Cast Iron soil pipe - WC Waste Connector - (pic)

[andytc]

Hi

At the weekend i'm suppose to be fitting a wall hung toilet to replace the old one. I think i may have a huge problem with the existing soil pipe in the bathroom.

Once i fit the wall hung and cistern the existing soil pipe projects really far out and i don't think i will be able to buy any type of connector to join it smoothly as it is

this is the exisiting cast iron pipe - what is that huge bulge ? it narrows again after that. it's all cast iron outside as well.

at the moment that is connected to the new toilet , but it's only sitting on the floor at the moment , as i accidentally put a hammer through the old one a bit ahead of time

it will be raised up quite a bit , once the wall hung pan is in it's correct location i think i'll have probs with the waste connector , beacuse it will be almost directly above that pipe and a bit less distance out ...hope this makes sense.

can it be cut ? it's close to the wall but i might get a grinder in there ?

any suggestions or possible fittings i could buy ?

 

[ChrisR]

You're on the right lines.
What's the vertical offset?
The bulge is a "socket" full of very hard cement. If you drill it with a diy-type hammer drill you'll be able to break the cement out in lumps.

If all else fails you replace a section or all the outside pipe with plastic, which isn't as hard as it sounds.

 

[andytc]

Thanks ChrisR ,

Is that socket joining the 2 pipe sections then ? and if i remove it will it give me some more room ?

Replacing the whole stack might not be so easy on my house. That soil pipe dissappears into a roof area on 1930's small kitchen extension , the kitchen below sticks out about 4 ft from the rest of the house , it exits from the side of the roof and i'd have to strip off the roofing to get to some of it.

have i got any hope of removing that join without breaking the rest ?, that would be a disaster for me

i've already smashed the bog 4 days early and the wife was horrified !!

 

[TicklyT]

Check the offset and the angle of the cast iron soil pipe in relation to the new pan. It looks like the existing pipe may have quite a lot of fall on it.

Multikwik (among others) make a range of pan connectors and extensions to cater for offsets of up to 100mm
http://www.multikwik.com/wcconnectors.php

if you can clean the cement out the existing socket, you may find a pan connector will fit inside the socket with a bit of room to spare.

The tricky part, whether you remove the socket or not will probably be cleaning up the bore of the cast iron enough for a pan connector to seal and to avoid tearing the fins when you fit it.

Depending on the toolkit and elbow room you have available, cutting the socket off with a hacksaw (18TPI blade plus a large tub of elbow grease ) is possible.
Others may recommend saving on the elbow grease by using an angle grinder.

 

[andytc]

Great stuff , thanks

I might take the elbow grease route , i've got 2 grinders 4" and 9" but it's close to the wall , so might not get in nicley

I'll go and measure the offset and post later..

cheers !

 

[ChrisR]

Easy to cut off with a small angle grinder, though you fill the area with iron dust.
What you have is

and you can cut it off anywhere from the dotted line backwards.

 

[andytc]

Thats excellent chris , now i can see what it's all about.

I think i'll cut that off as it will give me more options for fittings , i'm wondering if a flexi will do the job ?

 

[Dan Robinson]

A junior hacsaw will keep the dust to a minimum.

 

[ChrisR]

You can do the blue cuts with a reciprocating, jig, or hack saw, the green ones with the angle grinder. Small bridges of cast iron snap easily.

 

[andytc]

Cheers Chris , just popped out and bought a reciprocating saw ready for the job on saturday , a useful tool anyway so it's all good.

I'm sure there will be tons of curseing , swearing and foot stomping , but i'll get the job done !

I'll post back and let you all know

Thanks for all the help ..invaluable to me

 

[Dan Robinson]

Reciprocating saws are manna from heaven... enjoy!

 

[andytc]

Reciprocating saws are manna from heaven... enjoy!

I realy hope so !!

I'll find out if the s**t hits the fan on saturday

 

[TicklyT]

I'll find out if the s**t hits the fan on saturday

If it does, you've cut into an air conditioning duct by mistake

 

[andytc]

If it does, you've cut into an air conditioning duct by mistake

LOL let me re-phrase that .....

"I'll find out if the s**t hits the reciprocating blade on saturday"

 

[andytc]

SUCCESS !!

4" Grinder did the job nicely in the end (had to take the guard off)


Cheers guys