I work in maintenance at a commercial building in Michigan. We have a 5 story parking structure with 3" & 4" cast iron pipe routing drain water from vehicles and rain/snow into a lift station. The building is approximately 15 years old. The past 3-4 years I have replaced on average about 100 feet of pipe a year. It cracks end to end, usually on the bottom (but not always). The cracks are not caused by freezing water in a clogged pipe. There is always some residue in the bottom of the pipe, but it is not clogged. I can only assume it is caused by salt from the vehicles being trapped in the residue and eating through the pipe. What I want to know is, is this common, or did the contractors use sub-standard pipe in the construction? I have pursued the idea of replacing the broken pipe with PVC or ABS, but was told it has to be cast iron by local building code. Thanks for any insight you might have.

I have pursued the idea of replacing the broken pipe with PVC or ABS, but was told it has to be cast iron by local building code.
I have a better idea. It's called relining and replaces that old cast iron with epoxy lining with a minimum of tearing up floors or digging. I can recommend this because It's being installed at my home as we speak. The name of the company is "Rooter-Man", (Rooter Man of Sarasota and Gulf Coast Florida (http://www.rooterManGC.com)) This company just saved me thousands on relining my sewer main which has ate out the bottom of the cast iron the same as yours. Give them a shout! They travel! The only thing it will cost is your time but the savings and convenience of installation is without price. Good luck, Tom

Tom, I saw this process in action on This Old House. Looked way out of my league but if you have the cash it doesn't tear up your house or yard. Let us know how it turns out and how much $$$ damage.

I agree with Tom (Speedball). Re-lining is an excellent way to go. Done properly, it should give you many more years of service.

Plazamaint... you are correct, it is deteriorating from the elements. Salt is probably your biggest culprit. Putting an epoxy lining in there is the same as what municipal supplies use for drinking water. It lasts better than anything else that I know of.
Al

Let me explain a bit more about my problem. 54 year old house. The builder used sub standard cast iron in the drainage. The 4" house mnain was completely ate up on the bottom of the pipe , blocked with roots and welling up in my living room floor. I was sure that the main had broke in two and I would have to jack hammer up the floor and tunnel under the foundation to transition to PVC, pick up the back bath and move the main outside the house but I had to kinow what was going on under the slab so a friend suggested running a camera down there. There was no distinct break in the main, however,it was completely ate up. That's when Rooter Man of Sarasota and Gulf Coast Florida (http://www.RooterManGC.com) suggested relining the main, (see image). It took a dayto clear the roots and pressure jet clean the main. Next day they came back and relined the main with epoxy. I now have a sewer main that will out last me and the best poart is that I didn't have to, tear up my house and the cost was under half of what I figured to take the main outside around the house. Another bonus was that it was done without tearing up or disturbing my house.
I was amazed at the equipment RooterMan had outside my place. Hi tech stuff that took a technician to run it. Lottsa difference from the old days when I went out on a sewer call with a Ridged K-60 Sewer Machine and a ladder to get to the roof vent. I just wanted to point out that there's another option besides replacing drainage that the years have ruined. If your pipes are a candidate for a reline job I strongly suggest you look into it before you decide to reeplace the drainage pipes. I did and saved a bundle in addition to keeping my home intact. Just thought I would share that with you all. Regards, Tom

Tom,
I that's good info. Thanks for sharing it!
Al