I inherited a rather dilapidated 2-story row house and I'm trying to rehab the property to rent it out.

A plumber with a fancy camera gizmo has shown me the crack in the stack pipe so I really do have to get it fixed.

But all the plumbers who have given me estimates have taken one look at me and I can feel the price go up.

How much should I really spend on a 4" cpv stack pipe from the basement connection straight up to the 2nd floor plumbing?

This Pauline is in peril!

Ask each of them how long the repair should take. The parts will be minimally priced. Ask them what they charge by the hour. If the do not charge by the hour then find a mom and pop shop that is reputable and get them to fix it. I fixed a pipe similar to the one you mentioned. It cost about 150.00.

I'm sorry Pauline but We have to be there to check local labor prices, the number of branches off the stack and the material cost. We can tell you how to do the job yourself but not how much it would cost to do it.
How bad is the crack? Is it in a wet or dry area in the stack? Can the wall be opened up to repair it?
Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

I'm sorry Pauline but We have to be there to check local labor prices, the number of branches off the stack and the material cost. We can tell you how to do the job yourself but not how much it would cost to do it.
How bad is the crack? Is it in a wet or dry area in the stack? Can the wall be opened up to repair it?
Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

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Originally Posted by AnotherPauline

I inherited a rather dilapidated 2-story row house and I'm trying to rehab the property to rent it out.

A plumber with a fancy camera gizmo has shown me the crack in the stack pipe so I really do have to get it fixed.

But all the plumbers who have given me estimates have taken one look at me and I can almost feel the price going up.

How much should I really spend to replace a 4" cast iron stack pipe with cpv stack pipe from the basement connection straight up to the 2nd floor plumbing?

This Pauline is in peril!

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I'm sorry Pauline but We have to be there to check local labor prices, the number of branches off the stack and the material cost. We can tell you how to do the job yourself but not how much it would cost to do it.
How bad is the crack? Is it in a wet or dry area in the stack? Can the wall be opened up to repair it?
Regards, Tom

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Tom,
Thanks so much for your reply!

The plumber who opened up the wall and found the crack charged me $65/hr.

I believe the stack ties into only an existing sink, tub, and toilet on the second floor. So I guess that means it's a wet area (?). The stack and all the tie ins are easily accessible through a wall and 1st floor ceiling.

He found the crack and says that it is 6" long and along the seam line of the cast iron stack. His estimate was to replace it with CPVC from above the concrete basement floor to just before the vent to the roof.

I've researched on the Internet and have seen that I can get it welded or get a "saddle clamp" or use epoxy putty. Are these options I can use?

Pauline

"I've researched on the Internet and have seen that I can get it welded or get a "saddle clamp" or use epoxy putty. Are these options I can use?"

Unless the cast iron's rotten these will work. It may be a little long for a saddle clamp but epoxy should seal the crack if it isn't too wide. Regards, Tom

So the plumber who's references checked out and who had a decent bid came out to fix the stack pipe as scheduled.

After he tore out the wall he claimed that the risers were too close to the stack pipe and that there was a 70% chance that they would be damaged while taking the stack out. To cut the stack pipe they use some kind of chain saw I'm told. So of course he offered to replace the risers for another $1200. Hmmmmm?

I don't see why this was such a surprise when even I can see how close the risers are to the stack from the basement. (Photo 1)

We ended up using the epoxy putty to fix what turned out to be a REALLY LONG crack in the pipe. You can see the long line off silver attached to the pipe. (Photo 2)

BUT don't PANIC! This is a temporary fix and I'm out getting bids again to fix the stack without having to touch the risers. I have until I close the walls.

I did this because I really need some kind of toilet in site while I'm doing the rest of the work in the house (demo of several walls and ceilings, demo and replacement of kitchen and bathroom, popcorn removal etc.) If I don't have ANY bathroom for the pople working here I'll have to rent a Port-a-potty.

So, Do you think the risers are too close?

Pauline

So, Do you think the risers are too close?

