I'm re-modeling my bathroom and have gutted it over the weekend. I have a wood sub-floor over a crawl space. One of the problems I have is that the iron drain pipe from the shower pan to the cast iron trap was not threaded into the trap. It was completely loose and above the trap. I am real curious how that would happen.

But my problem is that the threads on the trap are very rusted with deposits on them. I don't think I will be able to thread another pipe in there. I was wondering if I should replace the old cast iron trap and pipe with plastic (ABS?). How would I go about doing this?

The toilet drain and shower drain go into a very large pipe that looks to go to the septic tank. Should I also consider replacing the cast iron toilet drain and the large pipe that goes to the septic tank also? The cast iron seems to get corroded inside and I'm afraid of the pipes clogging.

Any help is appreciated.

 

I'd use PVC if it is common in your area and replumb the bathroom while you are this deep into the project. Make sure you check with local codes to make sure that you are code compliant in the replacement of the drains.

Replacing an apple with an apple doesn't work with older systems; especially when codes are changing from year to year.

 

Thanks Dunbar. I think it's common in newer houses around here. Mine was built in 62. I'm in Northern California. When you say replumb the bathroom how far back do you mean? To the large pipe to the septic tank? I wouldn't want to dig that all the way up. That would be a big mess in the front yard. Would I cut the big pipe and somehow splice PVC into it? I'm assuming PVC and ABS are the same.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I would take it just where you are remodeling/gutting the room. PVC and ABS are similar and different all in the same statement. Without being a chemical engineer, all I know is PVC stands for Poly-Vinyl Chloride. I "should" know what ABS stands for but this is my last post and I can't keep my eyes open

There are numerous ways to connect to existing systems. One is by the use of Fernco or rubber boot couplings where permitted.

 

Thanks, Dunbar. I'll make a trip to the plumbing store to see what they have and what is permissable here.

BTW, my family is from Portsmouth OH. I'll be out this summer to visit and do some bass fishin'.