Cast Iron Soil stack - Ratchet cutter?

I am about to remove the soil stack on my house and replace with UPVC one which will help with the new downstairs connection.

Has anyone ever removed one and whats the best method? I have been told ratchet cutter is easy? and someone also said to me to use small angle grinder to make some holes in the part you want to remove, tie and rope around and then get a person on the ground to pull as you hit with club hammer? Obviously you need to have nothing below as quite dangerous. Is there an easier method?

Also how do i join the UPVC to the exisiting drain. I'm presuming the old pipes in the ground are clay. Do i dig down and join the pipe horizontally with a rubber coupling or would it be best to cut the cast about an inch from groud and couple there?

Thanks in advance

I joined mine just above ground level, there is a conector you can buy.
I used a ratchet cutter, I found it easy.
I cut mine, then hit the rest with a hammer, working down from the top.

we often find that the connection from iron - clay at ground level is usually shot or at best leaking.

i would be inclined to either replace the 90 deg bend with a new plastic one and connect to this or angle grind the uppermost female end of the 90 and fix a new fernco coupler.

the problem with existing old clay pipes is once they are disturbed they usually leak.

you may be lucky, in that all you will need to do is mortar in the new plastic pipe into the female end of the clay bend, but i doubt it.

basically i would cut it off 6 to 8 inches above the ground with either a ratchet cutter or a 9" grinder and then smash it to pieces with a club hammer from the top down. join the new plastic to the old iron with a decent union (which looks like the old joins in the cast iron) , rather than one of those horrid double jubilee clip , types.

Thanks Guys....

When constructing the new Soil stack in plastic do i need to Glue/seal the joints? If so what should i use.

Thanks

you can get solvent weld plastic piping but you would need to specifically ask for it.

most builders merchants and diy sheds stock proprietary 110mm plastic drainage products and they are push-fit. there is a rubber seal to each female end which is best lubed with washing up liquid or silicone grease, for ease of fitting.

no glue is required.

if you are using a strap-on boss however solvent weld glue will be used for this specific type of fitting. alternatively, 32mm and 38mm wastes from your bath and basin can be fitted to knock out spigots located in a lot of stack pipe fittings. a rubber bung is inserted into the circular knock-out and is sized according to pipe size (32mm or 38mm.)