On average, cast iron pipes can last around 80 to 100 years. If you live in a house built in the 1970s or older, your pipes are most likely made of cast iron. While your pipes are hidden underground, taking preventative measures can save you a lot of stress in the future. You don’t want to wait until things blow out to take action because that could be costly.
Residential pipe systems are subject to wear and tear. It is normal if your cast iron pipes start to deteriorate after several years of operation. It makes sense to conduct regular inspections on your cast iron pipes to check for any issues that could cause major inconveniences.
If an issue is detected during the home inspection, get it repaired right away before it escalates to a costly problem. You may also want to consider relining your cast iron pipes if the issue can’t be fixed.
How Do I Tell If My Cast Iron Pipes Are Bad?
Several issues can be signs of troubled cast iron pipes. Common signs that indicate your pipes are in bad condition include leaks, water discoloration, and poor water pressure. In some cases, cast iron pipes are used in sewage systems that extend from the house to the main sewer line. You can tell something is wrong if you notice slow drainage, ground sagging, and wastewater pooling.
In addition, if you experience rusty pipes, you should call a plumber to inspect your piping system to determine if it needs to be relined. Rusty pipes can also cause water discoloration due to the blockage or rough surface created by the rust inside the cast iron pipes. The rough surface attracts tiny particles, which causes a build-up.
Sewage leaks are also a concern because they can cause bad smells in your house and encourage the growth of molds and mildew, reducing the quality of your home. Moreover, when there is a rupture, wastewater tends to pool, causing small patches in the yard to be wet when other parts are dry.
The best way to protect your home from such inconveniences is to hire a qualified plumbing expert to inspect your cast iron pipes with video that can show you the future of your pipes and help to identify problem areas where the cast iron piping can be relined underground.
Do We Need to Make a PVC Connection with a Cast Iron Sewer Pipe Underground?
Many homeowners are interested in connecting their worn-out cast iron sewer pipes, but don’t really know how and do not know the alternatives that can save you time and headaches. Not every situation are you replacing cast iron under the first floor from the basement level.
The old traditional way to replacing your cast iron pipes with new PVC is to dig up the ground, break concrete slabs or pull walls away to cut out and remove the cast iron pipes to be simply replaced with new PVC.
The connections of cast iron to PVC can be made, but is it a permanent solution? Will you feel confident that when you put your kitchen together, after it was just remodeled, that the connections between the two materials will not leak - it’s worth noting that you don’t have to take this way to make the repair.
The newer way, with a lifetime guarantee, is the pipe lining solution offered by Deluxe can save you headaches and save your property from unnecessary major demolition. This alternative way of repairing broken, cracked or offset cast iron pipe is to run a new pipe inside the existing pipe. This is done with a flexible sock socked with epoxy that can be inserted to the existing pipe. It is important that the pipe is properly prepared and descaled for this process to work.
You can try and save yourself money by cutting off your cast iron pipe at ground level and create a connection with the specified connector. The rubber-made fins will then thrust the existing pipe to form a firm seal, and the new PVC connects straight to the socket.
However, if the pipe is under concrete, soil or another hard surface or behind drywall or brick you would not be trying to perform this cast iron pipe repair on your own – we hope not!
While connecting PVC to cast iron sewer pipe sounds like a one-minute job or running a new pipe inside of an existing old broken pipe, it can be difficult for those without prior experience and the right set of equipment.
With a plumber, like Deluxe Plumbing & Heating in Bethlehem, PA, you can have peace of mind knowing the job will be lifetime warrantied, executed faster and efficiently and that your home won’t be damaged.
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