Been in this home for 6.5 years and the cast iron pipes need to be replaced.

Ranch Style home just South of Houston.

How would a plumber go about replacing the pipes?

I am scared to think about the cost.

Gilligan said:

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How would a plumber go about replacing the pipes?

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Saw cut the slab and replace the cast iron with PVC. Other options include liner inserts and liquid liners, but they won't work as well as new PVC. The plumbing part of this isn't super expensive, but the flooring replacement can be.

Gilligan, this thread has some good input on sewage and service piping (if you can tell which posts are for which).

https://texags.com/forums/38/topics/3125807

Are you talking about underslab cast iron or in the walls plumbing?

First thing is where are the pipes?

NVM - mine were galvanized.

In the slab. The A/C one is pretty dead center.

I am going to read the link provided.

There seems to be a lot of confusion here between galvanized supply lines and cast iron drain lines.

Cast iron drain pipes is what I am talking about.

The other link flops back and forth between supply and drain.

Don't pay plumbing rates for digging. Pick up some illegals at Home Depot to do the digging, and save the actual plumbing for the plumber.

YellAg2004 said:

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There seems to be a lot of confusion here between galvanized supply lines and cast iron drain lines.

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yeah sorry - mine were galvanized.

agnerd said:

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Don't pay plumbing rates for digging. Pick up some illegals at Home Depot to do the digging, and save the actual plumbing for the plumber.

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Don't you need to pack the dirt back in a certain way after it's done?

Gilligan said:

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agnerd said:

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Don't pay plumbing rates for digging. Pick up some illegals at Home Depot to do the digging, and save the actual plumbing for the plumber.

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Don't you need to pack the dirt back in a certain way after it's done?

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Certainly. And I would not trust Juan or Jose to do that for me.

West Texas Lawyer said:

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Gilligan said:

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agnerd said:

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Don't pay plumbing rates for digging. Pick up some illegals at Home Depot to do the digging, and save the actual plumbing for the plumber.

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Don't you need to pack the dirt back in a certain way after it's done?

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Certainly. And I would not trust Juan or Jose to do that for me.

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It's not like you can just pick up a truck full of hourly labor for this. Not unless one of them happens to have a GPR in his back pocket, a wet saw in the other, and knowledge about your home's foundation (conventional vs PT).

I would advise you to contact Du-West plumbing. They will do the job right and you will not have to worry. Dont try to go cheap, you will pay several times over by not doing it right the first time. Du-West is the best and are priced within reason.

West Texas Lawyer said:

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Gilligan said:

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agnerd said:

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Don't pay plumbing rates for digging. Pick up some illegals at Home Depot to do the digging, and save the actual plumbing for the plumber.

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Don't you need to pack the dirt back in a certain way after it's done?

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Certainly. And I would not trust Juan or Jose to do that for me.

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Working closely with similar industry, I would trust Juan or Jose way before bill or bob, however only an experienced Juan or Jose (not day laborer). You maybe can find an experienced plumbing excavation and backfill crew of Hispanics that would do a great job.

You can either go thru your slab and flooring from above or you can tunnel everything below. You find pros and cons for each ranging from impact to family to impact to structural slab (depends on how well each is done - both are impactful in different ways).

Find someone who this is what they do all day long. There are plumbers who specialize in under slab work. Talk to them about your options and price both ways.

Good luck!

Different Question:

We have lived here 6.5 years. I grew up on septic system and don't put stuff down the drain.

I wouldn't even have a garbage disposal, but Mary Anne insists upon it. The most that goes down the sink is an occasional Lime or Lemon to make it smell better. ...rinsing off the dishes too.

Anyway, this house has the laundry room and the kitchen come to a clean out in the back before heading around the house and to the street for city tie in.

Every few months I open the clean out and duct tape a small ladle to a long skinny dowel and pull whitish gray chunks that resemble soap. When dislodged it floats.

What is this stuff? it smells awful and feels like fat or soap between my fingers.

Since we've lived here and been cleaning out the pipes the amount that builds up and breaks free is getting less and less, but we've been here over 6 years. If this is build up from previous owners and we don't put hardly anything down the drain shouldn't it stop?

Is it possible that we're using the wrong laundry detergent? Would that play a role in this build up?

I would reroute and tunnel
You can put a condensate pump in for the ac unit

Gilligan said:

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Different Question:

We have lived here 6.5 years. I grew up on septic system and don't put stuff down the drain.

I wouldn't even have a garbage disposal, but Mary Anne insists upon it. The most that goes down the sink is an occasional Lime or Lemon to make it smell better. ...rinsing off the dishes too.

Anyway, this house has the laundry room and the kitchen come to a clean out in the back before heading around the house and to the street for city tie in.

Every few months I open the clean out and duct tape a small ladle to a long skinny dowel and pull whitish gray chunks that resemble soap. When dislodged it floats.

What is this stuff? it smells awful and feels like fat or soap between my fingers.

Since we've lived here and been cleaning out the pipes the amount that builds up and breaks free is getting less and less, but we've been here over 6 years. If this is build up from previous owners and we don't put hardly anything down the drain shouldn't it stop?

Is it possible that we're using the wrong laundry detergent? Would that play a role in this build up?

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Probably fats and grease.

Builder93 said:

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Probably fats and grease.

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From where? We don't put any down the sink. We pour fat / grease in the trash and wipe it out with a paper towel before washing.

are you 100% sure mary ann is a diligent as you?

Should have married Ginger.

Is this a grey water pipe? If it's blackwater, it could be the fact that human poops have undigested fats in them. I would wash your hands.

If it's grey water, probably a combination of previous owner and a wife who didn't grow up on septic. She literally asked you to install a garbage disposal and now there's evidence someone's disposed of food garbage?

This one isn't going to take Scooby and the Gang to get to the bottom of it.

to be fair to mary ann too, even if you both are wiping down stuff and trying to dispose of waste in the garbage, it probably still isn't 100% clean. you'll wash residual stuff down the drain i bet. and over time it could still add up a bit.

plus every time you wash your grubby hands after eating tacos or fried chicken, you're washing some down the sink too.

sts7049 said:

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are you 100% sure mary ann is a diligent as you?

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No...

kubiak03 said:

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Should have married Ginger.

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You'll never win that argument with me. Sticking with Mary Ann!

one MEEN Ag said:

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Is this a grey water pipe? If it's blackwater, it could be the fact that human poops have undigested fats in them. I would wash your hands.

If it's grey water, probably a combination of previous owner and a wife who didn't grow up on septic. She literally asked you to install keep the existing garbage disposal and now there's evidence someone's disposed of food garbage?

This one isn't going to take Scooby and the Gang to get to the bottom of it.

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It's a grey water pipe.

New question: The clean out in the back always has water in it. As in I cannot see to the bottom. Doesn't that mean the pipe has a dip in it? Aren't dips bad for the flow?