Cast Iron Plumbing

[XYZ]

There’s lots of options. Unfortunately they are all expensive.

We had a slab link in our first home. Fortunately we had good insurance and a great agent. They ended up finding all kinds of problems with every aspect of the plumbing and decided to just replumb the whole house.

Our general contractor was exceptional and was able keep us in the house and work around us. We were one of the first homes plumbed with PEX which was a huge upgrade from the crap in it. We literally ended up all new except maybe 12-14’ of sewer pipe.

If I remember correctly the total cost was around $55k and it cost us $500.

Funny thing is there were a couple little things that were left undone and the insurance company paid me to fix them. I ended up making a couple grand. So really didn’t cost anything.

 

[THAT Gurl]

We just went through all this (cast iron pipes in a concrete slab). The estimate to reline was, IIRC, $15k.

Plus, given the amount of corrosion the plumber saw, he said relining them wouldn't really solve my problem because my pipes were just one bad day away from collapsing in on themselves as it was.

We only had to cut the slab in 3 separate places (all 3 were junctions that were failing). Everything else looked good (cameras are a WONDERFUL invention) YEAH!!

Anyway, in listening to the guys talk while there were working, relining the pipes rarely, if ever, solves the problem for any length of time. It's just the latest, greatest thing right now in the plumbing world and then -- well here ya sit ... Quite literally ... Pay me now AND pay me later type of deal ...

 

[CHenry]

Moms house was built new in about 1962, crawl space and cast iron pipes. Shes already had some of them changed out but the rest remain.

 

[Mr.Glock]

I just finished replacing the entire fresh water “galvanized” and sewer “cast iron” systems in a 1959 house we are going to live in the rest of our time. Totally rebuilt the entire interior too. As soon as I finish up the new duct work and plenum under neath, we move in.

Don’t waste your time on re lining. You will still have issues. Cut and replace. And if it has cast iron sewer, I bet the fresh water will need replacing as well.

 

[T. MIKE SMITH]

I got the same issues but I went to Atwoods and got a gallon of that acid- put a pint down where its slow once in a while and opens it up and works great for a year.

 

[Chaparral]

Had a different scenario decades ago. Cast iron at the toilet and tub. Transitioned to clay pipes. Clay pipes to the road only they had disappeared into the dirt. Had to dig new trenches and lay all new.

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

Our cities are literally full of old homes with these very issues. A client of mine who flips houses took a couple big hits to profits because of needing this.

It’s a nightmare job. Only proper way to do it is open up the slab and re run it all. Expect it to cost $10k on good day and up to $20k in a hurry depending how much sewer line is bad. Oh and that’s just the bill from the plumbers. From there you still have to fix your flooring and possibly multiple sheetrock patches etc

Sorry to give bad news… but in my experience that’s pretty much how it goes. Ahhhh, the joys of home ownership

 

[dennishoddy]

We had major issues with the clay sewer lines. Tree roots getting into the lines every year.
There was no clean-out to cut them out, so buddy and I dug a hole in the back yard in the middle of winter, put a 12' stock tank over the top of it upside down and used a Coleman catalytic heater to keep it warm while we opened a hole and ran a snake through there to clean out the roots.
Had no clue we could have killed ourselves with sewer gas coming back into the open flame we used for heat.
We got lucky, and got a clean-out installed.
We have a friend with 20 some rentals. Sewers and cast iron seem to be his major issues keeping them maintained.

 

[THAT Gurl]

Our cities are literally full of old homes with these very issues. A client of mine who flips houses took a couple big hits to profits because of needing this.

It’s a nightmare job. Only proper way to do it is open up the slab and re run it all. Expect it to cost $10k on good day and up to $20k in a hurry depending how much sewer line is bad. Oh and that’s just the bill from the plumbers. From there you still have to fix your flooring and possibly multiple sheetrock patches etc

Sorry to give bad news… but in my experience that’s pretty much how it goes. Ahhhh, the joys of home ownership

Yep. It cost is a smooth $40k and we didn't even tear up the section that runs through a spare bedroom. Just the bathroom and hallway. It would probably been another $15 to $20k if we'd done that.

AND don't get started with me that I could have found somebody cheaper. Yes, I could have. But I wasn't looking for "done cheap". I was looking for "done right".

My bathroom and kitchen were already "done cheap" by one of my other neighbors. Who promised me I wouldn't have to have anything he did redone in my lifetime. That was 8 years ago, I think. And OMG the overruns. I'm embarrassed at how much money I gave that man. But that's okay -- Karma always has her way. He can't even look me in the eye now and he will go back in the house when he sees me outside. He used to spend his entire morning in his front yard. Guess who is sitting in HER front yard, drinking a cup of coffee, watching her dogs play, where he can see her when he opens his front door?? It's really nice out here in the front yard.

 

[BillM]

I got the same issues but I went to Atwoods and got a gallon of that acid- put a pint down where its slow once in a while and opens it up and works great for a year.

Also eats a little more of the pipe each time you do it. Could be worse though. My dads "new" place in Colorado, which he bought shortly after I left home, had tarred paper sewer line. One of my leaves was spent helping him fix the drain where one of his friends RV crushed the sewer pipe where it crossed the driveway behind the house...

Was the first time he complimented me about my ability to fix broken stuff. That fix is still holding. Was done in the late 70's.