Frequent clogs in main cast iron sewage pipe - replace with pvc?

Hi, We’ve been in our place almost 5 months now and have had a couple incidents of clogs in the main sewage drain pipe in the basement.  The clogs so far have been remnanats from renovation construction that has gotten caught in the old cast iron pipe ( for example twine, pieces of rags), but the more its snaked the more I worry that it might cause more problems.  My plumber says that old metal pipe like ours can peel on the inside like tree bark and those pieces can cause clogs as well.  We’re considering just replacing the pipe to avoid continued future clogs – does it make sense and is it practical? We’re thinking of doing it in pvc to avoid the metal corrosion on the inside.  Again this is the water/waste/sewage pipe in our basement – not the water main in the street.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  Also we use this plumber from State Island named Tony – who’s really great and old school, and answers his phone at all hours ( huge plus), but have never used anyone else and he mainly just comes and deals with the clogs. Any recommendations for a great and affordable/reasonably priced plumber to do replacement would also be great.

jojoli

in Plumbers and Plumbing 12 years and 7 months ago

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radgirl | 12 years and 6 months ago

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Hi jojoli, did you get the pipes replaced?  How much did it cost?  We have similar issues but we wnat to replace some shoddy pipe work done by previous owner.  Fyi: It was recommended by a few reliable sources to use cast iron pipes for waste/sewage pipes.

NeoGrec | 12 years and 7 months ago

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You could probably replace it for about $1,000.

argentina | 12 years and 7 months ago

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It could be the trap- did you snake those as well?

HouseNut | 12 years and 7 months ago

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You might want to have it jetted and inspected with a camera before going through the expense of replacing it.  We had ours done recently for about $500.