Can I cut this pipe?

[ibisboy1]

I have a house that was built in the 40's. Prior owner did a bathroom remodel but left this pipe sticking out of the wall. It is capped, but, my concern is why did he not take it out to being with. I am hoping it was because he did not want to go through the trouble of opening the wall. When we did our walk through prior to closing, we realized that he had a hamper covering the pipe when we first saw the house.

The pipe appears to be made of cast iron and sits about 17 1/2 inches off the floor. It is 2 inches across.

I have attached a picture for your reference.

Probably overkill asking before I cut, but, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot.

Thanks for looking.

[GabeS]

It could be a cleanout.

[jastori]

Could it be the original sink drain?

Are you planning to open up the wall to remove this pipe?

It is most likely currently tied to the main drain stack, so it will need to be capped off after you cut it back to prevent sewer gas and/or possibly drain waste from entering your house.

[ibisboy1]

I would like to open up the wall and cut it out. I am in the process of doing some other work in the bathroom, so, I will need to do some other patching. Figured before I repaint, I would take care of this item. My plan is to use a sawzall with a tungsten carbide bit to cut off and then figure out hot to cap it. It currently has a rubber cap with a clamp holding the cap on. I am assuming that there is a better way - but, don't know a whole lot about plumbing.

[zxed]

why not simply open it up., see if its held in place by anchors., and see if you can leave the capped pipe there., simply move it back,. re-anchor., close it up?

or if it really is a left over old sink drain., cut it and recap?

[TedL]

My plan is to use a sawzall with a tungsten carbide bit to cut off and then figure out hot to cap it.

You really, really want to reverse the order: figure how to cap the cut pipe before cutting it.

[ibisboy1]

I agree that working out how to cap it is the first priority. My thought was that at a minimum I could just go with another rubber cap. However, I really would like a better solution. My concern is that at some point the rubber cap may fail and I will need to open up the wall again. However, as I say, I am no plumbing expert. Perhaps the rubber cap is more than enough.

Thank you all for your ideas. Keep them coming.
:)

[sixlashes]

Based on the height, it is probably a sink arm that was abandoned. Since it is cast iron, the rubber cap is probably the best bet. If you are concerned with it rotting, install a new one and it will be good for another 30 years. Seriously, I have removed no-hub cast iron fittings (rubber with stainless steel band) that were 30 years old and they were stiff, but not rotten. The only disadvantage to using the cap is if you are concerned with something puncturing it. Not likely.

You could use a cast iron cap, but you would have to use a no-hub band to make the connection. It would also lengthen the pipe by a couple of inches.

You could use a test plug (with a wing nut), but it would be no better than the rubber cap. It uses a rubber seal that compresses against the inside of the pipe.

Be careful when you open up the wall so the pipe does not loosen up in the hub (it is connected to). That would complicate things. If you are going to use a sawzall, likewise be careful to not vibrate it loose. I like a 4-1/2" angle grinder with a thin metal cutting blade myself. Just be mindful of the sparks.

All of this hinges on whether you will have enough pipe to cap off without it sticking out of the wall. If you do not have enough room to cap it off inside the wall without disturbing the (vertical) stack, do not mess with it, especially if it is 3 or 4 inch. That will get you into mucho trouble. Get a pro involved.

[master plumber mark]

open the wall up and see what you are getting into

it is either going to to be easy with a galvanized arm going horizontal down the wall a few feet, all you got to do is cut it off
in the wall and re-use that no hub cap


or it will be real mean and going right into a 4 inch cast iron stack
right behing the wall with no way to do a damn thing with it......






then its "crying time again"

[hj]

IF it is cast iron, it will be a tee with No-Hub couplings on either side. You can loosen them, rotate the tee into teh wall, and then retighten the clamps.