Soil pipe has cracked....

[DontPetTheSweatyThings]

Hi all, anyone had any experience with the cost of a new soil pipe?

I discovered mine (upstairs toilet) was cracked top to bottom in the summer and had made a damp patch under the kitchen floor in the concrete. It was taped up with some stuff and the man said about 6 months more it will last.

Well it's finally leaking again, I have to call a plumber! Thing is, as girl alone in my house I hate dealing with tradesmen and am never sure if I am getting a good price.

Anyone done a soil pipe removal and fitting....? How much did it cost you? (obviously there are variations in costs due to the nature of other peoples houses...)

Thanks!

[MaudLebowski]

Does it run inside the house or outside? If outside its a pretty easy job, £200 territory. If it runs inside its all about how easy it is to get to and remove/put back/make good. If its encased in the concrete floor that's more of an undertaking, and will be more expensive still. I've got a nice plumber coming round soon, let me know how it runs and I'll ask him what he'd charge.

[DontPetTheSweatyThings]

Ah thank you!

It runs inside the house on an outside wall. It's made of cast iron and runs down in to the kitchen and under the concrete floor...(gulp). So I think I need a new plastic one to be put on the outside wall.

Thank you for asking thats really kind. Can you ask him also if plumbers take payment in magic beans these days.....

[MaudLebowski]

He says it's hard to tell without seeing it. It would be £200 ish if easy, say if he could disconnect it from the toilet, drill through the wall and put a new one on the outside and reconnect it at the bottom. If it had to go back in the original place, involving digging up the concrete floor and putting it down again, that's more like a 5/600 quid job, maybe more if it's a long run of pipe in the concrete.
Doesn't take magic beans but likes tea and biccies. Get three prices if you don't have a tame plumber, they expect to compete for business so don't feel embarrassed about asking them when not all of them will get the work.
Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

[DontPetTheSweatyThings]

You know what that is a lot less that I thought. It wouldn't need to go back in the same place so hopefully cheaper.

I can do tea and biscuits.

Thank you so much for asking, much appreciated.

[PigletJohn]

having it indoors in the same place will be quite good, run in plastic. Ar or slightly under the surface of the downstairs floor will be a socket that the pipe fits into, most likely made of glazed eathenware, with the iron pipe unreliably sealed into the socket with mortar, string and old dirt. You can have a plastic adaptor fitted to this old socket, and then there will be no need to dig up the drains oputside the house and poke pipes through the wall. If you dig up clay pipes they usually break, so you have to dig an ever-increasing trench to dig up the next one until you reach one that doesn't break.

this is technically sanitary engineers work rather than plumbing, an older local bloke will have done it many times.

[DontPetTheSweatyThings]

Thank you pigletjohn. Have an older local man coming tommorrow now so thanks for that tip. It's in my new kitchen as well so really don't want it all dug up. Hopefully the old pipe can stay in place and just put a plastic one on the outside wall..