The drain line for my sink is lead and it is leaking inside the wall. I am redoing the kitchen cabinets and have all piping exposed. The lead pipe is 2 or 21/2" and ties into a cast iron T. How do I get the lead pipe out of the T and how do I connect PVC pipe to the cast iron T?
Thanks,
John

You have a lead drain pipe on your sink?. how old is this house and sink?

Hi John

If you want to do this right (guessing that is why you asked the question) then the best bet would be to cut the lead pipe about 8 inches from the cast iron joint and then drill a series of holes around the lead pipe as it enters the cast iron fitting. Drill in about an inch or so until you feel a break in the hardness of the lead and then you'll know you are into the softer OAKUM material below the lead... drill a series of these holes and see if you can leverage the lead ring up and out of the cast iron fitting.

Once the lead and oakum is removed you can install a rubber donut into the cast iron fitting and leverage in some PVC to get you going properly (ask about this before you proceed).

Another alternative (less recommended) would be to cut the lead ferrule off at the mid point, pull/melt the lead ring off the ferrule and use a shielded clamp to join the ferrule to the PVC. In many cases, in basements over the years, this has worked perfectly, but I can't recommend this if the clamp/ferrule junction will be behind the wall.

Back to you...

Mark