Advice on sink drain - Galvanized pipe

[MattinLa]

I’m working on my bathroom remodel (replacing vanity/tiling etc). I’m looking for advice on how to best proceed with the sink drain. After disassembling the old vanity/drain I noticed the inside of the galvanized pipe looks all rusted and gunky etc. I’m curious if it’s ok to connect the new sink to the old rusted looking galvanized pipe. I thought maybe I could unscrew the small section of galvanized pipe that is connected to the tee and replace it with ABS or PVC. However, it won’t budge. I’ve read about heating the pipe with a torch, and would consider trying, though I’d like to avoid it if possible.

Another thought… because I already have the wall opened up, would it make the most sense to just replace the galvanized drain pipe? Under the house this drain runs only a few feet before connecting to ABS and the main drain line. If this option, could I cut off the pipe above the tee and keep the galvanized vent pipe?

Thanks!!
Matt

 

[wwhitney]

I would suggest cutting out everything that is accessible now and replacing it. It's probably near the end of its service life.

Not sure if it's worth opening up more drywall to remove more of it, if not cut it ~3" from the stud it disappears through, deburr, and use a shielded rubber coupling to adapt from old to new. Next time the rest of it is exposed, replace it.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

I would replace the wet portion of that with ABS and toss the old galvanized. You will never get a better time to do this.

 

[MattinLa]

Thanks all!

 

[Reach4]

That's a nice looking bronze elbow. That looks like a nice place to screw on some plastic pipe, with a threaded adapter, down to the new santitary tee.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Why not change it from the abs all the way as far as we can see ? it will be easy other than crawling underneath

 

[MattinLa]

Why not change it from the abs all the way as far as we can see ? it will be easy other than crawling underneath

I ended up doing as Terry suggested and replaced all galvanized wet portions all the way to where is met the ABS under the house. All went smoothly. And I'm glad I did, check out how the inside of the pipe looked in the wet portion of the pipe compared to the dry portion/vent side. Nasty! Now I'm thinking I should probably consider upgrading my tub drain, it drains so slow and poorly, I have a feeling it looks exactly like this does.

 

[Reach4]

. And I'm glad I did, check out how the inside of the pipe looked in the wet portion of the pipe compared to the dry portion/vent side. Nasty!

Pipe itself would appear to be decent shape in the photo, but a good rodding was overdue.

Was that clogged area near where the pipe turned from vertical to horizontal? Your new plastic pipe will have a long sweep there -- longer than the old galvanized bend I suspect.

For the tub, you might consider rodding that. Does it have a p-trap or a drum trap? If p-trap, I would try a Rigid PowerSpin Plus through the overflow. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....-snake-solvents-everything.89322/#post-641102 Or bring in a drain cleaning specialist.

If drum trap, consider cleaning that, which will involve replacing the cover.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Good job ! that gal is
wet all the time from sludge not good . the vent should be good . Id rather put new but no biggie
But the galvinized drains dont last as good as castiron but they are quite robust for vents

 

[MattinLa]

Pipe itself would appear to be decent shape in the photo, but a good rodding was overdue.

Was that clogged area near where the pipe turned from vertical to horizontal? Your new plastic pipe will have a long sweep there -- longer than the old galvanized bend I suspect.

For the tub, you might consider rodding that. Does it have a p-trap or a drum trap? If p-trap, I would try a Rigid PowerSpin Plus through the overflow. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....-snake-solvents-everything.89322/#post-641102 Or bring in a drain cleaning specialist.

If drum trap, consider cleaning that, which will involve replacing the cover.

The clogged area went down the full vertical portion. I haven't looked inside the horizontal portion that was under the house yet, I need to cut into pieces and remove that today. Yes.. long sweep in the new ABS.

For the tub/shower (I attached some pics). I'm not sure where the clog is, I haven't inspected it yet. But I'd bet that it's in that galvanized section. The shower isn't a part of this remodel. Maybe once I finish I'll deal with that. Thanks for the tip re: rodding.

 

[Reach4]

For the tub/shower (I attached some pics). I'm not sure where the clog is, I haven't inspected it yet. But I'd bet that it's in that galvanized section. The shower isn't a part of this remodel. Maybe once I finish I'll deal with that.

If you pour water from a bucket, how much water do you pour before you see the water backing up? That can be compared to the pipe volume to estimate where the clog starts.

Looks like your tub drain has been largely replaced with plastic already. You might be able to drop the U of the trap to clean both ways, if rodding thru the cleanout doesn't fix it.

When you pull the linkage out of the overflow, you may find a wad of hair that totally explains and fixes the the clog.