The raisers are tight but it's possible to get in there with a Saws-All with a metal blade and cut the cast iron. What concerns me about the raisers is that the vibration of working so close will dislodge the minerals that have built up in those galvanized over the years and they could clog up your faucets as you made a draw. I have a suggestion that may save you big bucks and a lot of hassle. Click on; PlumbingSupply.com - Leak Repair Kit and repair that crack without disturbing the pipes and contribuing to your plumbers two weeks vacation in Aruba.
Goodluck, Tom

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Originally Posted by AnotherPauline

So, Do you think the risers are too close?

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They are too close together to safely wrap the chain of a snap cutter around.

I'm curious, though; If you're going to the expense of replacing the stack and you're renovating other parts of the house anyway -- Why not replace this portion of the water piping while the wall is open and accessible?

Seems penny wise and pound foolish to close this wall up without replacing the water piping.

Just my two pence.

I agree with Growler about the water pipe. If it were my call I'd replace ALL the old galvanized water pipe with plastic. However, if you replace just the raisers you will be disturbing the rest of the water pipes and stand a very good chance of dislodging minerals in the pipe walls that have been building up for years. If you decide to go with Growlers advice I suggest you remove the hot and cold angle stops that are the first downstream branches after changing the raisers and flush out the lines before you flush a toilet or open a faucet, Good luck, Tom

I want to jump in here with the top dogs, speedball and growler. I hope to be as good as the older guys one day.
I see old galvanized piping and agree strongly with speedball to repipe the whole house for obvious reasons of problems ongoing with tenants. As for cutting the cast iron with a sawzall, I have found the lenox 656r or 856r which is a wood blade cuts cast iron much better and faster on low speed.

Don't sell yourself short Doug. Your answers are right up to par with the best of the plumbing experts. Have a great Sunday!

I TOTALLY agree about replacing the risers while the wall is open. But I don't see why I have to PAY ANOTHER $1200 to replace 15-20 feet of pipe ON TOP OF the $2200 I'm paying for the stack removal.

Is that a reasonable price? I have found that plumbers take a look at me and make up the numbers as they go along.

I am starting from a zero knowledge base and I have SO MUCH to do in this house that I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

Questions:

I had him replace a frozen shut-off valve and I saw the gunk inside the galvanized pipe. How do I "flush out" those deposits?

Can I have SOME of the pipes replaced? Which ones are critical to replace?

Pauline

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Questions:
I had him replace a frozen shut-off valve and I saw the gunk inside the galvanized pipe. How do I "flush out" those deposits? Can I have SOME of the pipes replaced? Which ones are critical to replace.

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You don't. You replace the old galvanized with CPVC plastic. And the problem is that once the old pipes are disturbed that gunk can get carried up and clog your faucets. $3400.00 sounds a little steep to me. I suggest that you hold up and get three estimates before contracting the job out. Get two from each plumbing company. One to do the stack repair anhd the other for a repipe job. Or you could purchase the pipe repair kit that I mentioned earlier and get a handy man to fix it for under a hundred bucks. Good luck, Tom

Some very good advice from all the postings, but I don't see any helpful pricing information, which is what I was looking for. I know that that is a case by case call, but someone should have been in the business long enough to offer some ball park figures. What if the owner was a master carpenter and did all the demo, exposing all the piping where necessary, and all the plumber had to do was what he do. How much? Help here!

Hi Puriah

Combined, we have probably over 200 years of experience with all the guys that reliably post on this page daily, but it still will not change the fact that we cannot just throw out ballpark figures for people as every single city/town/providence/county, etc. etc. etc. has different rates across the board. Simply put, as much as you would like a "ball-park figure", it would be a disservice to you (and anyone else that reads this thread in the future) when you found out that our ball-park figures were Wayyyyyy off!

Get 3 estimates from local plumbers... ONLY WAY TO GO HERE!

Good luck!

Mark

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I don't see any helpful pricing information

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Let me take Marks post a bit farther. If you want a ballpark estimate you have to give us the following information.
1- nature of the complaint. How big will this job be?
2-number of plumbers involved
3- union or nonunion
4-hourly rate of pay
5-extra equipment rental
6-estimated material costs
That's for openers , or you can simply get three estimates and go from there.
Good luck, Tom