I have a cast iron soil pipe, which has a fibre t-piece connecting it
to the upstairs toilet, whic itself has a plastic outlet pipe. I was
rubbing down the pipe over the weekend, as the previous owners had
used regular dulux paint on it and it was flaking pretty badly, when I
noticed the fibre t-piece was really wet and mossy and upon a gentle
prodding with a finger start to disintegrate

The soil pipe is in pretty good nick, just a little rust which I am
intending to sort out, but what's the most practical and sensible way
to replace the t-piece? The pipe consists of 3 sections, one of which
sits above the t-piece and continues up through the roofline. It seems
to be held on with a single bracket, with BIG nails in it, and
basically puttied into the t-piece. I'm hoping to release the pipe
from the wall, raise it up a few inches and remove the t-piece,
replacing it with an angle-adjustable plastic one.
How manageable would this be halfway up a ladder, and is it worth the
effort or is it better to bite the bullet and swap the whole lot out
for plastic (and would this entail 'regulations')?

Cheers

Rich

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:53:11 -0700, hightower wrote:

I have a cast iron soil pipe, which has a fibre t-piece connecting it
to the upstairs toilet, whic itself has a plastic outlet pipe. I was
rubbing down the pipe over the weekend, as the previous owners had
used regular dulux paint on it and it was flaking pretty badly, when I
noticed the fibre t-piece was really wet and mossy and upon a gentle
prodding with a finger start to disintegrate

The soil pipe is in pretty good nick, just a little rust which I am
intending to sort out, but what's the most practical and sensible way
to replace the t-piece? The pipe consists of 3 sections, one of which
sits above the t-piece and continues up through the roofline. It seems
to be held on with a single bracket, with BIG nails in it, and
basically puttied into the t-piece. I'm hoping to release the pipe
from the wall, raise it up a few inches and remove the t-piece,
replacing it with an angle-adjustable plastic one.
How manageable would this be halfway up a ladder, and is it worth the
effort or is it better to bite the bullet and swap the whole lot out
for plastic (and would this entail 'regulations')?

If the upper section is cast iron don't even think about lifting it up
(unless you're one of those blokes on Channel 65 carrying a car body shell
on a couple of webbing straps over your shoulder!) You can get rubber
connecting sleeves with worm-drive clips to couple cast-iron to plastic,
or you may even be able to couple a plastic socket onto CI directly. Then
I'd be looking at cutting and replacing some of the CI with
plastic (leaving the fixing points holding what's left of the CI)

If you do replace it all best to do so in short-ish sections and from a
tower, rather than a ladder if possible. It is VERY heavy stuff.

--
John Stumbles

Xenophobia? - sounds a bit foreign to me.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:53:11 -0700, hightower wrote:

I have a cast iron soil pipe, which has a fibre t-piece connecting it to
the upstairs toilet, whic itself has a plastic outlet pipe. I was rubbing
down the pipe over the weekend, as the previous owners had used regular
dulux paint on it and it was flaking pretty badly, when I noticed the
fibre t-piece was really wet and mossy and upon a gentle prodding with a
finger start to disintegrate

The soil pipe is in pretty good nick, just a little rust which I am
intending to sort out, but what's the most practical and sensible way to
replace the t-piece? The pipe consists of 3 sections, one of which sits
above the t-piece and continues up through the roofline. It seems to be
held on with a single bracket, with BIG nails in it, and basically puttied
into the t-piece. I'm hoping to release the pipe from the wall, raise it
up a few inches and remove the t-piece, replacing it with an
angle-adjustable plastic one. How manageable would this be halfway up a
ladder, and is it worth the effort or is it better to bite the bullet and
swap the whole lot out for plastic (and would this entail 'regulations')?

Cheers

Rich

==================================
I'm in the process of doing a similar job myself (revised bathroom /
toilet layout) so just to add to what another poster (John Stumbles )
said. First, the cast iron pipe. According to my rough calculations it
weighs about 22 / 25Kg per metre so you might be trying to lift about 50Kg
(1 cwt Imperial). That could be very dangerous on a ladder. Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is readily
available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive - about 25 GB
pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic socket) is a bit hard
to find but Toolstation - www.toolstation.co.uk stock them under 'drain
connector - less than 6 pounds. Another brand is 'MacAlpine' part no:
Drain connector - Spigot / socket / DC1-Gr (or Bl for black) - about 6 GB
pounds.

