I'm redoing a bathroom in a raised ranch on the bottom floor. When I pulled up the toilet flange, I also tried pulling up the lead riser, not aware that it was permenatley leaded to the cast elbow. I quickly found that out, after destroying the lead riser. The floor is a concrete slab. What can I do to repair/replace this lead riser that goes into the cast elbow without leading in a new one? Thanks in advance.

Is the toilet on a outside wall? Can you reach the cast iron elbothrough the open hole? Raised ranch! Does that translatew to crawl space? How old and in what area is this house? Regards, Tom

I believe the house was built in the 60's. Its not on an outside wall. It's a slab on grade, located in upstate NY. I can see the cast elbow, but beyond that, I would have to jack hammer the concrete slab to gain further access. I was wondering if there was something I could slip in the cast iron elbow that I could attach a new toilet flange to.

Gotcha! How was the lead raiser was secured to the cast iron elbo? Has it got a hub or straight end? If resetting the toilet would cover the patch could you take out enough cement to get your hand down there? Give me a night to think about and I just may come up with something.
Answe my questions and I'll be back in the morning. Regards, Tom

The lead riser was leaded into the outside of the elbow, which leads me to believe that the cast elbow has a hub. Forgive my ignorance, I've never dealt with this type of plumbing before. That's why I broke the lead riser. Had I know, I would have left it alone. If I had to take out some cement, the patch would be covered because I will be retiling the floor. However, I'd prefer an easier, less time consuming fix if one exists. Thanks for you help, Carl.

I will be retiling the floor. That means you can take out enougth cement to work down there.
However, I'd prefer an easier, less time consuming fix if one exists. you really didn't think this job would be easy did you?
You're going to hafta open that floor up enough to get down there and work. The first thing you must do is remove the lead raiser and clean up the hub. We will then decide what wiill be easiest for you to transition to PVC and a new raiser. Get the lead out, clean up the hub and get back to me. It's unusual to see lead pipes in a house built later then the 30's. I've been plumbing since after WW2 and have never used lead pipes in our new construction. Good luck, Tom