[jyl]

Another update, the final one I think.

So my neighbor and I have a hydrojet cutter company come out, to cut the roots from our shared line. The guy sets his camera and hydrocutter up in my neighbor's basement, goes in the cleanout on the stack, and can't get the hydrocutter head past the "Y" in the line, there are too many turns in the line. So we got to my basement and spend an hour trying to get the cleanout plug removed. Huge pipe wrench. Sledge. PB Blaster. Torch. Cold chisel. Finally I end up drilling a line of holes in the plug and he and I managed to cold chisel out the thick brass plug. He puts his camera down my line and sees cleanouts along the run. We go outside and he uses his detector gadget to find my outside cleanout, which is buried under my side yard under a flagstone paver. Whew. Now with clear access, he videos my line all the way to the street.

Surprise.

I am not on a party line. I have my own line, mostly plastic, direct to the city line. I have no roots, no problems, nothing. I do not need a new sewer line or even a hydrojetting.

So, what is going on with my poor neighbor. The hydrojet guy talks with him. My neighbor has a "Y", it looks like he actually ties into another line, but it isn't my line. It isn't clear if there is another active line connected to that "Y" or if it is capped off. He has all the root problems earlier seen. His roots (no longer my roots!) cannot be accessed by the hydrojet head, because of all the bends in his line. So either he needs to get a cleanout installed in his yard, or they still need to figure out who he is connected to, if anyone, and find a cleanout on that line. The other line, if it is active, might belong to a second neighbor, we're not sure.

Anyway, it isn't my problem.

The hydrojet guy was on the job for 4 hours. Their charge is $260/hour, plus $170 for camera, plus $20 for truck roll. That's $1,240.

By now he and I have spent four hours working together, chatting about Porsches and VWs, my wife has been bringing us cookies and water, etc. He cuts the bill and charges me $435. I pay it, and am not going to ask my neighbor to pay his half, although he is willing to do so. I figure, he's got a bigger problem, I don't have a problem, so I'll do the neighborly thing.

I think my neighbor will be able to solve his sewage problem, maybe with the cooperation of the second neighbor. But I'm in the clear.