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Covering Waste Line in Basement Slab

Anon | Posted in General Discussion on August 17, 2006 06:09am

I am finishing the basement in my 75 year old house. I am only laying dri-core subfloor, covering it with some snap-lock composite flooring and putting walls and wall board up around the perimeter. As the basement is now, there is a toilet sitting right up against the wall, sideways to the wall, in the middle of one outside wall. It’s just a toilet in the middle of nowhere, not a bathroom, not even enclosed. We aren’t going to keep it or use it, so I plan to pull out the fixture, close off the water line which is hanging down the middle of the masonry exterior wall, and lay the subfloor right over where the toilet used to be.

Obviously, I need to cap off the waste pipe somehow. Can I just seal it off and cover right over it or is it the sort of thing I ought to get a plumber to deal with? My skill level is that I can do some plumbing, but I try to draw the line at replacing existing fixtures rather than installing new ones or running any new pipe. How do I approach this task?

Thanks for any advice.

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  1. DanH | Aug 17, 2006 06:56pm | #1

    Depending on the type of flange and pipe, you may be able to get an expandable test plug that will fit. While these aren't generally intended for long-term use, there's no compelling reason why one wouldn't work. However, you should leave some sort of access in the floor at that point, if only so you can use the drain as a cleanout if necessary.

    If you want to permanently cover the floor you should get the pipe capped. Since it's either lead or cast iron, an experienced plumber is probably in order (though you can maybe cut the bill a bit by excavating a few inches around the drain in advance of the plumber's visit).

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  2. User avater
    jonblakemore | Aug 17, 2006 06:57pm | #2

    I would remove the toilet and use an internal pipe cutter just below the bottom of the slab to cut through the pipe.

    Cap with a 3" or 4" cap and place concrete over it. Should be very easy.

    *edit* I just realized that this is in a 75 year old house, you likely don't have PVC or ABS. I think you can still cut a CI pipe with an internal pipe cutter, it will probably just take longer.

    Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com

    Fredericksburg, VA



    Edited 8/17/2006 12:02 pm ET by JonBlakemore

    1. Anon | Aug 17, 2006 11:00pm | #3

      Thank you both for your responses. I'll have a look when I get the fixture off the floor but it sounds like I should expect to find the job beyond what I'm willing to undertake. I sure don't want the liquids OR gasses that belong in those pipes rising up underneath a dri-core floor! I'll let the experts make sure that doesn't happen.

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