Patching a Large Hole in Plaster Wall

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Ron Van said:
To fix it right, you need to cut out your wall a little more to gain access to the drain plumbing. Then make a couple cuts on the drain line.
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I can just barely see the pipe behind the wall but it looks huge. I'm not good with estimating but maybe 2 1/2"? Would I be able to cut through this (cast iron?) with my reciprocating saw? You can actually see the pipe in my basement where it runs from the kitchen all the way down under the basement floor to the sewer I assume.
Pipe.jpg
 
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Edit:
Is there an upstairs with any other drains to the pipe? Four inches or three inches sounds like a soil pipe. I wouldn't rush into cutting it. I would first determine if everything can be assembled to drain into the present inlet. I would scrap the disposal before I would attempt to cut that heavy vertical pipe.
 
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Eddie_T said:
Edit:
Is there an upstairs with any other drains on the pipe? Four inches sounds like a soil pipe. I wouldn't rush into cutting it. I would first determine if everything can be assembled to drain into the present inlet.
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No, there's definitely nothing above it. The bathroom is on the other side of the house and has a separate drain pipe.

Also, I measure the distance from the garbage disposal pipe to the floor and the inlet to the vent pipe to the floor and they are both equal distances, about 23". Is there another way of doing this so I don't have to mess with that big vent pipe?

I'm confused about which size pipe and fittings to buy. The PVC is 1 1/2" diameter and the vent pipe is measuring 2.4669. I measured the copper pipes to replace the shutoff valves and I'm getting a diameter of .64". These sizes are all odd to me. Are pipes not measure by outside diameter? Also, I don't see sharkbite fittings near the 3/8 that I think the copper pipe is.

What is the difference between replacing the pipes with PVC vs PEX?
 
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Copper pipe OD is .625". I need to be careful about offering advice as I have done as little plumbing as possible. So this is pure guesswork on my part. If all else fails maybe the sink could be raised just enough to get drainage but I'll let a plumber jump in here. How high is your counter top from the floor?
 
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Eddie_T said:
Copper pipe OD is .625". I need to be careful about offering advice as I have done as little plumbing as possible. So this is pure guesswork on my part. If all else fails maybe the sink could be raised just enough to get drainage but I'll let a lumber jump in here. How high is your counter top from the floor?
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It's 34" floor to bottom of counter. I couldn't raise the sink though. Still not sure about the other pipe diameters. Shopping for parts is more complicated than I thought it would be.
 
bud16415 said:
With the .5” copper it would be best to take a small close space tubing cutter (ring cutter) and cut the lines just below the valves, after turning off the water. If the solder hasn’t dripped down the tubing you can clean up the cut ends a little and slip new Shark-Bite valves right on and convert all the rest to PEX from there up. If there is some solder on the outside that would cause an issue with sealing the Shark-Bite heat it with a propane torch and wipe the solder off with a rag.



As to the trap and running back up hill thru the flex pipe. What you have there is like a real long trap and the whole thing will fill up until the level is the same on both sides. Water is really not running up hill it is just seeking its own level. I’m not saying I like it but it seems to be working.



That tail piece that is made to bellow is taking up a lot of height and maybe that tee could be turned 90 degrees and a different type of inline trap could be used to get you up to the exit height. I think it is called a U Trap.
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Are you sure it's 1/2" copper? I'm really confused about the pipe sizes. I measured the diameter of the copper and it's 2" diameter. What size pipe does this translate to? The pvc is 4 13/16" and the cast iron is 7 7/8". So what size fittings do I use on these pipes?
 
Are you measuring circumference instead of OD? π x D for .625" would be 1.96" circumference for 1/2" copper pipe.
 
Eddie_T said:
Are you measuring circumference instead of OD? π x D for .625" would be 1.96" circumference for 1/2" copper pipe.
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Yes, I'm sorry, I measured the circumference. So do I need to take the circumference, divide in half to get the diameter, and then multiply by pi? I was doing some googling and it looks like there's the actual size and then nominal size. I'm really confused about what size I need to buy for each of the copper, PVC, and cast iron.
 
