How To Repair Broken Cast Iron Drain Pipe

Methods to repair cast iron sewer drains without digging through floors

Excavation for pipe replacement

Digging for pipe replacement

If yous found our website, yous're probably freaked out because your plumber discovered that your cast iron sewer drains have long cracks or holes in them, and they recommend digging up your entire house for a few weeks to supervene upon your cast iron sewer drains the former-fashioned way.

Well forget well-nigh that! There are trenchless solutions that you need to know almost that the plumbers volition not tell yous about because they wish to proceed your money.

We recently got an research from a gentleman in Dallas Texas who wanted to know what his options were to repair 23 anxiety of bandage atomic number 26 drain pipe under his floor as opposed to excavation it upward and replacing it. He already got a quote from a plumber for $ten,000, and the price works out to exist about $434 per linear human foot to do information technology with this traditional old fashioned way.

So what are the best means to repair his cast iron drains without the demand for excavation through the flooring?

We are going to hash out the iii options that be starting from the best choice going to the worst pick.

Option 1: Trenchless Pipe Lining

Trenchless Pipe Repair

Trenchless piping lining is the about modern method equally it involves no excavation or digging whatsoever. In essence, from outside the business firm or the edifice where the cleanout exists, the pipage is cleaned using a hydro jetter car and or a pipe drain snake machine. This removes all the scale and the rust within the old pipes (and the tree roots to of form if they have grown into the pipage in search of h2o).

The next footstep is to use a video inspection camera to measure the length of the pipage and where the incoming connections are. And then the video camera is used to mensurate the correct length of pipe lining material which is a long fabric polyester tube that is saturated with a self hardening epoxy resin that is exothermic and heats up past itself to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next the the lining is installed inside the pipage – The lining is pulled into the piping using a cable or rope, and it contains a temporary balloon which is inflated to about 15 psi. Subsequently a three-4 hour curing time the piping lining balloon is pulled out and a make new stone-hard pipe liner is permanently locked inside the erstwhile pipe. And it comes with a 50 year warranty if it is the Perma-Liner brand.

Option 2: "pipage bursting"

Old Fashioned Cast Iron Pipe Bursting Trenchless Repair

Erstwhile Fashioned Cast Atomic number 26 Pipe Bursting Trenchless Repair

This is an older pipe renovation technique that pulls a conical head fabricated of very tough metallic through the erstwhile pipe using a winch. On the back end of the conical head is a high density polyethylene pipe (HDPE) pipe which is pulled into the void where the old piping used to be. The problem with this method is that incoming pipage connections are destroyed and they have to be replaced manually by excavating through the flooring which has to exist replaced with physical at the end of the process. Then the pipe downwards time is a lot more than simply a few hours. The other is trouble is that if the soil is extremely hard the piping bursting caput will not pass through the soil very easily and can create problems with the procedure.

So trenchless pipe lining which runs about $150 per linear human foot on average is about i-3rd the toll of piped digging and replacement. It's past far much more than economical and efficient anddoes non displace the tenants who may stay in their homes during the process.

Choice 3: replace drain pipe past digging through the flooring

digging under house to replace drains This is absolutely the worst possible method considering it takes a number of weeks to dig upwards all the concrete, and then dig through the soil which has to be replaced, and and then to supersede the concrete. Keep in mind that when concrete is we poured it is "greenish". That means it needs about 14 days to cure during which time information technology is excretes calcium carbonate crystals and h2o which means yous're not able to put carpet or tile over the floor during that period. Likewise continue in heed that during the excavation and pipage replacement the tenants have already been put out of their residence for a few weeks. And then they have to come up back clean up all the aerosol and dust and the e.coli bacteria that have been spread through their entire holding.

Besides, with excavation, you have to pull permits and schedule pipage inspections, which may or may non pass the first fourth dimension, in which instance yous have to brand piping repairs and reschedule for the pipe inspections.