Old 60mm iron(?) waste pipe leaking. Repair ideas please?

[steven239]

Hi all

Fitting a new bathroom today in my new flat. It was all going well, I got the bath in and filled it up and then pulled the plug to check the waste connections were good. I couldn't believe my luck when everything seemed fine and I moved onto fitting the basin.

However .......

Later on I noticed a damp patch around the old metal 60mm (2 3/8") waste pipe that runs along the concrete floor to the soil pipe that runs internally down one corner of the bathroom .... typical, I knew my day was running way too smoothly! I reckon this has been like this for some time as the previous owner had it all boxed in and even if he had noticed damp in the floor I doubt he would have done anything as the flat was in a right state when I got it.

Anyway, I chipped away a bit of the concrete underneath it, which was fairly easy as it has obviously been damp for some time and then let some water out of the bath again and located 2 pin size leaks on the underside of the pipe. Now if I chip away some more of the concrete and some of the wall behind then I can get some access; my question is how do I repair it?

My hope is that there is some kind of rubber sleeve that I can put around the damaged pipe and then tighten it up with large hose clips/ pipe clamps, maybe covering the bugger in a load of silicone first? If I was to cut the pipe then I would need some kind of extendable coupler so that I could put it between the two cut ends and extend it to bridge the gap. There is no chance that I can move the pipe, it has been there 60 years, is partially set in concrete and would surely kick up a right fuss if I tried!

Anyone know of any such products or a better idea?

Many thanks

Steve

 

[steven239]

I found this

http://www.builderdepot.co.uk/flexseal-drain-coupling-50mm-65mm.html

As the leaks are at the bottom of the pipe my best plan so far would be to buy one of the above, use a very sharp blade to cut it along its length, then put it around the pipe with the cut at the top and tighten the clips, possibly silicone-ing covering the whole inside of the rubber in silicone? Anyone reckon this will hold for the next 30 years or so! Does rubber like silicone or is that a bad combo?

Cheers

 

[Madrab]

usually these couplers are used to bridge repairs, i.e. cut out the bad/leaking section and then use this to bridge the gap. Using an angle grinder with a nice clean metal cutting blade, cut out the affected section and use this to replace it.
Could you use it as a bandage and cut along it's length and then use sealant as you suggest? Probably. Would it seal long term? Probably not, unless you cld get it spotless to ensure no future corrosion, and clamp the whole surface with a metal sleeve, not just a clip either end, even then there will always be a bad section that will continue to corrode from inside, cast iron is terrible once the corrosion starts. Better to replace the section if you can, avoids having to replace the whole thing later down the line when it inevitably rusts out.