Cast Iron POP! Take a Look

Christian Egli

A nasty surprise, I hope your steam pipes are in better shape.

Mark_46

Cast Iron POP! Take a Look

The pictures attached show the 4" cast iron wasteline that was removed from my home as part of a second floor bathroom renovation. The pipe is (as far as I know) 80 years old, the same as the house. It ran up the side of the house where structurally three stairwells are stacked on top of one another (basement, second and walk up attic). I assume house framing sag put more and more pressure on the pipe over time.

The leak that was a result of the crack is what triggered the renovation for us. Shortly before we discovered the leak, we heard a loud pop noise from inside the wall on that side of the house. I guess it's now safe to assume the noise was the pipe cracking!

I guess many of the pros out there may have seen this type of thing before. If not, here is what seems to be an excellent example.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

While I admire the dead men and generally have faith in their methods, failure around staircases is nearly endemic in old houses. Strip away the covering and you find out why... Combine that with plumbing that was likely added after the house was built and it's prescription for certain disaster.

I'd highly suggest exploration, repair and stabilization before you replace that soil stack in any material.

Chuck Shaw_4

mike is right,

in my opinion. ( i will never say humble). the combination of 80 years of use and structural(sp?) stress took it toil.

It is cast iron, but it still has physical properties. They must be respected.

As a country, we expect the things we don't see to last forever. Cars, home decoration, we will do constantly. I personally, think, 80 years, is one great track record.

Chuck

gerry gill

you will probably find the crack

is on the thin side of the cast..and there is your answer..horizontal casting..inparted stresses of manufacturing..today cast is spun for uniform thickness, tho i'm sure that stress is still imparted into the material during production..

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ScottMP

Seen it PLENTY

of times.

80 years is nothing to sniff at. Poor install ?? Maybe but I doubt it. Its the nature of the older cast iron and again .... 80 years.

Scott

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