If you measure circumference divide by pi and you have outside diameter.
 
asuhayda said:
Yes, I'm sorry, I measured the circumference. So do I need to take the circumference, divide in half to get the diameter, and then multiply by pi? I was doing some googling and it looks like there's the actual size and then nominal size. I'm really confused about what size I need to buy for each of the copper, PVC, and cast iron.
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Your copper is 1/2", your sink drain is 1-1/2" and the cast/iron is 2", all of which are nominal sizes and are generally available.

3/8" copper have a separate set of connectors, known commonly as compression.
 
asuhayda said:
Are you sure it's 1/2" copper? I'm really confused about the pipe sizes. I measured the diameter of the copper and it's 2" diameter. What size pipe does this translate to? The pvc is 4 13/16" and the cast iron is 7 7/8". So what size fittings do I use on these pipes?
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From your measurement it looks to be 5/8 (.625) I was just guessing about the size as most are half inch. I just read the rest of the posts and see you have the size figured out to be .500 lol.

As to your drain I mentioned above that the two heights looked about the same and turning the T and a inline trap might work.
 
bud16415 said:
From your measurement it looks to be 5/8 (.625) I was just guessing about the size as most are half inch. I just read the rest of the posts and see you have the size figured out to be .500 lol.

As to your drain I mentioned above that the two heights looked about the same and turning the T and a inline trap might work.
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I'm going to see if I can make this work without having to cut the cast iron pipe. What is the proper term for an inline trap? I tried searching for that and came up with nothing.

EDIT: Would something like this work?
 
Snoonyb said:
Your copper is 1/2", your sink drain is 1-1/2" and the cast/iron is 2", all of which are nominal sizes and are generally available.

3/8" copper have a separate set of connectors, known commonly as compression.
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Thank you for helping me figure that out!
 
asuhayda said:
I'm not sure that's it. A quick search shows those were used in older homes and are now illegal. Thank you though!
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I don’t know about the code part I’m sure a house inspection would flag what you have now as not to code also. Just the same as in parts of the country the cheater air admittance valves are not to code and others they are fine.



If it were my house I wouldn’t want to lose the disposal just as you don’t and I would want a trap that allows free flow and not one holding way to much water and asking for leaks.



My old house had a kitchen sink that the previous owner plumbed the drain and when I first opened the doors I though OMG I have to rip this mess out. He built a separate trap for both sinks all out of PVC pipe and fittings with all kinds of Ts and screw on caps as clean out points. They all came together into a Y with a third leg and a air admittance valve up high. I didn’t know where to start so I left the sleeping dog alone. Come to find out it was the best setup I ever had and when I did get a clog it was simple to uncap and clear. I doubt if it were to code but it past my code.



Again I’m not a plumber so take my comments with a grain of salt. You have a setup that requires a little out of the box thinking.



Before I would cut into the cast pipe in the wall I might think about draining straight down thru the floor and making a new connection in the basement into that same cast drain. Then just plug the hole behind the sink in the wall. That may be another idea to toss around.
 
bud16415 said:
I don’t know about the code part I’m sure a house inspection would flag what you have now as not to code also.
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I'm sure it's not code based on the conversations in this thread! As far as the running trap you mentioned, I'm not so concerned about adhering to code, I just figured it was outlawed because it doesn't work or poses some kind of hazard. If that's not the case, I'd be all for trying it. We'll see if anyone else chimes in about it.

bud16415 said:
Before I would cut into the cast pipe in the wall I might think about draining straight down thru the floor and making a new connection in the basement into that same cast drain. Then just plug the hole behind the sink in the wall. That may be another idea to toss around.
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The Hepvo looks promising as a possible solution to not having to cut that cast iron pipe. If I do though, I like your idea. Then I don't have to cutout more of the wall and I'll have better access to do the work.
 
The HepO sounds good it is the first I ever saw one. I will keep my eye on it.

I can see some issues with it a a disposal unit but they claim it works with food waste.

They also show it working horizontal so maybe it could work with turning the T.
 
asuhayda, I am feeling much better about your situation. There is light at the end of the tunnel and with your persistence you will prevail!
 
If you did go thru the floor it looks like you could put the trap on the basement side. it would be much simpler and easier to service it down there and keep the mess out from under the sink.

Fernco makes a Y saddle connection that should work with your cast pipe.
 
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