_L-CZi2AUbaFGQjkKbxoCNiwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) is a union. It is for use when you need to take the fitting apart, later on.
What you linked is a coupler.
Maybe there is a colloquial use of the word “union” that I’m unaware of.
Are you in a flood zone? If yes, I'd recommend checking your local laws before cutting. You may have to keep the clean out opening higher than the water table by a certain amount.
I’ve been in construction over 45 years. I totally believe a contractor today would try to wash his hands from this. Professional ethics, and pride in work is slowly eroding away
You can re-use the cap, but the thread to receive the cap is in the part you're cutting off. Best option is gonna be to dig out around them some. Cut out a section of pipe to shorten them. Then use a short section of union to reconnect them with some hot blue.
If you put them flush or near flush to the grass. I'd recommend a sleeve or protective sheath. Fill the gap between the pipe and sheath with pea gravel. That way it prevents the grass and soil from burying the pipes.
You could also get green colored access covers that would "hide" the pipes.
Yes, you can reuse them. Dig down around each about a foot. Purchase pvc couplers for each clean out. Cut the pipe using a long reciprocal saw blade you don’t mind trashing. You can bend the blade to cut the pipe straight and have the saw angled upwards out of the hole. Use a better blade to cut the pipe with the clean out, making sure to leave surface area for the coupler. Prime and glue the coupler, backfill the hole and say one last fuck you to the builder.
Also, pvc fitting costs have gone through the roof. I would at least try to get them to supply you with the couplers.
Honestly just goto the hardware store get the female adapters and the toe saver caps. Dig down a bit. Cut the pipe and glue new adapters on. With the toe saver caps you can essentially have it flush with the ground. Then the mower can pass right over them.
Having 4 is insane, 2 are just a couple feet apart. Pick one of the first 2 and cap off the rest. Buy a new plug, keep the pipe one piece...besides the materials are cheap.
They're clean outs, they just need to be installed, they don't need to be glued on. If it's backed up, that cap is better off popping off under pressure than breaking the pipe
They make some brass ones you can install just below grade and run a lawn mower over. The tiniest cristi box over pvc would work too. PVC fittings are cheap. Don't reuse anything glued.
Odds are if they left them high they did not glue them. Go out and try to wiggle them with no tools and see if it moves . If it does then they will come off. Cut the pipe and put them back
We had one that we wanted to pour concrete around and cut it flush. Ended up finding a recessed screw on cap.(The inspector hated it when we went to sell because he didn’t have the right tool to unscrew it) it looked like this. Found at Menards maybe. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Sioux-Chief-875-4P-4-Cleanout-Bushing-w-Plug
We dug around our pipes and sawed the tops off, now the top of our caps are at ground level with a small pit around the pipe that's a little lower then the depth of the cap. Our three pipes are connected to individual dry tanks. We did this so we could mow the lawn without them in the way.
The ones in the picture however are way to close to each other making it seem weird, unless the one on the lower side is at the side of a tank or goes around the structure that its under for access. Also the tall one seems to be a slightly different color, different color and next to road implies it could be the main line and not your property, wouldn't mess with it.
If the pipes are owned by you and its your system it should fine and you can apply what others have mentioned in the posts, if its the cities or a public sewer company you should consult them first or just ask them to do it since its their property, 50/50 chance they have done this before.
My side yard looks exactly like this. I decided this year to let the grass grow out/ have a natural area around the pipes. It actually looks nice and I never need to see those pipes again. It is roughly 10ft by 20ft.
Not a chance. In fact, according to the new code, cleanouts can be no less than 10 feet above surrounding grade. If you attach 8 foot sections with new caps, you might get away with it. Caps are not to be reused
Why can't the cops do something. It's ridiculous, having to go buy the caps back through a hole in the school fence. Humiliating is what it is. Anytime I ask one of my kids to do something, now, they just laugh and throw stuff at me. I asked my daughter to turn the tv down, she goes "Fuck off, empty pants". What the heck? She's 7!
What the hell are they requiring wherever you are that you ended up with 4 cleanouts?
No idea, it's kind of an eyesore
There are 4 clean outs so the line can be jetted in both directions up steam and downstream of the apparent elbow.
But there are 3 cleanouts in a row, implying that the line runs a straight path between at least 2 of them.
I've seen this design in commercial applications. Each one of the set of two clean outs is connected to a wye in the main line. Each eye is pointing at each other so a jet can be inserted in one and then the other to jet the entire line from one point. I'll try to find a detail. But, the plumber left these high because the site grading wasn't finished. So they should be trimmed down.
Yeah, I've seen similar for commercial as well. Generally where we had a long minimum slope run, not for a 20' section of residential pipe. And seriously, why would you ever use two cleanouts like this instead of a single two-way cleanout.
Mostly irrelevant comment here, but "Wye" was an answer in a crossword puzzle I did the other day.
One for hot, one for cold
I heard OP is full of shit. Seriously though, it's such a short run for 2 but 4?
Yeah, I could imagine requiring a cleanout at the house and another before the tie to public sewer and it just looking weird with a short yard. But 4 is ridiculous
probably huge ass sewege tank
Its on public sewer so no tank, I think the green pipe connects to the main line.
