Keep cast iron trap or new ABS trap?

thebigsee

Sounds like a no-brainer, but I wanted some opinions on whether it's better to keep an old (50 years) cast iron bathtub trap that appears to be very sound (just needed to be cleaned out) vs. breaking through the slab and cutting it out and putting a new ABS trap that will be attached to the cast iron with a Fernco coupling.

It would only take me about 4 hours to do the whole thing and it's always nice to have a smooth new bit of ABS, but I also figure that cast iron trap is connected in a way that a Fernco could never do. Opinions?

inlikeflint

If the cast iron is in great shape and doing it's thing... A lot of the cast iron stuff that was installed in Kansas City 130 years ago are still being used today... Most of the stack pipes that run the entire height of the house and to the sewer line are cast iron.

ABS is junk. If you replace the cast iron lines in a home built with cast iron with ABS, everyone can hear you when you flush the toilet or take a shower. Cast iron is solid.