Drainpipes

Re: Drainpipes

Greetings,

I belong to a little brick bungalow in the midwest, built in '54, poured-concrete foundation.

Big vertical drain-pipe that runs thru basement floor to sewer line in the street. A branch runs maybe 20' to a roof vent, with the bathtub trap/drain connected. There are

2 places (1 before and 1 after the bathtub trap) where there are small rusty-looking nodules near the bottom of the pipe, and small rust spots on the floor under them.

A magnet sticks to the pipes, so they are iron-based. Most/ all of the pipes have "Emory" stamped on them.

My plumbing knowledge/experience doesn't extend beyond replacing a faucet, sweating copper pipes.

What does this sound like? Are such pipes expected to rust thru in 50 years time?

DIY? Old iron pipe mated to new PVC??

Any/all info/suggestions etc much appreciated.

Cheers, Puddin'

Reply to
Puddin' Man
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If the pipe is cast iron it looks like:

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1 "C", lead/oakum joint w/hub.

That's difficult to cut but can be done.

If it is pipe which is threaded together, it is galv iron, which has short life. Can be easily cut.

Either pipe can be replaced with PVC and joined to new pipe using Fernco "No-Hub" couplings :

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sizes available at BigBox stores.

If there is a vertical section above, there can be significant problems supporting the weight during repair.

Plan "B": Leave it alone...

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Yup. It appears to be lead/oakum (Ouch!).

It's the smallest vertical vent pipe in the house. I could likely strap it in place or build a little box from 2 x 4's and drywall screws to support it.

In the short-term, it's likely to be Plan B. I don't know how to work with this stuff. Would require a lot of study.

In the long-term, Plan B is like winking at a Claymore mine buried in the back yard? :-(

There's a 55" section, then a V for the tub, then a 12" section. The 55" and the 12" each drip a tiny bit. I can't even figger why the 12" would rot-out, 'cause it's higher than the water flow from the tub.

Looks like the 55", the V, the 12", and maybe an elbow would need replacement.

If I were to contract with a plumber, this might cost $200? $400?? $600??

Much thanks to Speedy Jim: this is very helpful info.

Cheers, Puddin'

Reply to
Puddin' Man

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