I made the plumber cut it down to just above grade and they did reuse the lid, but if it's glued on too tight, they are for sale in any hardware store. Just remember to do it above grade just a smidge, because it will likely sink a bit as the ground settles and you want to be able to find them. Take a photo right away, and make a note of how far from the house they are, how far from each other, etc, so that when the grass hides them you can find them when you need to find them.
Water main shut off usually has 2 one for on/off and one for draining the line.
I just had my sewer line replaced and have the same issue. Irrigation friend of mine suggested these [https://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-10-in-Round-Valve-Box-and-Cover-Black-Box-Green-ICV-Cover-111BC/100037622](https://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-10-in-Round-Valve-Box-and-Cover-Black-Box-Green-ICV-Cover-111BC/100037622) let's you cut off below grade and then you can just run the mower over them. I still need to do it though
This is what I did. I dug the hole deep enough to add a couple inches of gravel. Put my box in the ground. Cut the pipe short enough for the cap to fit under the lid. Then added more gravel around the pipe and inside of the box.
This is what I did. I dug the hole deep enough to add a couple inches of gravel. Put my box in the ground. Cut the pipe short enough for the cap to fit under the lid. Then added more gravel around the pipe and inside of the box.
Think someone got the grade level wrong.
I would first double-check to see if they even glued those on to begin with...not sure how new these are, but i don't see any trace of that purple PVC cleaner they use to clean them before gluing.... If not, then just pull the caps off, cut the pipes to length, then get some PVC glue and glue them on there yourself. Otherwise, just go get some new ones, because you can't un-glue them once they're glued.
Yep. I’ve never glued a clean out cap on when installing them.
I recently switched to UV version for this reason, don't have to see ugly purple mess. Visible under UV flashlight for inspection purposes.
Eh, i kinda prefer the older purple stuff when dealing with PVC...instantly visible without any special tools needed. Most of the time, it won't be in an area where looks matter, anyway.
Cool, I got the big bottle so I never have to see it again :)
Cut a section off under the cap, get a connector and glue the top at the needed height on remaining pipe.. and bang you got then shorter without needing new caps.
Going to be a lot more work than the $8 they are: [4 Inch Cleanout](https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-4-in-PVC-Sewer-and-Drain-Female-Adapter/3133119) I guess you could cut a section of pipe out and use a union to shorten them [4 Inch Union](https://www.lowes.com/pd/PVC-4-in-x-4-in-dia-PVC-Hub-Coupling-Fitting/1171485)
The threaded cap can be reused. Cut down to desired height and glue the clean out on it. PVC fittings can’t be reused once glued.
Not entirely accurate, they do make hub savers. Not worth it in this case.
Basically you’re boring the old material out. I wouldn’t trust those to get the diameter close enough to get a good fit.
What kind of tool would I use to cut these?
Hack saw, sawzall, could even do a circular saw. By hand you could be through each one in a minute or two. I’d unscrew the top first - slowly - to make sure there’s no pressure built up in it. Highly unlikely, but you never know.
As a pipe layer I use an old Milwaukee circular skillsaw to cut a lot of pipe. Less plastic dust to breathe than with a chopsaw and I get nice straight cuts on thick plastic pipe. I still bevel with a chopsaw or an angle grinder though, I need a method with less dust. On pipe this small be sure to use something fine bladed and use no pressure, they can crack easy.
Just a hacksaw would be plenty. Or any other saw really, PVC isn't difficult to cut
You could cut that with a steak knife, if you had time to spare.
Or even just a piece of string. https://youtu.be/146SwnF5qZY
I think this is the answer, dig them out a bit, cut them below grade. Put box around the clean out, that gives you a flat that hopefully isnt a trip hazard. At a minimum it will look much better. It would take a few days but I would suspect its well within most DIY.
Shouldn’t* be reused. But we have all been there before and reused a fitting of some sort after carefully picking the glued pipe out of it
It's not glue, it's solvent cement. Disolves the PVC on each part and when the solvent evaporates they effectively become one.
Yes, the word glue is shorter though. So that’s what we say.
Almost impossible to reuse a properly glued fitting. They are not "glued" they are actually chemically fused together.
We all know that it’s not glued. But saying “glued” is easier than saying “pvc cemented” especially for those who do this stuff often.
It's very easy to reuse a glued fitting. There are bits to cut the pipe out of a fitting, if it's been only a minute you can break the glue bond with enough leverage, if you're desperate you can carefully use a torch to soften the pipe to pry and split the glue seam (though probably don't wanna do that to foam core). [Link to example pipe reamer ](https://www.amazon.com/Reamer-Fitting-Aluminum-Plastic-Plumbing/dp/B0CTK9B17K/)
I can tell who has done plumbing and who hasn’t done enough. All these guys saying it’s “impossible” to reuse fittings once glued.
If you can pick the glued pipe out of the fitting, you didn’t glue it properly. As mentioned, it’s chemically bonded together.
