manhole cover

Missy_Spud

Hi, having some problems with my toilet leaking which plumber who came this morning thinks is a drain backing up, as it happens when i run shower and also my sink/plug holes are making a gurgling noise, he went out to open the manhole cover which is a recessed one so its built into the patio with the stone slab over it to make it look like its blended in to the yard and not a manhole cover, anyway the plumber couldn't get it to open and said the only way was to smash my slab up covering the manhole cover, to which i said no - my yard is fairly new and cost me a lot of money to have laid.

the cover has telescopic handles, when they were doing my yard he said you just need to unscrew a screw and the handles pop up so you can lift it off, is there a special tool for doing this or is it a normal screwdriver?

I am going to ring out a drain company to sort it but I said I would ring the original plumber back to sort out for him to come back tomorrow and fix it after my bf had looked at the manhole cover, but I don't really want him to do the work, when he was going i said how much do I owe you he said ah just leave it for when I come back, so should I ring and just tell him iv'e got someone else doing it and offer to pay him for him coming out? I don't want to leave him out of pocket, but I could hardly say I didn't want him to come back and sort the problem out I would get some else to do it whilst he was here in my house..

Thanks for any help

tiggerbodhi

Would personally call the original plumber and say "thanks but no thanks" ask him to post you an invoice for his time so far, if he asks why say whatyou like, but maybe that BF knows an alternative.

Most covers will come off with a bit of patience and the right tools, it is probable that the cover is screwed down or does need releasing, could you call the company that did the patio to advise, in the past I have had to use hydraulic cover lifters to get a cover to come free (with an application of time, hot water they give up eventually!) bit drastic to start smashing things up!