I want to replace the cast iron soil pipe in my bungalow, with PVC. The junction for the toilet is a couple inches above ground level, and I'd thought that I could remove the junction, clean up the socket, and seal the PVC pipe and new junction (I want to raise it slightly) into that.
But I've realised that my soil pipe is 3 1/2" so presumably this technique isn't going to work? Can I get an adapter - preferably via internet or mail order somewhere?
What else is connected to the stack. Soil pipes are normally 110 mm (4'') so the remaining stack above the WC branch may only be venting pipe to above the roof. That is unless you have other appliances like baths and basins connected above the WC branch.
If there is nothing else on the stack then all you need is smaller diameter uPVC pipe. They come in the same sizes as cast pipe so you should be able to pick it up at B&Q.
There's nothing else on the stack, the bath and basin have a separate pipe.
Ah, didn't realise, I thought only 110mm was available. And I was in the Parkhead B&Q last night too. Blast.
My basic problem is that I'm replacing the WC and the outlet from the new one will be higher than the old one - I've worked out that the vertical distance between the centres of the outlet and the existing soil pipe will be about 90mm, and the horizontal distance between the ends of the pipes about 105mm. I can't seem to find a pan connector to fit that. The flexibles ones all seem to require a minimum distance greater than what I'll have (about 140mm in a straight line, I think).
So I thought it was probably time to replace the CI soil pipe and connect the PVC replacement through the (wooden) wall a bit higher up to make connection to the WC easier.
I don't know the whole layout of where the pipes are in relation to the pan, but there are numerous ways to take up height adjustments and length changes without having to dig out the old pipes.
Could you describe the layout in a bit more detail please. You say the soil pipework comes in through a wooden wall (stud partition ?), but where is this wall in relation to the WC ? I was under the impression that the soil pipe was outside the house, is this correct ?
In which direction does the WC face ? Does the waste outlet from the pan point toward the outside wall and go through to the outside stack ?
More information would be most helpful please.
The house is timber framed and timber clad, i.e. entirely 'wood' - but the internal walls seem to be constructed of a cardboard/hardboard type material.
The soil pipe is outside the house.
The rear of the WC points straight at the outside wall, behind which is the soil pipe, there's a junction just above the ground outside which branches off into the bathroom to connect to the WC. So the soil pipe is on the other side of the wall, immediately behind the WC.
The existing WC fits OK for two reasons - first, its outlet is lower than the new one. Second, whoever installed it dug into the concrete floor to lower it an inch or two. I guess they did this because they were faced with the same problem as me. I want to fill the hole in the concrete and level the floor.
So I'm faced with a drop of about 90mm between the WC outlet pipe and the CI pipe which comes through the wall from the soil stack. In other words, the bottom of the WC outlet pipe is 140mm off the floor, and the bottom of the pipe coming through the wall is about 50mm off the floor. And there's only about 105mm horizontally between the ends of the pipes, which seems to rule out the use of a flexi pan connector. I can't bring the WC out from the wall due to lack of space.
Brilliant Steve, that's the information I needed to know. Can you tell me how much of the CI pipe is sticking through the wall into the bathroom please ?
Could you make the connection between them using two 90 degree bends ?
Using two of these:
which can be cut to length so they fit together and form an "S" sort of shape from the pan to the CI pipe may help, and be a lot cheaper.
Funny, but that thought occurred to me over lunch.
I didn't realise you could cut them to length. I'm not sure that the four inches or so of gap which I'd have would be enough space to fit those, though.
Would that fit into my CI pipe? I'm assuming it's 3 1/2", the same as the soil stack.
Are you sure that the soil stack is only 90 mm (3.5'') in diameter Steve, as anything less than 110 mm (4'') is not allowed for solid waste soil pipes. Have you changed the use of the room into a bathroom ? Or was the room changed around before you moved in to the house ?
Does the original WC connect to the pipe with a normal pan connector or is it a bodge of different sizes of pipe ?
If you see here:
If the CI pipework has been used originally for a kitchen or bathroom with no WC then it would use smaller sized pipes, and may not have had the pipework changed when the new use of a WC was planned. This might cause problems later you know.
The soil stack has 3 1/2" stamped on it. As far as I know, it's always been the bathroom. The stack is abut 50 years old.
It looks like a normal pan connector.
The stack above the branch for the WC might only be used as a vent, so check that the branch and the spigot into the house isn't 110 mm (4'') before you go buying the wrong sizes. It is common for this type of arrangement to be used is nothing else is being connected above a ground floor loo. Does the stack also take rain water from the roof ?
If it looks like a normal WC connector then the branch must be 110 mm (4'') or nothing else of the modern type would fit it. If so, then you should be able to fit two 90 degree elbow connectors into the system. The 90 degree elbows aren't that wide on the spigot end and should take up only 100 mm or there abouts.
The stack just goes up to the roof line, diverts around the roof and then vents to the air.
The branch on the soil pipe has 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 stamped on it.
There's a picture of it here:
The internal branch looks to be lead pipe instead of cast iron so the new pan connectors should fit inside it. Measuring the pan connectors before you buy them would give you a better idea if two of them will make up the gap you need to fill. If you measure them from the inner part of the elbow to the bottom of the spigot end it should tell you if the spaces are enough for your problem. Which I think it should. Give it a try. Take a tape measure to the store with you, or borrow one from the assistant when you get there. Remember, you can some styles of connector to the length you need to fit in the pipe properly.
OK. I think I'll have to get to the point where I've got the old WC out and the cladding etc off the walls (it looks like there's cladding on top of ceramic tiles and who knows what else under there) so I can measure exactly what distances I have to play with, and then go to the shop with the tape measure as you suggest.
Many thanks for all your advice.
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "BigWallop" saying something like:
Old CI soil pipes are sometimes to be found in 3.5". There's an adaptor available for them to allow pan connection, but usually only in straight connection off the shelf. Multikwik or McAlpine may have something suitable for the OP, but it would mean some catalogue searching.
and *into* your cast-iron wastepipe, which should gain you a few inches in height. The more expansive option is to look around for a wc with a particularly low outlet, infuriating at times there was no standard height for these.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.