Drainpipes

Re: Drainpipes

Greetings,

I belong to a little brick bungalow in the midwest, built in
'54, poured-concrete foundation.

Big vertical drain-pipe that runs thru basement floor to
sewer line in the street. A branch runs maybe 16' to a
roof vent, with the bathtub trap/drain connected. There are
2 places (1 before and 1 after the bathtub trap) where there
are small rusty-looking nodules near the bottom of the pipe,
and small rust spots on the floor under them.

The pipe is cast iron. It looks like:
http://lawsupply.net/cast_iron/spec/chapter1d.htm
Fig 1 "C", lead/oakum joint w/hub.

My plumbing knowledge/experience doesn't extend beyond
replacing a faucet, sweating copper pipes.

There are about 4 sections of the cast iron pipe that
need to be replaced. If I had the $ to contract with
a plumber, about how much *could* it cost: $600? $800?
$1200?? Etc.

DIY? Old iron pipe mated to new PVC? How does one work
with this stuff??

Any/all info/suggestions etc much appreciated.

Cheers,
Puddin'
--
******************************************************
*** Puddin' Man PuddingDotMan at GmailDotCom ***
******************************************************;

 

Best way to replace this is to rent a cast iron snapper. They come in manual, hydraulic and ratchet types. I prefer the ratchet. You will need no-hub couplings (also called Mission couplings) that are made to go from cast iron to PVC. You cut the cast iron out and replace with PVC. Be sure to support the cast iron before you cut it. It will be "hanging" after you cut it. It is pretty straight forward work. Good luck and reply back with any further questions.

 

>Best way to replace this is to rent a cast iron snapper.
>They come in manual, hydraulic and ratchet types. I prefer
>the ratchet.

I looked at one this morn. I'm thinking I can maybe
make a single cut several inches from a hub and then
maybe just work the sections I need to replace out
of there. The lead-oakum joints come apart easily
after a cut? Hope it's not like wrestlin' alligators ...

>You will need no-hub couplings (also called
>Mission couplings) that are made to go from cast iron to
>PVC.

Looked at some of those also. No apparent problem.
The old cast-iron stuff appears to be 2 1/4 " OD.
Hopefully 2" pvc etc will be all I need.

>You cut the cast iron out and replace with PVC.

Have you ever heard of anyplace where it was -not-
acceptable bldg. code to do this? Inspectors hereabouts
don't like to talk to folks until it's time to crunch 'em. :-)

>Be sure
>to support the cast iron before you cut it. It will be
>"hanging" after you cut it.

Still working on this one.

>It is pretty straight forward
>work. Good luck and reply back with any further questions.

Noxious sewer gas? Should I start a buncha exhaust fans
before I cut?

I gotta figger the angles etc on a pvc 'V' for the tub trap, etc.
Guess I'll just start by getting the pvc stuff and working/
sizing it.

Much Thanks,
Puddin'

 

I'll try to answer one thing at a time.
Unless the pipe is leaking, I would not remove the lead/oakum joints. If you do, you are looking at more fittings. They do make a "doughnut" type rubber fitting that goes into the hub to make the transition from cast to PVC. It's a personal preference. Your choice.
Sounds like 2" pipe. If you take the no-hub fitting and slide the stainless steel cover off the rubber, then slide the stainless onto the pipe, you can then put the rubber part onto the pipe and peel it back over itself to squeeze the pipe inbetween the two no-hub fittings (if you are installing a section with a tee in the run of pipe). Once the pipe is in place, you simply bring the peeled rubber back over the PVC pipe and clamp with the stainless cover.
Never heard of a code prohibiting changing materials as long as the materials are code compliant.
As far as supporting the pipe: As long as the pipe cannot move up or down while you are working on it, you can use whatever you have. I have seen rope, chains and pipe clamps used for this.
Sewer gas issue: I would ventilate the area you are working in. If you take a break, stuff a rag in the pipe until you continue (or while working if you are not immediately closing the pipe up). It's also nice if people are not using the fixtures while you are working on the pipe.
Hope this helps.

 

>I'll try to answer one thing at a time.
>Unless the pipe is leaking, I would not remove the
>lead/oakum joints. If you do, you are looking at more
>fittings. They do make a "doughnut" type rubber fitting that
>goes into the hub to make the transition from cast to PVC.
>It's a personal preference. Your choice.

All I contemplate is 2 no-hub fittings with pvc stuff
in-between.

The big vert. drain looks OK. The problem branch (starting
at the vert. drain) consists of:

a.) 2 6" elbows collectively redirecting about 45 degrees
(almost horozontal).
b.) A 5' (rusty) segment beginning with a hub.
c.) A 10" "V" that ties into the bathtub trap.
d.) A 1 ' (rusty) segment beginning with a hub.
e.) A 90-degree elbow that routes the drain to
vertical (for the roof vent).

I don't wanna mount fittings on a.) because they are
curved. I -do- wanna replace as much of the branch as
I can. I figger that will be b.), c.), and d.).

I figger I can cut a few inches from the hub on b.) and
leave enough of the 2" pipe for the fitting.

d.) ends in a hub. e.) has only a few inches of straight
pipe before it curves (I don't wanna cut it).

So I'm thinking: cut b.) in 2 places and then work
c.) and d.) out, and install pvc to replace 90+%
of b.) and all of c.) and d.). Eh?

>Sounds like 2" pipe. If you take the no-hub fitting and
>slide the stainless steel cover off the rubber, then slide
>the stainless onto the pipe, you can then put the rubber
>part onto the pipe and peel it back over itself to squeeze
>the pipe inbetween the two no-hub fittings (if you are
>installing a section with a tee in the run of pipe). Once
>the pipe is in place, you simply bring the peeled rubber
>back over the PVC pipe and clamp with the stainless cover.

OK. Add maybe some pipe joint compound or somesuch to
help seal the rubber?

>Never heard of a code prohibiting changing materials as long
>as the materials are code compliant.

Thanks. That's what I was hoping for.

>As far as supporting the pipe: As long as the pipe cannot
>move up or down while you are working on it, you can use
>whatever you have. I have seen rope, chains and pipe clamps
>used for this.

Shouldn't be a problem. There's a couple nails supporting
it now, but I'll add *something*.

>Sewer gas issue: I would ventilate the area you are working
>in. If you take a break, stuff a rag in the pipe until you
>continue (or while working if you are not immediately
>closing the pipe up). It's also nice if people are not using
>the fixtures while you are working on the pipe.

You ain't kiddin' about that last statement! :-) There's
nobody here but me and my crazy bird-dawg.

Thanks,
Puddin'