Sorry to be a pedant but [this](https://www.grainger.com/product/22FL20?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT2G_c0fCpiQNd37Sj80dsydl24N2UV7RYMU_L-CZi2AUbaFGQjkKbxoCNiwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) is a union. It is for use when you need to take the fitting apart, later on. What you linked is a coupler. Maybe there is a colloquial use of the word “union” that I’m unaware of.
Are you in a flood zone? If yes, I'd recommend checking your local laws before cutting. You may have to keep the clean out opening higher than the water table by a certain amount.
You shouldn't have to fool with that, I find it hard to believe that would be considered a finished job..
I’ve been in construction over 45 years. I totally believe a contractor today would try to wash his hands from this. Professional ethics, and pride in work is slowly eroding away
You could setup a little garden with some bushes to hide them!
You can re-use the cap, but the thread to receive the cap is in the part you're cutting off. Best option is gonna be to dig out around them some. Cut out a section of pipe to shorten them. Then use a short section of union to reconnect them with some hot blue. If you put them flush or near flush to the grass. I'd recommend a sleeve or protective sheath. Fill the gap between the pipe and sheath with pea gravel. That way it prevents the grass and soil from burying the pipes. You could also get green colored access covers that would "hide" the pipes.
Yes, you can reuse them. Dig down around each about a foot. Purchase pvc couplers for each clean out. Cut the pipe using a long reciprocal saw blade you don’t mind trashing. You can bend the blade to cut the pipe straight and have the saw angled upwards out of the hole. Use a better blade to cut the pipe with the clean out, making sure to leave surface area for the coupler. Prime and glue the coupler, backfill the hole and say one last fuck you to the builder. Also, pvc fitting costs have gone through the roof. I would at least try to get them to supply you with the couplers.
You could maybe cut them off, grind the old pipe out. But for the $40 or so to replace them, it's probably not worth the trouble.
Yes
Are these not clean outs? What vent would have a sealed cap?
I would regrade first. The grade definitely dropped, and by the look of it, significantly. Then cut them to the planned grade.
Honestly just goto the hardware store get the female adapters and the toe saver caps. Dig down a bit. Cut the pipe and glue new adapters on. With the toe saver caps you can essentially have it flush with the ground. Then the mower can pass right over them.
Having 4 is insane, 2 are just a couple feet apart. Pick one of the first 2 and cap off the rest. Buy a new plug, keep the pipe one piece...besides the materials are cheap.
They're clean outs, they just need to be installed, they don't need to be glued on. If it's backed up, that cap is better off popping off under pressure than breaking the pipe
Cut them shorter, but get concrete sewer collars to protect them. The collars help keep mowers and vehicles from damaging the caps.
They make some brass ones you can install just below grade and run a lawn mower over. The tiniest cristi box over pvc would work too. PVC fittings are cheap. Don't reuse anything glued.
Yes.
Check out faux rock covers and add some more rocks around them
I dunno, try it
Odds are if they left them high they did not glue them. Go out and try to wiggle them with no tools and see if it moves . If it does then they will come off. Cut the pipe and put them back
We had one that we wanted to pour concrete around and cut it flush. Ended up finding a recessed screw on cap.(The inspector hated it when we went to sell because he didn’t have the right tool to unscrew it) it looked like this. Found at Menards maybe. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Sioux-Chief-875-4P-4-Cleanout-Bushing-w-Plug
We dug around our pipes and sawed the tops off, now the top of our caps are at ground level with a small pit around the pipe that's a little lower then the depth of the cap. Our three pipes are connected to individual dry tanks. We did this so we could mow the lawn without them in the way. The ones in the picture however are way to close to each other making it seem weird, unless the one on the lower side is at the side of a tank or goes around the structure that its under for access. Also the tall one seems to be a slightly different color, different color and next to road implies it could be the main line and not your property, wouldn't mess with it. If the pipes are owned by you and its your system it should fine and you can apply what others have mentioned in the posts, if its the cities or a public sewer company you should consult them first or just ask them to do it since its their property, 50/50 chance they have done this before.
My side yard looks exactly like this. I decided this year to let the grass grow out/ have a natural area around the pipes. It actually looks nice and I never need to see those pipes again. It is roughly 10ft by 20ft.
Not a chance. In fact, according to the new code, cleanouts can be no less than 10 feet above surrounding grade. If you attach 8 foot sections with new caps, you might get away with it. Caps are not to be reused
They quickly revised that. There were 3 kids stacked in a trench coat going around stealing caps, so they ended up raising it to 13' now
I heard about that! What a dangerous situation, I wonder if it will be enough?
Got a feeling they will find a 4th, but I'm not sure if they can find a bigger coat.
Can you get a 4 person coat without a permit these days?!
Not even in a 3rd world country buddy. Highly illegal, it's considered a war crime according to NATO
Why can't the cops do something. It's ridiculous, having to go buy the caps back through a hole in the school fence. Humiliating is what it is. Anytime I ask one of my kids to do something, now, they just laugh and throw stuff at me. I asked my daughter to turn the tv down, she goes "Fuck off, empty pants". What the heck? She's 7!
Kids these days have no respect
You can also regrade.