In an emergency (and possibly permanently) you could use a standard
straight toilet waste connector instead of the specific drain connectors
mentioned but they're not as deeply socketed as the proper thing.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:52:30 +0000, Cicero wrote:

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:53:11 -0700, hightower wrote:

I have a cast iron soil pipe, which has a fibre t-piece connecting it to
the upstairs toilet, whic itself has a plastic outlet pipe. I was
rubbing down the pipe over the weekend, as the previous owners had used
regular dulux paint on it and it was flaking pretty badly, when I
noticed the fibre t-piece was really wet and mossy and upon a gentle
prodding with a finger start to disintegrate

The soil pipe is in pretty good nick, just a little rust which I am
intending to sort out, but what's the most practical and sensible way to
replace the t-piece? The pipe consists of 3 sections, one of which sits
above the t-piece and continues up through the roofline. It seems to be
held on with a single bracket, with BIG nails in it, and basically
puttied into the t-piece. I'm hoping to release the pipe from the wall,
raise it up a few inches and remove the t-piece, replacing it with an
angle-adjustable plastic one. How manageable would this be halfway up a
ladder, and is it worth the effort or is it better to bite the bullet
and swap the whole lot out for plastic (and would this entail
'regulations')?

Cheers

Rich

==================================

snipped

p.s. The rubber type has a trade name, 'Flexiseal'.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On 11 Jun, 12:52, Cicero wrote:
Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is readily
available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive - about 25 GB
pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic socket) is a bit hard
to find but Toolstation -www.toolstation.co.ukstock them under 'drain
connector - less than 6 pounds.

Which, if either, is better?

When our plumber added the downstairs loo he cut the cast iron off
just above the ground, and used one of the rubber type to connect a
section of PVC up to the next joint in the cast iron, leaving the top
section untouched. The new soil pipe is branched into the new pvc
section from the side. My only concern is the expected lifetime of
the rubber component: it looks pretty tough but rubber does eventually
degrade. Will it last as long as the cast iron pipe has already
(about 100y)?

The pvc socket type looks longer lasting in that regard, but the seals
are rubber too, though not exposed to the sun.

Andrew

On 11 Jun, 13:36, 1970alr wrote:
On 11 Jun, 12:52, Cicero wrote:

Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is readily
available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive - about 25 GB
pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic socket) is a bit hard
to find but Toolstation -www.toolstation.co.ukstockthem under 'drain
connector - less than 6 pounds.

Which, if either, is better?

When our plumber added the downstairs loo he cut the cast iron off
just above the ground, and used one of the rubber type to connect a
section of PVC up to the next joint in the cast iron, leaving the top
section untouched. The new soil pipe is branched into the new pvc
section from the side. My only concern is the expected lifetime of
the rubber component: it looks pretty tough but rubber does eventually
degrade. Will it last as long as the cast iron pipe has already
(about 100y)?

The pvc socket type looks longer lasting in that regard, but the seals
are rubber too, though not exposed to the sun.

Andrew

This is why the internet is alright in my book, and not the spawn of
Satan as the Daily Mail tried to get me to believe. Thanks very much
to all posters for all this invaluable advice.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:36:03 -0700, 1970alr wrote:

On 11 Jun, 12:52, Cicero wrote:
Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is readily
available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive - about 25
GB pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic socket) is a bit
hard to find but Toolstation -www.toolstation.co.ukstock them under
'drain connector - less than 6 pounds.

Which, if either, is better?

When our plumber added the downstairs loo he cut the cast iron off just
above the ground, and used one of the rubber type to connect a section of
PVC up to the next joint in the cast iron, leaving the top section
untouched. The new soil pipe is branched into the new pvc section from
the side. My only concern is the expected lifetime of the rubber
component: it looks pretty tough but rubber does eventually degrade. Will
it last as long as the cast iron pipe has already (about 100y)?

The pvc socket type looks longer lasting in that regard, but the seals are
rubber too, though not exposed to the sun.

Andrew

==================================
My preference is for the solid PVC coupling but I'm not a professional so
others may know better. I think the rubber looks and feels like a bodge
although I don't doubt that they're fully approved.

