We had a couple of leaks in the bathroom that showed up in the drywall in the kitchen. We have gutted the bathroom believing that we had a clog in the pipes. THe plumber tells us that the soil stack which has some rust spots and a small hole that we can see should be replaced from attic to basement. We are wondering how much of the stack must be replaced. The soil stack has an elbow in this bathroom which is located on the second floor.. where we can see the rust and hole. How much MUST we replace? We didn't anticipate having to replace every piece of plumbing in the bath. This house was built in 1917 and updated in the 30's. Also, is it appropriate to ask for a bid on this work?
Thanks for your help!

If your stack is cast iron and 90 years old with rust holes all the way through it's time to replace the whole thing. The plumber will give you an estimate but this kind of job can be done in a day or two. I'd cut it out in manageable pieces starting on the roof. The replacement stack would be PVC, the plumber seems to be giving you the straight truth.

Hi Suzanne...

Like Ballenger said, time to replace the whole thing! Imagine trying to save a few bucks here just to find out you will need to tear into the wall again down the road! That could be awful and would be much more expensive to do in the future as the plumber would have to work with finished areas.

It certainly is fair to ask for an estimate on this work... should not be hard to price this out for you.

Good luck...

MARK