Galvanized pipe, not sure what to do?

[jonyskids]

I recently purchased my first home. We decided that we would under take some upgrading. When we stared on the bathroom we where planning on just repainting. After further investigation we determined that the drain pipe from the sink was corroded and leaking. We didn't like the sink anyway so we pulled it out and hope to replace it with a pedestal sink. When we removed the sink this what we found.

The end of the pipe that you can not see is into a cast iron pipe.

As you can see there are many issues. 1) Do I need to replace the galvanized pipe? 2) Should I call a plumber to do this? 3) Can I just shorten the coupling so that the drain is not over the water pipe? (Shorten the coupling that is.)

Any help is appreciated.

Jonyskids

[roger61611]

I'd base the course of action on whether that galvanized pipe is obstructed. Does the sink drain rapidly ? Can you get a wire hanger thru there ?

If it seems healthy I'd leave it alone. If it's a problem right now, that is, water doesn't drain, it's probably because the galv. pipe is corroded down to where only a trickle of water can pass.

I'm pretty handy but I'd call a plumber cause of the junction of that pipe with what probably is an iron stack, assuming it's an old house.

[scott21230]

I would replace all the galvanized pipe. It's nothing but trouble. Make it plastic all the way until you get to the cast iron pipe. May as well do it now while the wall is open and you are redoing stuff anyway. Galvinized pipe is a problem waiting to happen, espically on water supply lines. I am not sure how bad it is on drain lines, but I still wouldn't want it.

[jonyskids]

[Heathcliff]

The PVC pipes and galvanized pipes are interchangeable in terms of couplings -- in other words they use the same sizes and threads. So yes you could take off the coupling and put a different one on, although whether you could save 5 inches that way is hard to tell from the photo. Sometimes you can get creative with drain pipes, loop it around and so forth to get the geometry you need. Extra bends are not good practice, of course, but as long as they don't clog up they won't really hurt anything. Or you could take out the galvanized pipe, replace it with PVC, and make everything nice and neat. How handy are you and do you have the tools you need? One way to get comfortable with the task is to go the hardware store, pick up some of the couplings and play around with them, see how they go together, and what different kinds there are. If you want to remove the galvanized pipe, you will need a pipe wrench and perhaps a good amount of strength/leverage to get it started. There is always some possibility of disaster -- the pipe breaks or worse yet, breaks the cast iron stack

-- when dealing with old pipes. Personally I've had good luck though.

[jonyskids]

Thanks for the feed back. My concer is wheather or not the galvniazed pipe is welded into the Cast iron? I am certain this is a difficult question to answer unless you could see the pipe. To pose the questions better, was it standard to weld the galvanized in to the iron pipe of should I just be able to unscrew it?

Jonyskids

Heathcliff wrote:

[Mr.E]

Probably not welded. Typical would be screwed into a hub that is Lead/oakum jointed to the cast iron hub. After many years, you may be better off to peel out the leaded joint and replace with plastic/rubber gasket joint. Failing this, galvanized pipe can be sawed and re-connected to plastic with a nohub or Fernco coupling. It is possible that the galvanized is lead wiped into a ferrule leaded into the cast iron hub. Looking is the only sure way to tell.

[roger61611]

It's not welded into the cast iron stack, it screws in. However, it might as well be welded if my experience means anything. It can be bloody difficult to undo these. If you're flush with cash you could have a plumber come in, rip out the galv., and put in plastic, roughed in however youi need it. It'll take a real plumber little time to do this and sometimes it's just worth paying for the expert help.

[Malcolm Hoar]

It's unlikely that the joint was welded originally. However, it probably is now! Thanks to the corrosion.

The galvanized pipe is trouble waiting to happen so I would get rid of it if at all possible.

I'd be inclined to give it a shot myself but be willing to back off and call a plumber if undoing that joint appeared to take the kind of force that could create even bigger problems (rather likely IMO).

[Goedjn]

I don't see why the pipe should be any major problem, esp. given that you can look in the open end and see how rusted up it is. But if you really want to remove it, it doesn't have to come out in one peice.

[friedemann]

[EXT]

If you decide not to remove the galvanized pipe, you should at least change the plastic pipe arrangement. The 90 degree elbow attached to the pipe is a slip coupling fitting that should never be built into the wall, they are intended for open areas such as under a sink or in a cabinet. All fittings buried in the walls should be threaded or solvent welded fittings to eliminate possibility of leaks that slip joint pipes are prone to do.