I completed a repair to a leaking sewer line under my house. This required replacing rusted cast iron pipe with PVC. For safe measure, I ran a pipe snake down the sewer pipe to ensure that a clog was not backing up sewage. Material cost was only less than $10 for this fix.
To answer a few questions that professional plumbers have asked:
I reduced pipe diameter in order to fit the distal PVC pipe end into the inner diameter of the original corroded iron pipe. Connection to the outer diameter would not have been reliable and could have more easily leaked.
As mentioned in the video, this drain is for the kitchen sink and clothes washer only. Large material is unlikely to enter this drain pipe. Therefore, I am not too concerned with the transition to a lesser pipe diameter causing a clog. If a clog does occur, I can easily snake the pipe from the distal end of the PVC under the house, by removing the PVC from the ID of the cast iron pipe.
Yes, the pipe does tilt downward to allow gravity to drain into the septic tank.
While use of DWV would have been the more traditional route instead of pressure fittings, I’m not so sure why one can’t use pressure fittings instead of DWV. Certainly one should not use DWV where pressure fittings should be used (due to high pressure), but using pipe that can handle high pressure in low pressure scenarios should not be a problem. Pressure fittings have less gluing surface, but the surface area is still sufficient for a glue joint that does not have any applied load.
As mentioned in the video, this was a fix to delay digging up of the entire septic tank and system, which may be necessary in the next 10-30 years. The fix does not need to be perfect, but only functional. When the septic tank requires replacement, the remaining steel pipe can be removed and replaced with PVC. Then a fully proper fix can be made. In the meantime, my repair has not had any issues the last three years, and I don’t expect any issues for years to come. I have seen zero leaks and zero clogs.
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It’s not a good idea to reduce down to a smaller pipe size you will get clogged drain. Also you used pressure fittings
Use dwv.
Congrats man. I have some work to do under the house, but rather climb 50 or 60 ft on a tree.
Great vid, thanks. Kind of relates to what I'm trying to repair now, except I'm going through a concrete slab in the middle of one of the rooms in our house (no crawl space underneath the house). Thanks for showing me that others have taken a DIY approach instead of spending thousand$ to call in a plumbing team!
Rule #1 never us slip joint traps ONLY USE GLUE ON TRAPS WITH CLEANER AND PVC GLUE
Rule #2 make sure riser side of trap is higher than other side for fall on drainage
IN 1985 WAS THE FIRST TIME I CRAWED UNDER A HOUSE TO UNCLOG A PIPE I HAD DO IT A FEW TIMES I WAS 13 YES OLD IM 45 YEARS OLD NOW IF I HAD TO I WOULD DO IT AGAIN
Hi Jonathon, I commend you on your effort for fixing your drain problem, but I do see some issues with your repair. It's not leaking so that's good. I know you didn't want to dig up the pipe especially in such a tight space. There are a number of issues that are not correct by code and as a licensed plumber I couldn't get away with doing that way but it's your house and you can't be held by that same level of standards. So the only issues I will mention are things that might cause you a problem down the road. I know its been a year so you may or may not of had any problems since you made this video. One issue is that you reduced the pipe size from 2" down to 1 1/2". This is a big no-no in plumbing. You can always increase the size but not reduce. It can cause stoppages. The biggest issue I see here is that the 45 degree fitting that you used is a pressure fitting instead of a fitting made for drains. The reason that this is such a big deal is because if the kitchen line ever gets clogged and for some reason you cant' unstop it and you call a plumber out. They won't know about your repair and they will probably run a 3/8 cable down the line. When the cable gets to the pressure fitting the cable will either break the pipe (which will make it drain but under the house) or it will make the turn but the cable will get stuck in the line. One way you can fix it right and not dig it up is by getting all that cast iron out of the hub where connected the pvc to the cast iron and use a rubber gasket called a tite seal gasket. Trust me getting that cast iron out of that fitting can be really hard but if it is brittle enough it might come right on out if you are lucky. Only other option is to dig it up. Sometime in the near future all of those drains will have to be replaced anyway.