Easiest way to deal with a corroded drain at floor slab?

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SmallSea

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Our house was originally constructed in 1957 with a mix of galvanized and cast iron for drain pipes. In 1970 the previous owner did some remodeling and used copper drain pipes. Now it's our turn to remodel...

The photo below shows the drain pipes from our bathrooms and laundry room. We believe the drain pipe under the slab is cast iron, with a cast iron hub at the floor slab. There's a copper drain pipe tying into that CI hub - you can see the corrosion where the metals meet.

Our replacement drain pipes will be PVC.

Can we cut the copper below the T, leaving a 2-inch stub of copper, and tie our PVC drain into the copper with a Fernco fitting? Or do we need to bust out part of the concrete slab and tie the PVC into the CI below the slab (so as to remove that corroded hub?)

Thanks for any advice or ideas you can provide.

Drain assembly, looking east
IMG_4518.jpg


Close-up of corrosion, looking east
IMG_4512.jpg


Close-up of corrosion, looking west
IMG_4513.jpg
 

Patrick88

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You could cut it at 2" above the cast iron. The thing to remember is that the cast Iron is really old. I would assume it is rotting under the floor. I have removed cast iron younger than yours that is so rotted it has split causing a clogged drain. It would be so much better to just dig it up and replace all the cast iron and replace all the galvi. This way you will never have any problems for years to come.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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the fernco fitting

The fernco will probably work....

when you cut the copper you will know the status of
how bad it is...

it might just be easier to chisel out the lead and simply install the 2 inch PVC directly into that cast iron hub

I would not fool with anything under the floor..
 

hj

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joint

Why would you want to make a connection to the only part that shows corrosion? The hub is at the floor so just remove the copper from it and make whatever connection you are comfortable with into the hub. I would pour a lead/oakum joint with a stub of cast iron, but others would do it differently.
 
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