Re-routing main basement steam pipe - check out diagram

http://cdn.brownstoner.com/519b9514175f8-.jpg

  I asked about this a while back, but drew up a diagram to better explain what I’m looking to do with my steam pipe in the basement.   The main pipe (3″ I think) comes straight out of the boiler room and was run right through the corner of the room across the hall (red line in diagram), making part of that space unusable as a finished rec room.   What I’d like to do it run the pipe down the hall instead (green line is the altered path).  It would add two bends to the path of the pipe- will this greatly affect performance?  I know the pitch is key and that could stay the same as the height will not need to change.   Like shown in the diagram, this section of pipe that I was to reroute has no connections or branches coming off of it- it seems pretty straightforward as far as rerouting a major pipe could be, but I’d appreciate some expert advice having seen the diagram.   Any idea of cost?  I have a good trusted plumber who I would have do the work if it really is as straightforward as it seems– if there was anything more complex, I’d go with a heating guy- let me know what you all think.

yanks21

in Heating 12 years and 1 month ago

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steam_man | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Sitckerhappy, Sorry about the late reply. I can’t venture to say what the cost would be without investigating the items I mentioned. I can tell you that it will not be in “hundreds” if that’s what you were hoping to hear (at least not if it is the PITA I imagine it to be). The main issue is access to the pipe. I think a competent licensed plumber could handle this, a dedicated piping shop would be better, but this isn’t rocket science. Good luck and keep me posted.   -SteamMan

wyckoff | 12 years and 1 month ago

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No way would I let a “regular” plumber touch my steam mains, no matter how simple it looks.

yanks21 | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks for the advice, SteamMan. No asbestos or insulation at all- just the bare pipe with very easy access. Any idea of ballpark cost? Is this something I could have my very capable (but not heating expert) plumber do?

steam_man | 12 years and 1 month ago

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What you show here will not affect the heating in your home. The things an installer would care about most are whether or not there is asbestos insulation on the pipe, access to the pipe and the points of connection. Other than that its a fairly straightforward job. As I mentioned in your last post, I would most likely weld it if I could access the top of the pipe where it ties in to the old  section. Otherwise you’ll have to take it to the nearest threaded connections and install threaded pipe plus a union. Good luck.   -SteamMan