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Author:
kumba (FL)
The short version goes something like this:
I have a 1950's home slab on grade with cast iron sewer pipe. Kitchen and bathroom share a common wall and dump into one cast iron stack that also vents the toilet and bathtub. There is about 5-feet of pipe under the slab before running outside to the cleanout. All of the under-slab sewer pipe is in the bathroom area. Only problem I ever had with the sewer was when someone didn't have toilet paper but used a couple paper towels instead. Other then that nothing beyond over-zealous toilet paper use use getting stuck in the commode's trap. Currently the complete kitchen is ripped out down to the walls and the bathroom is ripped out down to the studs and slab.
I already plan to have a camera ran down from the toilet flange inside the bathroom to see what the horizontal cast iron runs look like. If I am going to replace the under-slab pipes to the vent stack then now is the time to do it. If the camera inspection comes back with any issues other then "Looks like 60 year old crapper pipe", would it be wise to go ahead and replace it now? Or just let anything small go and wait until something like a crack or large leak happens? From what I can find reading this forum and other places the cast iron is pretty trouble-free for around 80-100 years assuming the house doesn't move a lot and the install was done right.
I know this is kind of like asking what the winning lottery numbers will be, or when I'll get my next speeding ticket, but I'm just fishing for general opinions. What would you do in a similar situation?
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Author:
packy (MA)
it would have to be pretty bad for me to even think about replacement.
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Author:
srloren (CA)
If it looks ok with the camera, you might consider sleeving it with epoxy. I have never done this but it may be a solution to get that extra 40 years out of the cast iron. The guys with experience in the arena will jump in and correct me if my thinking is wrong. Having said this, replacing with ABS would be the best solution I could recommend. It requires sawing up the slab and replacing the CI but you will have a smooth interior surface of ABS which if properly laid will give you a life time of service.
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Author:
kumba (FL)
There are a couple of shops around here that do pipe re-lining. Guess that's an option too. Sounds like I should just hurry up and wait on the camera inspection to get done. That I am going to do regardless for peace of mind if nothing else.
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Author:
holland123 (MI)
I would tend to agree with packy, if it's not broken why fix it.
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Author:
kumba (FL)
Got a look down the sewer. It's got some pitting but there are no roots, holes, and no valleys in the bottom of the pipe. Also got to the line outside where it goes from cast iron to PVC. When I popped the coupler off to look at the cast iron the thickness was about 1/4" at the bottom. The plumber said it could be replaced for a lot less while it's convenient but that there was nothing really to fix. It's just 60 year old crapper pipe. His best guess is another 20-30 years of service life before it starts having issues. So I just cust into the PVC in front of the cleanout for my water softener drain and called it a day.
Peace of mind if nothing else.
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Author:
Ginawatson77 (IL)
We are currently dyi our cast iron sewer drain replacement. Little did we know about how much work it would be. The depth of the horizontal run to the clean out valve is about 5ft. After busting through the cement and digging for 2 days we dug up about a truck bed full of dirt. We found the leak right near the elbow of the vent stack. The plumbers estimate of this work was 6k. So far we are under 1k with the purchase of the saw, blades and wet vac we needed.Please email me if you would like to know anything else ginawatson77@live.com
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