While trying to trace some electrical wires in my basement bathroom, I removed a ceiling access panel. It was covered with rust dust. Looking up, and this is below my main bathroom, I noticed a large cast iron pipe (mybe 6 or 8 " across) with a cast iron stopper or end. This end is where the rust dust is coming from. I looked with a flashlight and can see that it is half decayed and cracked. It makes sense to replace this right now before going any further. How can i replace this? Can a plastic plug be used in a cast iron pipe?
Large pipe end decaying
- Thread starter Richb2
- Start date
I just had a plumber come by. He took a look at the pipe and thought that it would be a major job to fix (a couple of guys for a couple of days). He recommended getting a tube of ProPoxy:
https://www.oatey.com/products/hercules-propoxy-20-837502451
And sealing the crack in the cast iron with that.
Has anyone up here ever used such a thing?
https://www.oatey.com/products/hercules-propoxy-20-837502451
And sealing the crack in the cast iron with that.
Has anyone up here ever used such a thing?
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hj
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pipe
Are you sure he was a plumber? Any good plumber would know that if a cast iron pipe is cracked, the crack will just expand as corrosion occurs, and ProPoxy, or any other "fix", will not stop it. I can visualize repairs that would take a couple of days, but have seen few of them. And from your descsription, I don't think there would be room for two plumbers to work on it at the same time.
Are you sure he was a plumber? Any good plumber would know that if a cast iron pipe is cracked, the crack will just expand as corrosion occurs, and ProPoxy, or any other "fix", will not stop it. I can visualize repairs that would take a couple of days, but have seen few of them. And from your descsription, I don't think there would be room for two plumbers to work on it at the same time.
hj said:
He had his license # on his truck. He did mention "I don't know how long you intend to live here". The land the house is on is valued higher than the house, built in 1929. Maybe that is obvious. Anyway I don't plan on moving. But I don't plan on spending $3000 to get a pipe fixed. I have another plumber coming on Monday. He charges $125/hour. Is that a normal rate?
Mike Swearingen
New Member
That sounds like a cast iron cleanout plug that has rusted out.
You may be able to repair this DIY.
IF you have room, you can use either a rented snap-cutter tool made for the purpose or a reciprocating saw with metal-cutting blade(s) to cut off the bad end.
Then you can connect a white plastic PVC clean-out plug with a no-hub coupling to the old cast iron pipe.
Good luck!
Mike
You may be able to repair this DIY.
IF you have room, you can use either a rented snap-cutter tool made for the purpose or a reciprocating saw with metal-cutting blade(s) to cut off the bad end.
Then you can connect a white plastic PVC clean-out plug with a no-hub coupling to the old cast iron pipe.
Good luck!
Mike
I am in northern Jersey. I don't think it is the clean out plug. There is a cleanout plug in the pipe I am talking about. What happens there is this massive cast iron pipe, maybe 6 inches in diameter. In the end of that, almost like an extension for about 2 inches, is another cast iron pipe, with a diameter of say 4 inches. In the end of this pipe, is a cast irn clean out plug, which to me looks OK. I would say it is the 2 inch extension that has the issue. The crack is on the top. The plumber who came said a waste pipe like that is not under pressure, so if the crack is on the top, it may not leak. I have noticed over the years that in thew winter, that bathroom always smelled like urine. I assumed that it was coming from the radiator, but maybe it wasn't, all these years.
You should not encounter leakage unless there is a clog further down. You will eencounter gas though. First it is unusual to have a pipe that large in your house. Sometimes you will have a large pipe, often clay, come in from the street in older houses, but then it will reduce down to 4". Next, it is very difficult to give an opinion without seeing the situation, but it is generally not a huge undertaking to snap off a cast iron pipe and cap off with a Fernco cap. If there is no inlet into the section of pipe that is cracked and it only serves as a cleanout, then this should work. Good luck.
Well, here is what happened. I called two plumbers from the local paper, after my plumber (who has done thousands of $ of work here, didn't even call back)One said they would come Sat morning and the other said he would come on Monday morning. The guy who was to come monday morning warned me not to touch anything since it may start leaking. Anyway on Sat morning an older guy showed up, and he told me to use ProPoxy20 to fix the problem, said i would save thousands of $, and that it was a huge job.
I would have done that but i wanted to get a 2nd opinion from the guy who was coming on Monday, and I was even prepared to pay him (at $125/hr)to do the Propoxy job for me. Anyway, I didn't touch it like I was instructed to. The Monday plumber didn't show. Not even a call. He must of gotten spooked because I asked him his rate.
By Monday afternoon I decided I was going to take a mirror and hold it over the other side of the pipe to see how badly it was rusted. I did this, and hit the pipe with my hand and the small section of pipe with the cast iron cleanout plug fell right off. Now I knew I was screwed since i couldn't just Propoxy a small gap in the pipe. But this allowed me to bring the cleanout plug along with the pipe it was still screwed into to my local plumbing supply. I asked for a Fernco cap, but the biggest he had was for a 4" pipe, not the 6" cast iron pipe I have. But he had something else which was like a rubber stopper and had a screw in the middle to get it to expand. I cleaned out the rusted sections and used some caulk and installed this piece, and it is working great. No leak at all. Cost=$7.50.
I would have done that but i wanted to get a 2nd opinion from the guy who was coming on Monday, and I was even prepared to pay him (at $125/hr)to do the Propoxy job for me. Anyway, I didn't touch it like I was instructed to. The Monday plumber didn't show. Not even a call. He must of gotten spooked because I asked him his rate.
By Monday afternoon I decided I was going to take a mirror and hold it over the other side of the pipe to see how badly it was rusted. I did this, and hit the pipe with my hand and the small section of pipe with the cast iron cleanout plug fell right off. Now I knew I was screwed since i couldn't just Propoxy a small gap in the pipe. But this allowed me to bring the cleanout plug along with the pipe it was still screwed into to my local plumbing supply. I asked for a Fernco cap, but the biggest he had was for a 4" pipe, not the 6" cast iron pipe I have. But he had something else which was like a rubber stopper and had a screw in the middle to get it to expand. I cleaned out the rusted sections and used some caulk and installed this piece, and it is working great. No leak at all. Cost=$7.50.