Short move of toilet in slab floor

[tao_of_howe]

I have a bathroom that is way too small. when you sit on the toilet, your knees are almost on the wall. I want to move the toilet around a foot, and rotate it 90. this will help out the space problem. My question concerns the pipe bellow the slab floor. It is a 1962 house with a concrete slab in the bathroom. What type of waste pipe was commomly used? Will the move affect the venting of the toilet? I know how to handle the concrete, but the drain pipe? What would they normaly use under the slab?

[hj]

It depends on where you are and what plumbers were using then. At that time it could have been cast iron, PVC, or ABS and you will not know which until you open the floor. The type of pipes in the wall could indicate what is under the floor, but sometimes different materials were used in the two locations.

[tao_of_howe]

I have removed the baseboard behind and I can see a large diameter copper pipe directly behind the toilet. The house is a split level, and in the basement, below the kitchen, the drain pipe is copper. The largest pipe I can find is a giant iron pipe that seems to connect to the 2nd story bathroom.
Is this any help?

[jadnashua]

They may have used copper for the vent line; cast iron for the waste. You won't know until you look. You may be able to tell if you remove the toilet and see what connects to the flange. That doesn't mean thatit is the same all of the way, though, as they could have done a transition from one to the other. But, if it is cast iron there, and the stack is cast, that below probably is, too. My unprofessional opinion!