OK to replace initial section of 6″ clay pipe with 4″ PVC?
ericrpeterson
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
My house has a short section of 4″ cast iron vertical pipe that connects to 6″ clay pipe under the floor headed towards the sewer. Above the cast iron the house is plumbed with PVC.
In preparation for plumbing in a new line for the laundry room, and to remove a rusted out floor drain, I will be removing the cast iron section along with the first 8 feet of this 6″ clay pipe.
Question is, is it OK to replace this 8 foot section of 6″ clay pipe with 4″ PVC?
Or must I use 6″ PVC?
I am open to replacing 6″ clay pipe with 6″ PVC – but I don’t want to overengineer this and make the job more difficult.
The pitch is more than adequate, so I would prefer using 4″ PVC as there is a better selection of fittings for that size.
Thanks,
Eric Peterson
Replies
I have 4" pipe that goes to
I have 4" pipe that goes to 6" outside the house. I won't get into it, but if you need to clear the main of roots, you should have a 6" cleanout. I had a nightmare situation once when the drain guys got got the machine stuck in the line, several hours later they got the machine loose.
Other than that, I don't see a problem with the 4" PVC.
Picture
A little fuzzy but you get the idea. New drain will be plumbed off to the right.
Picture
A little fuzzy but you get the idea. New drain will be plumbed off to the right.
Cleanout
Hi and thanks for that information.
You hit on one of my concerns, which concerned rodding the pipe - and if the rubber coupling between the 4" and 6" could be damaged over time when pulling the snake back. But I think that could be addressed by having the 4" pipe extend a few inches into the 6" pipe. However that seems like it would provide a dead space that would be prime breeding grounds for drain flies.
I like the idea of having the PVC butt up against the clay pipe. I could achieve that with a reducing coupling between 4" and 6" PVC, and a short section of 6" PVC.
But maybe I am overthinking this, as my neighbor would say.
Your situation does sound like a nightmare. In my case I have rodded the drain through a side branch, that had only a 3" access. and I have not had any problems, although there has been a time or two when I got a little nervous that I could not pull the snake back out. My new layout will have a 4" access for rodding that is a straight shot into the 6" clay tile.
I 'll add a picture or two when I get home.
Eric
Oh wait, I see now.
I missed the word "transition".
Putting a cleanout there will be difficult as that section of the floor will be tiled over.
So I would have to devise a cleanout that was level with the floor and not a trip hazard.
--Eric