Hi,
Question: Is there a way to line a measly 3 feet of cast iron pipe?
We've had to replace the old cast iron wet/dry stack in the house from top to bottom - and I'm glad we did! The pipe at the 2nd floor, just above the wet portion of the vent, was completely shattered. And I do mean shattered! It was held on by only one or two atoms. To make matters worse, the walls are old plaster and lath, which had delaminated and a lot of the plaster and bits of cast iron fell into the pipe during the demo, clogging the entire stack at a 90 degree bend in the basement. The walls are insulated with vermiculite and at some point, blown insulation. It was a complete mess.
The pipe ran inside the northwest corner of the house's exterior walls. It was completely boxed in with no insulation to speak of and running down into a rubble foundation, full height basement that is heated, but poorly insulated. The old cast iron pipe goes through the ground floor and makes an immediate 90 degree turn, switching from a vertical wet/dry stack to a horizontal wet stack and then out to the septic tank.
Plan A was to rip that cast iron out of there and replace it as this pipe is cracked along the top where i can see it and I am scared of what I can't see. The reason why I haven't is that the pipe is embedded in the concrete of the foundation, buried behind structural joists and then completely encapsulated with closed cell insulating foam. Even if it was out in the open to see, it would be about 2 feet back from the wall in a very tight corner, embedded in concrete. A Sawzall probably wouldn't make it back there, let alone a hammer. But as it stands, I literally can't see (from the outside) or get to 1/3 of the pipe and would have to chisel away at the foundation to get it out of there.
Plan B was to relocate the pipe. But that is not practical, especially with all the structural components in the way - it seems like they built this thing right into the foundation and planned the structure tight around it, despite the fact that the house predates indoor plumbing.
I've replaced the majority of the wet/dry stack and tied into that basement section of the cast iron pipe in place. I should point out that I've had a licensed plumber take a look at the situation, and this was their professional recommendation. They said they would get back to me with an estimate.
Spoiler Alert!!!
They didn't get back to me with an estimate.
As I live in a rural area, there are not many plumbers out here to get estimates in. No one else was interested in coming to take a look, so I'm kind of on my own.
I went with a 3" Schedule 40 ABS pipe - ABS over PVC for the durability in extreme cold weather, given the poor insulation in the house - all of which conforms to code in Ontario, Canada for the overall hydraulic load in our house. For the time being, I've left that section of cast iron pipe attached, as I had been professionally advised. The crack I can see is on the top of the pipe and I've got that reasonably plugged with an epoxy putty to keep the sewer gases where they aught to be, and that's holding for now. There is no liquid leakage at the pipe. Yet.
Obviously, this is not a permanent solution. So now I'm looking for a Plan C.
I would love to line that 3-4 feet of cast iron pipe with its 90 degree bend. I'm aware of an epoxy sleeve, but every application that I've seen online seems to be for larger scale applications, like relining old apartment buildings and such. I just need 3-4 feet of lining here... something that can take cold temperatures and the occasional drain snaking.
Any ideas you folks have would be appreciated.
Thanks.
RJ.
Question: Is there a way to line a measly 3 feet of cast iron pipe?
We've had to replace the old cast iron wet/dry stack in the house from top to bottom - and I'm glad we did! The pipe at the 2nd floor, just above the wet portion of the vent, was completely shattered. And I do mean shattered! It was held on by only one or two atoms. To make matters worse, the walls are old plaster and lath, which had delaminated and a lot of the plaster and bits of cast iron fell into the pipe during the demo, clogging the entire stack at a 90 degree bend in the basement. The walls are insulated with vermiculite and at some point, blown insulation. It was a complete mess.
The pipe ran inside the northwest corner of the house's exterior walls. It was completely boxed in with no insulation to speak of and running down into a rubble foundation, full height basement that is heated, but poorly insulated. The old cast iron pipe goes through the ground floor and makes an immediate 90 degree turn, switching from a vertical wet/dry stack to a horizontal wet stack and then out to the septic tank.
Plan A was to rip that cast iron out of there and replace it as this pipe is cracked along the top where i can see it and I am scared of what I can't see. The reason why I haven't is that the pipe is embedded in the concrete of the foundation, buried behind structural joists and then completely encapsulated with closed cell insulating foam. Even if it was out in the open to see, it would be about 2 feet back from the wall in a very tight corner, embedded in concrete. A Sawzall probably wouldn't make it back there, let alone a hammer. But as it stands, I literally can't see (from the outside) or get to 1/3 of the pipe and would have to chisel away at the foundation to get it out of there.
Plan B was to relocate the pipe. But that is not practical, especially with all the structural components in the way - it seems like they built this thing right into the foundation and planned the structure tight around it, despite the fact that the house predates indoor plumbing.
I've replaced the majority of the wet/dry stack and tied into that basement section of the cast iron pipe in place. I should point out that I've had a licensed plumber take a look at the situation, and this was their professional recommendation. They said they would get back to me with an estimate.
Spoiler Alert!!!
They didn't get back to me with an estimate.
As I live in a rural area, there are not many plumbers out here to get estimates in. No one else was interested in coming to take a look, so I'm kind of on my own.
I went with a 3" Schedule 40 ABS pipe - ABS over PVC for the durability in extreme cold weather, given the poor insulation in the house - all of which conforms to code in Ontario, Canada for the overall hydraulic load in our house. For the time being, I've left that section of cast iron pipe attached, as I had been professionally advised. The crack I can see is on the top of the pipe and I've got that reasonably plugged with an epoxy putty to keep the sewer gases where they aught to be, and that's holding for now. There is no liquid leakage at the pipe. Yet.
Obviously, this is not a permanent solution. So now I'm looking for a Plan C.
I would love to line that 3-4 feet of cast iron pipe with its 90 degree bend. I'm aware of an epoxy sleeve, but every application that I've seen online seems to be for larger scale applications, like relining old apartment buildings and such. I just need 3-4 feet of lining here... something that can take cold temperatures and the occasional drain snaking.
Any ideas you folks have would be appreciated.
Thanks.
RJ.
