Broken Drain Pipe

[Kevin_in_VA]

The shower drain in my basement bathroom has always leaked, and at times I have had minor sewage backups as well, so I decided to demolish the shower to determine the cause of the leak, repair it, and replace the shower with a tub/shower enclosure. Well today I finally got the floor of the shower out (tile over a lead shower pan), and discovered the worst case scenario, that the cast iron drain pipe was broken off below the surface of the concrete slab. I have now determined to decommission this in drain, and plumb the new bathtub to the kitchen drain pipe that is about a 18" away.

I've included a couple pictures.

My question is,

"How do I permanently plug this drain, without affecting other nearby pipes (the aforementioned kitchen drain) that drain into the same waste line?"

I'd appreciate any insight anyone could offer.

Best regards,

Kevin

 

[Harvster]

Try here. Plbg dot Com - PlumbingForum.com THE popular, award winning, plumbing, piping, kitchen, faucet and bath help, advice, discussion forum board, do-it-yourselfers doing plumbing remodels as well as repairs. Plumbing advice forum for professionals and DIY people. How to do plumbing. Plbg.com is THE most place on the Internet where plumbers, contractors and homeowners meet to ask questions and share their knowledge. We are THE premier dynamic plumbing advice, discussion, help, chat and advice bulletin board. Do-it-yourself plumbing help. Usually some pretty good advice on that sort of thing.

 

[BillyP]

Try here. Plbg dot Com - PlumbingForum.com THE popular, award winning, plumbing, piping, kitchen, faucet and bath help, advice, discussion forum board, do-it-yourselfers doing plumbing remodels as well as repairs. Plumbing advice forum for professionals and DIY people. How to do plumbing. Plbg.com is THE most place on the Internet where plumbers, contractors and homeowners meet to ask questions and share their knowledge. We are THE premier dynamic plumbing advice, discussion, help, chat and advice bulletin board. Do-it-yourself plumbing help. Usually some pretty good advice on that sort of thing.

That's the longest link I've ever seen

 

[Harvster]

I don't know what happened because all I typed was www dot plbg dot com. This forum must have some sort of dynamic linking function that calls up the page.

 

[EddieWalker]

Before you start running new lines, this one may still be fixable. Get a masonary bit for a skill saw for about $40 and cut out a square around the drain line. Remove the concrete until you can get to the main line. Attach a new drain line to the old line and bring it up through the height of the floor by about six inches.

Pour concrete back into the hole and let set.

Put in new shower.

Cut off excess pipe and attach drain from shower to the drain line.

This isn't all that uncommon and in new construction, it's very common to have to cut out the slab to ajust the location of the drains.

Eddie

 

[johnk]

If you just want to plug the drain get an expansion plug for it. If you want to fix it go Eddies rte..

 

[BayouMan]

I agree with Eddie, chip out the concrete and then attach a new section of pipe and repour around the new pipe. May be a little dusty, but it can be done.

 

[LarryD]

Like Eddie said...moving a drain or repairing one is common in construction. Just be careful if you "dry" cut the concrete. Silica dust is not good for the lungs and a dust mask will not work. I would personally rent a wet saw and throw up some plastic on the framing members. It might be a little messy but it will be contained in the shower area.

 

[dbdartman]

Remove the concrete until you can get to the main line. Attach a new drain line to the old line and bring it up through the height of the floor by about six inches.

You don't even need to get to the main. As long as that broken stub is about 2.5"-3" tall, you can use a "hub-less connector" (Fernco coupling) & come up past the finished floor height in PVC. If that line to the right, in one of the pics, is what you are thinking of tying into, you may run into pitch problems, so coupling into the broken cast iron is likely easier/less work.

 

[Kendall69]

Like others have said. Remove the concrete and do it right, or you’ll be doing it again in a few years. If it’s that bad above ground, who knows what it’s like underground. You need to get to good clean pipe, and work you way back up.

 

[thingy]

Plugging it,,well who knows how far down it rusted into,,but plugging the end oughta be simple enough,,maybe stick a rag in it and fill with that expandable foam stuff,,or stick a rag way down in it and fill with a concrete of some kind,,maybe a rubber end cap,,,just gotta stop odor and water,,maybe its not in that bada shape futher down,thats the bad thing about concrete around lines,,maybe get you a jack hammer of some kind and have at it,,,but if you don't need that drain anymore,,,plugging it should be simple enough,,,thingy

 

[Kevin_in_VA]

Thanks to everyone that replied with suggestions. I apologize for not getting back to this thread earlier. I have been almost too busy to check my email. I still haven't done anything but plug the pipe with an expansion plug. At present I am planning on installing a perforated sump and pump in the area adjacent to this so that I can relieve the hydraulic pressure under the house, and I will plug the pipe correctly when it is exposed.