need plumber advice

[Ace Gunner]

have a 4 story apt building I'm restoring, place was built 1920's.

has 4" cast iron drains and one section is cracked, has been a long long time and I have repaired truss damage already. the crack is in one section of cast iron, runs near the length of it or about 6 feet, but I can see where each end of the crack is. the crack is less than eighth inch in the middle, tapers off to each end.

I already have a plumber lined up, but it would be great if I could buy a few months repair on this.

I have a gallon of henry's roof repair and well, I'm thinking it could do the trick. maybe brush the area and goop it.

what say you -- plumber extraordinaire? will it be good for a few months or ???

[boogblaster]

yea support the pipe and cut out the bad portion .. replace with pvc and rubber couplings .....

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by chiefsfootballfan

yes, I did the same here. pex/shark bite all over, and of course, the drains were left untouched. the plumber actually found this when he was running shark bite in the basement for outdoor spigots.

fyi this is going to cost me about a grand.

you DO know that sharkbites are NOT to be used in concealed locations, right? THat means any in-wall plumbing should not be sharkbite.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

wow never heard of that

yup, they changed to code here to account for just that. Sharkbites can only be used where they can be accesed when they fail. No under slab or inside wall uses are permitted

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

you DO know that sharkbites are NOT to be used in concealed locations, right? THat means any in-wall plumbing should not be sharkbite.

thx for that -- I looked around after reading your post and he did pex up the inside walls etc and used shark bite stuff only in the basement where it is exposed.

thx Flachief58 also -- i'm already making arrangements for tenants to move out a couple days while the plumber does his thing.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by chiefsfootballfan

thx for that -- I looked around after reading your post and he did pex up the inside walls etc and used shark bite stuff only in the basement where it is exposed.

thx Flachief58 also -- i'm already making arrangements for tenants to move out a couple days while the plumber does his thing.

Just curious. Why does he want your tennants out for 2 days? It sounds like the repair should only take a few hours to do. IMO your plumber is a puss for putting those demands on you.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Flachief58

Just curious. Why does he want your tennants out for 2 days? It sounds like the repair should only take a few hours to do. IMO your plumber is a puss for putting those demands on you.

Agreed. This repair should require nothing more than tenants not using water and toilets during the repair. And even then a lot of plumbers would make do. This should be about a 2-3 hour job AT MOST, from the time he steps on-site. He will (or should) pre-cut the PVC to the length required, have everything ready, cut the CIP out, swap the pvc in.

He is correct that there is a lot of weight to a cast iron stack, but it should be anchored off well periodically. It is highly unlikely that all the supports would have failed unless there were other issues with the building (long term water damage, etc.).

Personally, I think he's trying to make it sound more trouble than it is to justify a high cost.

[SAUTO]

use your roof goop, and take some rubber hose cut it on one side and wrap over the crack and clamp with some hose clamps.

should get you by for a while

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

Agreed. This repair should require nothing more than tenants not using water and toilets during the repair. And even then a lot of plumbers would make do. This should be about a 2-3 hour job AT MOST, from the time he steps on-site. He will (or should) pre-cut the PVC to the length required, have everything ready, cut the CIP out, swap the pvc in.

He is correct that there is a lot of weight to a cast iron stack, but it should be anchored off well periodically. It is highly unlikely that all the supports would have failed unless there were other issues with the building (long term water damage, etc.).

Personally, I think he's trying to make it sound more trouble than it is to justify a high cost.

I would first inform the tennants that of the work being done, then turn off the water supply to the bldg. Then do the repair with pvc and no hub bands. Like you said, he's driving up the price by being Mr. gloom & doom. If what the OP is decribing is true, he should be paying in the area of $500. At least that's what I would charge

[Ace Gunner]

admittedly, the plumber's father, a xlnt plumber in his time, is a friend of the family back home and so yes, the plumber is being a puss, but I don't mind. he flat out told me this was a job he turns down every time, but being a friend he'll handle it. he's a damn good plumber and he is also cleaning up some shoddy work on that floor's showers and kitchen. there is "black and white sacrilege!!!" committed there and he's going to go ahead and correct that too.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by chiefsfootballfan

admittedly, the plumber's father, a xlnt plumber in his time, is a friend of the family back home and so yes, the plumber is being a puss, but I don't mind. he flat out told me this was a job he turns down every time, but being a friend he'll handle it. he's a damn good plumber and he is also cleaning up some shoddy work on that floor's showers and kitchen. there is "black and white sacrilege!!!" committed there and he's going to go ahead and correct that too.

OK then, all that for $1000 is about right. That was info I did not have earlier

[Okie_Apparition]

grunt once
flush twice

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by milkman

Duct tape.

Milky beat me to it. Duct tape that MF and call it fixed !