Found an old cleanout hole cut in a 4" cast iron riser, how best to close temporarily?

[Gellfex]

So as part of trying to solve a 4" cast iron leak disaster, I discovered that a hole had been cut sometime before I bought the building. It had been epoxied, taped over and painted. There also appears to be another hole in the elbow above it!

What is the best plan for dealing with these holes? The elbow hole can be permanent, but I need access to clean this stack. Right now I have a piece of 6 mil poly wrapped on with 'shrink wrap' packing tape.

FWIW, the main problem is a leak somewhere between the 1st and 2nd floors. I have the 1st floor ceiling open (was destroyed) and can see it's not coming from the 2nd floor branches in any way, nor do they get any backup in their tub. I'm thinking there's a blockage above their laterals and the 3rd floor water is backing up to a bad hub seal. I have a 10m 5mp boroscope arriving any day now. Was supposed to be yesterday!

 

[Reach4]

I would get a shielded coupler of the right size.

That might be Fernco 3000-44 if the pipe diameter is about 4.5 and the height of the hole is 1.75 inches or less.

I would remove the band. I would slice the rubber, and wrap that around the hole with the slice away from the hole. I would screw the band around the rubber.

If your hole is bigger, there is probably a different coupling.

Here is a less official-looking patch:
https://www.fernco.com/plumbing/pow-r-products

 

[Sponsor]

 

[MACPLUMB]

SORRY BUT GOT BAD SAD NEWS, YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL PLUMBER
TO CUT OUT THAT OLD ROTTEN CAST IRON AND REPLACE WITH NEW PIPE
TO FIX LEAK, AND HOLES WITH A NEW PIPE CLEAN OUT !

 

[Gellfex]

SORRY BUT GOT BAD SAD NEWS, YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL PLUMBER
TO CUT OUT THAT OLD ROTTEN CAST IRON AND REPLACE WITH NEW PIPE
TO FIX LEAK, AND HOLES WITH A NEW PIPE CLEAN OUT !

The cast iron isn't actually rotten, those holes were cut! And I don't know what is actually going on with the leak yet. To gain access for your plan would require me to either rip out a recent kitchen counter and tile backsplash, or the recent tile tub surround on the other side. That makes it a last resort.

And I am perfectly capable of cutting out and replacing the section of cast iron with the holes in it if it came to that. The problem with @Reach4 plan is that the rubber has a dividing spline that would have to be cut out compromising the seal. Plus I'm not even sure it's tall enough to cover this elongated hole. Or that it wouldn't leak where it was cut.

 

[Reach4]

The cast iron isn't actually rotten, those holes were cut!

Is it a round hole? Looked elliptical in the photo, I thought.

If round, there may be a usable plug.

We are talking temporary.

The shield would have held the rubber against the hole, and the slice would have been on the other side. But that coupler is only 2 inches tall, which is why I said the max would be 1.75 for that method of patching.

That Pow-R Wrap would work.

 

[Helper Dave]

I mean, if you're just temporarily patching them, whatever keeps it from leaking is fine. Looks like the hole in the vertical stack is way too big for fernco to cover up, though. Nothing will hold very well on that bend.

Anything you do should only be a fix for a couple days at most before you, or a plumber gets that whole pipe replaced. If there's a hub just above the floor, we'd replace it from there on up (or cut lower down if the pipe is solid enough). Get a proper cleanout near waist high--cutting holes in pipes is no way to have reliable access.

Any good plumber will minimize further damage to fix the pipe properly, but if the problems go further up, walls may need to get opened up. That's always cheaper to fix than all the rot leaking pipes will cause. Doesn't matter how new, nice n shiny walls may appear to be.

 

[Reach4]

I mean, if you're just temporarily patching them, whatever keeps it from leaking is fine. Looks like the hole in the vertical stack is way too big for fernco to cover up, though.

https://www.fernco.com/xl-couplings are longer and available with a shield. Maybe overkill for only a 2 or 3 year temporary patch that will not undergo inspection. That Pow-R Wrap would be easier, and would function well. It would not be good if you wanted to use that hole as a cleanout again.

 

[wwhitney]

To gain access for your plan would require me to either rip out a recent kitchen counter and tile backsplash, or the recent tile tub surround on the other side. That makes it a last resort.

I don't understand this comment. If you removed the elbow with the hole in it, would you not have sufficient access to the spigot end that had been entering the top of the elbow to put a shielded rubber coupling on it? If you have that access, you could replace the parts with holes in them, while adding a cleanout in the straight section.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Sylvan]

Call a licensed plumber , remove that mess, have a clean out installed right below where the hub is

Why would you want to do the same job twice?

Temporary fix then spending more money from a proper permanent job??

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

Hard to determine what the repair/replacement is for the fitting above the pipe section since its out of view. But the best solution is to remove the damaged fittings/pipe and replace them and add a cleanout fitting in the process that is accessible by a cleanout plug.

 

[Reach4]

Hard to determine what the repair/replacement is for the fitting above the pipe section since its out of view. But the best solution is to remove the damaged fittings/pipe and replace them and add a cleanout fitting in the process that is accessible by a cleanout plug.

Clearly best going forward. It is important to securely clamp the pipe above anything being removed before cutting. A riser clamp may be helpful.

 

[Gellfex]

I don't understand this comment. If you removed the elbow with the hole in it, would you not have sufficient access to the spigot end that had been entering the top of the elbow to put a shielded rubber coupling on it? If you have that access, you could replace the parts with holes in them, while adding a cleanout in the straight section.

Cheers, Wayne

I was including the leak problem in the 2nd graph. But today I ran a camera up from that hole, and there's not the blockage I expected. It looks like I'm going to be tearing out the cast iron from at least midwall of the 2nd floor on down, and having to pull the granite countertop and cabinets to get access. What a mess!

 

[Gellfex]

Well for those who enjoy a good schadenfreude gloat, here you go. The damn pipe is cracked completely from the hub a few inches below the top of the tile backsplash to ceiling of the second floor! I excavated this out today my plumber is coming tomorrow, hopefully. Dealing with this in a quick enough way to not overly inconvenience the tenants is above my pay grade.