The drain pipe from up stairs kitchen is rusted out. The joint at the basememt floor is a O&L joint and is 2" above the cement floor. How is the joint repared with out digging up cement floor? Is there a fitting that can be used or what?
TNX Paul

If you have enough room, cut out the hub and use Fernco shielded coupling to reconnect. Back to you. Milo

Ya got the right guy. I cut my teeth on cast iron and lead and oakum joints. You can follow Milos advice or if the joint's leaking you can simply recaulk the joint.
Rent a set of inside and outside caulking irons, #4 and #5 (see image) Take a small hammer,( don't use too much muscle or you'll crack the hub,) and the inside iron and Tap firmly, but not strongly, around the inside of the hub next to the pipe. Now take your outside iron and do the same with the outside of the hub. That's all there is to it. Any questions? Click on back with them. Good luck, Tom

If hub is Ok take Tom's advice and recauk the joint and as a backup after joint is recauked melt candle wax and pour over cauked joint to seal it. If hub is rusted too bad to caulk then use Milo's solution. Don't mean to repeat other's solutions but in recauking joint, candle wax really works on lead joint, but you must recauk first.

I want to use plastic pipe. Can I cut the pipe a few inches up from the floor and put a compreshion fitting on the metal pipe then go plastic up from there. Or is there a way to put the plastic down into the oukem and lead,after removing the old pipe and calk or epxoy putty or something?

Is that pipe for Drain, Vent or Water ?

In all 3 cases, you can use plastic pipe. If it is used for Drain or Plumbing Vent than you simply use Fernco shielded coupling to connect the two different materials. If it is for water than you can use reducing / transfer coupling, union or if the "metal" pipe is copper, yes, you can use fitting that uses ferrule connection.

Back to you. Milo

Great answer by Milo.
Can I cut the pipe a few inches up from the floor and put a compreshion fitting on the metal pipe then go plastic up from there Since this is cast iron the answer is yes you can. Cut the pipe off at least 8 inches off the floor and , as Milo suggested use a Shielded coupling,(see image) in the correct size to convert to PVC. Good luck, Tom