Cutting garage slab to access sewer drain

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marchingant

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I have a single car garage with a 70 year old cast iron sewer pipe under that needs to be replaced. Is it safe to cut the slab to gain access to the pipe?

The house is a raised foundation but the garage is on a slab.
The cast iron that is under the raised foundation (house part) has been replaced with ABS
The slab has a 1/4 to 1/2 gap when it butts up to the foundation wall, so I guess it's a floating slab
There is a crack that runs the length of the garage, very close (if not exactly) where the pipe is.
I don't feel like paying the $2000+ to have the line sleeved, and would also like to cut out the crack as it is raised in some spots.

If i'm good to cut the slab what do I need to add and where? I assume a clean out? backflow prevent?
Since its in the garage I'd love to add a floor drain for accidental washing machine overflow or broken hoses, a good idea?

Thanks for the advise.
 

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Dj2

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Is there anything built on top of the garage?...
If not, and based on the info you provided, you could cut the slab to do a drain change over. If there is steel, cut it and re-do it after the new pipe is in and before you pour new concrete. Wrap your new pipe. Just make sure you know and verify the drain routing before you saw, you don't want to cut and cut and cut.
If yes, that's a whole different ball game. If you run into a steel grade beam, it's a whole new ball game too.
If you want to add a clean out, place it in an easy to reach location, which is also out of the way of traffic.
Yes, you can get rid of the crack at the same time.
 

hj

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You will NOT encounter a "steel grade beam" nor will there be any other type of grade beam, (they are ONLY under structural walls), in a single car garage. Cut the concrete, replace the pipe, install a cleanout ANY WHERE you want to, then put everything back together.
 

Jadnashua

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IF you decide to put in a floor drain, you'd want to account for a vent, and some way to prime the trap on the floor drain, otherwise, it will dry out, leaving a direct path into your sewer. Drains in a garage are also likely to have some restrictions in case you might leak some gasoline into them. I'd probably think twice about it. As an emergency, you might be able to just drain it outside and not connect it to the sewer...you couldn't do that on a regular basis, but as an emergency, it might be okay.
 
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