No hub lead pipe to PVC - Donut or bust open wall?

[fmjohns]

When removing a Vanity the soldered lead-galvanized pipe connection for the drain broke loose. Now I have a lead drain pipe that is flush with the tile. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe I have 2 viable options:

1) chisel out a tile and apply a rubber coupling around the lead pipe and connect with a pvc pipe.

OR

2) use a donut to connect a 1.5'' or 1.25'' PVC pipe to the lead pipe. At least that is what I was told by a home depot guy. Unfortunately he did not have a donut that would fit my size pipe and all the other donuts I can find are hub adapters and since I am not at a hub I'm not sure that will work. Does this pluming fitting even exist or is the guy at Home Depot blowing smoke.

 

[johnjh2o]

You are going to have to open up the wall around the lead pipe no matter what needs to be done. So that would be the first thing to do. There may be a threaded fitting that the lead is connected to. From that point you can connect PVC to the waste line.

 

[fmjohns]

Good thought on the threaded fitting behind the wall. I was trying to avoid opening up the wall if possible. Is the donut insert not an option?

Thanks,

Franklin

 

[johnjh2o]

There is no donut or rubber coupling that will work in lead pipe. The problem is that lead pipe is very soft and any clamp or donut would deform the pipe making imposable to make a water tight connection.

 

[fmjohns]

Thanks - Ill open up that one tile and see what is behind it. If there is no threading will a clamp like this one not work?

Hopefully there is a threaded fitting back there that I can unscrew but the house was built in 1930 so I want to be prepared to do something else in the event that I think the fitting will break if messed with.

Thanks,

 

[johnjh2o]

No, all it will do is collapse the lead pipe so that it won't seal.

 

[klee181438]

What is on the other side of this wall? Is it possible to cut sheetrock behind instead of removing the tile. In my area, you very rarely see a threaded fitting. In most cases, you'll have to go back to the tee and snap the cast iron above and below the tee and rebuild back to the sink. The only other thing you can try is to push a tubular trap arm inside the lead, and place a 1 1/4" X 1 1/2" fernco on the outside. The tubular inside the lead helps reinforce the lead for the fernco to seal. I've had success with this before, but it doesnt always work because the lead is very soft. The only long term fix is to remove all the lead and replace with PVC. Hope this helps

 

[johnjh2o]

What is on the other side of this wall? Is it possible to cut sheetrock behind instead of removing the tile. In my area, you very rarely see a threaded fitting. In most cases, you'll have to go back to the tee and snap the cast iron above and below the tee and rebuild back to the sink. The only other thing you can try is to push a tubular trap arm inside the lead, and place a 1 1/4" X 1 1/2" fernco on the outside. The tubular inside the lead helps reinforce the lead for the fernco to seal. I've had success with this before, but it doesnt always work because the lead is very soft. The only long term fix is to remove all the lead and replace with PVC. Hope this helps

How is the lead connected to the tee? The tee would be a calked joint or a taped tee. In either case removing the lead from the branch of the tee would be far better then cutting the tee out.