Adding a cleanout to dump at your home in LA

Finally got hold of someone in Building and safety. No real restriction on placement of
clean out. Just has to be 2 feet from building. As for RV dumping, they couldn't find anything in the building code and said to check with public works.

In my area it is as stated above by Naio.

A clean out is required at the property line and is supposed to be no more than 1 foot deep.

In the places in the US that I have done construction, cleanouts are REQUIRED in all new sewer plumbing -- frequently many cleanouts per house. So there would be no problem in adding one to old plumbing that does not have it.

This was not in LA, but I think plumbing codes in the US may be 'universal'.

Can't find the code. Found all kinds of info on sewer lateral and recommended clean out from county and city, but no further info or ordinances. Can't get thru to Building and Safety and they haven't returned calls.

I expect flaming from this so go ahead.

IMO, if it cannot be done legally, don't do it, regardless of neighbors. Code is established for a reason. If code is out dated, try changing the code or get a variance.

I installed one and call it a clean out for the sewer line. That was 20 years ago. Besides a convenient RV dump, it has come in handy a couple of times when tree roots clogged the sewer line. Saved money by shortening the distance the roto-rooter guy has to run the snake.

If I was to do it today, I would just use a macerator pump, garden hose, and connect to the existing cleanout. Much easier and less costly plus I would have to dig a 6ft deep hole to get to the sewer line to put in a Tee and pipe above ground.

I have been using a sewer solution kit running it to the side of the house, but it uses so much water. If cleanout is installed, can I run 30 feet of sewer hose to it or is that too much?

Sagecoachdriver wrote:
Has anyone looked into the legality of adding a clean out to the sewer line on your property in Los Angeles?

Here in Canada, Ontario specifically, we don't have sewer "cleanouts" that can be accessed by the property owner. Instead, I T'd into the main stack which in my house happens to be in the laundry room and ran an extension through the concrete wall to the outside world where I mounted an intake stack. It's a 50' run from there to where I park our trailer on the driveway so I use a FloJet Waste Macerator (a.k.a. Poop Cannon) to macerate and pump the contents of my grey & black water tanks directly into the intake stack. Works like a charm and I never have to visit campground dumpstations. :B

A series of 7 pics illustrating my setup starts here.

ah... you've got some of "THOSE" neighbors hum? We had neighbors like that too once. We ended up moving because every whip stitch they turned us into the zoning board for something. When we checked the zoning board, we found out there were multiple complaints, but nothing they could do because we were still legal. They kept pushing though until they found one ... we had to move the camper completely. We did ... and we moved with the camper! Best thing we could have done! Now, my neighbors "moo" back at me if they don't like something!

Wherever you live, you should be able to install a clean out if you don't have one. To be above board though, hire a plumber to do it. How you use it ... well .... that's where good privacy fences are needed! Good luck. Sorry I'm not any help. I'm just saying ... I understand about the neighbors!

Here is a link to the Plumbing Forum that I use when I do DIY plumbing stuff. There is a small group of licensed plumbers from around the country that are familiar with general codes and in some cases local codes and are very helpful IF you don't ask questions that indicate you have no idea what you are doing....they really like it when you say you're planning on hiring a professional to do the work!

That said, I don't think any local laws prohibit a cleanout...the codes generally talk about the pipe size, height above ground, etc. Think if you had a sewer clog and the plumber came...he could release sewage just by removing the cleanout cap....and nobody is sending a hazmat crew....