As far as your particular situation is concerned I think I would have
serious concerns about the weight of the cast iron bearing down on PVC,
even if it's fixed with spikes into the wall. Cast iron isn't intended to
be hung loose as it effectively is in your case as PVC could easily bend
under the weight of the cast iron.

Maybe you should get a second opinion from a friendly BCO.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On 11 Jun, 14:34, Cicero wrote:
On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:36:03 -0700, 1970alr wrote:
On 11 Jun, 12:52, Cicero wrote:
Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is readily
available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive - about 25
GB pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic socket) is a bit
hard to find but Toolstation -www.toolstation.co.ukstockthem under
'drain connector - less than 6 pounds.

Which, if either, is better?

When our plumber added the downstairs loo he cut the cast iron off just
above the ground, and used one of the rubber type to connect a section of
PVC up to the next joint in the cast iron, leaving the top section
untouched. The new soil pipe is branched into the new pvc section from
the side. My only concern is the expected lifetime of the rubber
component: it looks pretty tough but rubber does eventually degrade. Will
it last as long as the cast iron pipe has already (about 100y)?

The pvc socket type looks longer lasting in that regard, but the seals are
rubber too, though not exposed to the sun.

Andrew

==================================
My preference is for the solid PVC coupling but I'm not a professional so
others may know better. I think the rubber looks and feels like a bodge
although I don't doubt that they're fully approved.

As far as your particular situation is concerned I think I would have
serious concerns about the weight of the cast iron bearing down on PVC,
even if it's fixed with spikes into the wall. Cast iron isn't intended to
be hung loose as it effectively is in your case as PVC could easily bend
under the weight of the cast iron.

Maybe you should get a second opinion from a friendly BCO.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the further response. The top pipe must actually have a
further extension bit above it, because I just noticed the single
bracket holding it to the wall is below a collar such that the pipe
rests with its main weight on the collar/bracket. The t-piece I need
to change is fibre, which can't be much stronger than PVC so should be
OK? I'll definitely ensure the thing is safe before proceeding.

Cheers

Rich

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 06:45:50 -0700, hightower wrote:

On 11 Jun, 14:34, Cicero wrote:
On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:36:03 -0700, 1970alr wrote:
On 11 Jun, 12:52, Cicero wrote:
Second the
connectors mentioned. The rubber type with worm drive clips is
readily available from proper plumbers' merchants but it's expensive
- about 25 GB pounds for the 110mm size. The other type (plastic
socket) is a bit hard to find but Toolstation
-www.toolstation.co.ukstockthem under 'drain connector - less than 6
pounds.

Which, if either, is better?

When our plumber added the downstairs loo he cut the cast iron off
just above the ground, and used one of the rubber type to connect a
section of PVC up to the next joint in the cast iron, leaving the top
section untouched. The new soil pipe is branched into the new pvc
section from the side. My only concern is the expected lifetime of
the rubber component: it looks pretty tough but rubber does eventually
degrade. Will it last as long as the cast iron pipe has already
(about 100y)?

The pvc socket type looks longer lasting in that regard, but the seals
are rubber too, though not exposed to the sun.

Andrew

==================================
My preference is for the solid PVC coupling but I'm not a professional
so others may know better. I think the rubber looks and feels like a
bodge although I don't doubt that they're fully approved.

As far as your particular situation is concerned I think I would have
serious concerns about the weight of the cast iron bearing down on PVC,
even if it's fixed with spikes into the wall. Cast iron isn't intended
to be hung loose as it effectively is in your case as PVC could easily
bend under the weight of the cast iron.

Maybe you should get a second opinion from a friendly BCO.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the further response. The top pipe must actually have a further
extension bit above it, because I just noticed the single bracket holding
it to the wall is below a collar such that the pipe rests with its main
weight on the collar/bracket. The t-piece I need to change is fibre, which
can't be much stronger than PVC so should be OK? I'll definitely ensure
the thing is safe before proceeding.

Cheers

Rich

==================================
I was actually referring to the situation described by another poster
(1970alr) but of course the same advice applies to your situation. Check
the condition of any fixings before doing any work. Cast iron is normally
strongly fixed but the fixings and brickwork into which they're fixed
deteriorate with time. If a section of cast iron comes loose you're in for
a bad headache!

Cic.
--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================