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Asking for trouble? Tie new wet bar into 1950's stack, etc.

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  TheEplumber 
#1 ·
I'm finishing my basement off and would like to locate a wet bar near the stack that services the bathroom upstairs. Existing supplies are a mix of galvanized and copper. (Galvanized is still in pretty decent shape).

Repiping the entire house would be awesome, but isn't in the cards right at the moment.

My biggest concern is trying to tee off the four inch cast iron stack for the bar sink. I'm afraid that snapping or even hitting it with a recip could really put a strain on things. Trying to tie into the existing supply lines could create issues, too.

I've had a couple of companies give me bids on it and none of them refused to work on it, but did of course mention that it's older plumbing and "you never know".

Am I being overly paranoid or should I just not even mess with trying to tie this wet bar into older plumbing?
 
#2 ·
" You never know"----
IF the old iron is supported properly so that it doesn't shift when 'popped'

IF the iron is solid and doesn't crush instead of break--You will be fine.

Have you considered an under sink sump box? These aren't to expensive and allow you to move the drain water to an over head drain pipe.--Mike---
 
#3 ·
I did consider a Hartell LTA1 ventless pump. The cons ended up outweighing the pros in the end. It would have been a long run (probably 30-40ft) with a couple of 90s to get over to the laundry tub, the closest place I have where I could drain it. Plus the idea of not venting and relying on an appliance isn't all that appealing to me. I did run the idea past one of the plumbers and they said the inspector wouldn't pass it in our area.

Have you worked on much cast iron of approximately the same age as mine? Any horror stories?
 
#5 ·
There is a way to do that, you need to buy Victalic saddle with a treaded female that fits your pipe and the pipe going into it. You secure it around the pipe by tightening the bolts then put a dummy nipple in the treaded part sticking out the take a hole drill and drill out the inside where the pipe is screwed in once you have your hole drilled wa la you can unscrew the dummy nipple and put the good one in , hook up your pipe that's it.
Remember when drilling cast it's very difficult be prepared to go through a couple hole saws. Take your time.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I'm planning to sub this out. I'm not a plumber (obviously) and snapping up old cast iron isn't something I really want to tackle. (I know where the drain and vent need to be located, but if I hit a snag it will be tough to explain to my wife that we don't have water for an unknown period of time).

I've done all the work on this project otherwise, from the building and electrical permits to laying every screw and nail one by one. I've been chipping away at this for a year so the thought of stressing the old pipes is really eating away at me. I'd hate to have someone take a shower a few months down the road to find out it has ended up on the basement floor and ruined a year of work.

Here are some pictures if anyone wants to take a look. My hosting provider has been really slow lately so sorry if you have a problem getting the pics to load.
http://www.patrickdaley.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=42790 (lav drains #1, bar sink would tie in about four feet below)
http://www.patrickdaley.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=42793 (lav drains #2, bar sink would tie in about four feet below)
http://www.patrickdaley.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=42754 (stack/column)
http://www.patrickdaley.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=18002 (main project page)
 
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