Old lead waste pipe, can I cut it?

[robodelfy]

Ripping out my kitchen I found what appears to be an old lead waste pipe. It has some cloth stuffed in the end, maybe it's still connected to the waste and that's to stop the smell?

I need to cut this down to fit the new kitchen, would it be ok to go as low as I can with a hacksaw? Then what's the best way to seal it, cloth doesn't seem very full proof! Is there some product for this?

Thanks

 

[CBW]

Good afternoon,

Looking at that it could be an old lead water or lead gas feed. If this is the case certainly for gas, it would be better crimped and soldered at the end to prevent smells. If it is just an old waste, then if cutting at floor level then filler would probably suffice.

 

[robodelfy]

Good afternoon,

Looking at that it could be an old lead water or lead gas feed. If this is the case certainly for gas, it would be better crimped and soldered at the end to prevent smells. If it is just an old waste, then if cutting at floor level then filler would probably suffice.

It's nearly 2 inches wide, does that give any more clue?

I just want to know before deciding where to cut. And if it's old waste, what filler would you use?

 

[JohnD]

if it is gas, you need a gas installer, not a DIY bodge. Best practice would be to follow it back to its source and isolate it.

Two inch suggests a bath waste to me.

Stand back and take some wider pics to show its surroundings. For example is it where a cooker used to be? Or a boiler? Or a sink? What's on the other size of that wall?

 

[robodelfy]

if it is gas, you need a gas installer, not a DIY bodge. Best practice would be to follow it back to its source and isolate it.

Two inch suggests a bath waste to me.

Stand back and take some wider pics to show its surroundings. For example is it where a cooker used to be? Or a boiler? Or a sink? What's on the other size of that wall?

Thanks, my brother and his builder friends said it was an old waste pipe when I sent them that photo, but I thought I'd ask here to be sure!

It's not exactly where the old cooker used to be, or boiler or sink! It doesn't relate to anything in the last kitchen. But maybe the kitchen before that had the sink in a different place. The other side of the wall is the neighbours house.

I can't follow any further as it goes into the concrete floor.

If it was gas why would they just stick a bit of cloth in the end? Also it's two inches but it's been flattened, so probably 1.5 if it was round.

I've attached a photo of the room. Arrow to the pipe in red

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Outside, where does that plastic waste go to? My money is it's an old lead waste from a Belfast/London sink, might see the other end heading for a gulley.

 

[robodelfy]

Outside, where does that plastic waste go to? My money is it's an old lead waste from a Belfast/London sink, might see the other end heading for a gulley.

I'll have to have a look tomorrow, but I don't remember seeing anything outside. The waste from the current sink goes out and then along the wall to the drain

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

It goes under the floor, so will exit at a similar level, may have been chopped off externally too.

 

[robodelfy]

It goes under the floor, so will exit at a similar level, may have been chopped off externally too.

Thanks I'll have a look tomorrow and report back

 

[robodelfy]

I couldn't find anything outside, so its a mystery. But I need to chop it down, I wonder how I can find out exactly what it is. It seems most likely to be a waste pipe

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

They would upgrade some homes in the distant past, by simply adding a bath with a drain and no hot or cold water to it and in some peculiar places like kitchens, boarded over when not in actual use. It was a step up from a tin bath. I bet it was like that, hence your lead pipe.

I wonder if a metal detector might help to trace its route in the concrete?

 

[robodelfy]

They would upgrade some homes in the distant past, by simply adding a bath with a drain and no hot or cold water to it and in some peculiar places like kitchens, boarded over when not in actual use. It was a step up from a tin bath. I bet it was like that, hence your lead pipe.

I wonder if a metal detector might help to trace its route in the concrete?

Possibly but I don't have a metal detector I think I'll just cut it down and block it up, as its been just blocked with cloth for about 20 years it seems!