WC waste pipe - cutting suggestions

May 09, 2011 15 Replies

I am planning the replacement of bathroom suite. Looking at the waste pipe coming from the back of the WC it appears it was installed with some "make-do" cutting of the pipe to accommodate an unusual angle into the waste pipe running to the stack which is on the other side of the house.



What way is recommended for cutting such a big pipe? Hacksaw, angle grinder?



Cutting before fitting should make it a do-able job for me but until I take up the floorboards I don't know whether any cutting will be necessary of the pipe while in place. What suggestions does anyone have to help if that is needed?



km


What is the pipe made of? plastic ceramic ast iron?

I used one of these when tiling a floor raised the pan above the line of the soil pipe. They also come with a 90 degree bend built in. Might one solve your problem?

formatting link

If pvc - a ripsaw. Practice on a bit of scrap first.

The pipe coming from WC is plastic, I assume the pipe under the floor is also plastic. Will not know until floorboards are taken up. House is over 100years old but the bathroom is reasonably modern (25 years ago?) The stack is cast iron.

km

Thanks Mike

I understood that flexible connectors were prone to clogging. If cutting is too awkward then I will use flexible.

km

Thanks Dom.

Any thought about cutting a pipe in a confined space?

km

Fein type tool - how I did mine.

cutting a pipe on a bench is trivial. Hacksaw and file it smooth.

Cutting a pipe flush with or below/behind a floor/wall is a total bitch.

I achieved it with a makeshift arrangement of a cutting disc on an electric drill - bolt and nuts through disc in chuck. Needless to say its unguarded, and whips like a bitch if it jams. And you need a strong steady hand, and probably safety glasses.

You might be able to use an (arbor?) tool in a router to do similar.

The man is suicidal.

I would cut it off roughly above the floor, pin a template to the floor and use a router to knock the pipe down in steps if there really wasn't enough space for a saw.

There are very thin saws like

formatting link
available. Or wrap a hacksaw blade with tape to make a handle and use that.

Just done some research on this. Looks impressively adaptable. Bit pricey mind you.

Is the saw cutter deep enough to go through the waste from one position ie above or did you have to work your way around the pipe. I ask this because am unsure what joists etc will be in the way.

km

I didn't want to blunt the router on the CONCRETE floor. I needed to cut it a little below to take the internally fitting pipe connector, and I had 4 hours to do it before the lads turned up to install the bog.

I used what I had to hand. It worked. If you have average intelligence or above, its not dangerous. Certainly less so than the M25 in rush hour. . Knowing that some poster here are below average intelligence though, dennis, I though a caveat was in order.

Almost impossible to get it flush. I started that way with a cross cut. And no way to take it below floor level.

>

I have cut one using a wire saw. Practice first with an offcut on the bench as controlling the line of the cut can be difficult. I used something like this. Adding cable ties as wrist straps makes them easier to use.

formatting link

Thanks for everyone's input. As this is a one-off situation for me I think Dennis' thin saw is most likely solution. Of course I may be assuming the worst and will find everything slots into place when I do the job.

Like the look of the Fein tool which I may get anyway at some point as I found the Dremmel very handy in the past and the Fein looks more robust.

km

That's why I said "Fein type". Bosch do a similar tool for rather less money (Multitool IIRC).

Thanks Tim

Have ordered one with 13 accessories for £79.94 from Amazon

km

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required