I didn’t know quite how to label this topic. Anyway, I am looking to remove a toilet and want to “cap” the waste pipe.
In my church there is a 2 stall girls bathroom. The stalls are pretty small and they don’t really need both toilets. We want to remove the stall dividers and turn it inot one larger stall with just one toilet and maybe a changing table or cabinet wherre the 2nd toilet was.
If we remove the toilet how do we treat the waste pipe? Is there a way to cap it and tile over it without having to break up the floor? Someone suggested a no hub cover and some concrete backer board over it and just tile over that. I don’t know if you can bury a rubber boot or not. Any suggestions without having to rip apart the floor. If we do rip up the floor I have a feeling this will turn into a “might as well” project. You know the three most expensive word you can utter during construction – While we are at it “might as well” do this next thing.
Thanks for the help.
Replies
What's the floor made of? What type of drain pipe do you have?
George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
I'd break up the floor, take the soil pipe down far enough to replace the floor properly, then put a permanent cap on the pipe. Re-bulid the floor to accept a matching finish.
Not sure yet what the pipe is made of. From the age of the building I would guess therre is either a lead bend or it is cast iron.
If I do open up the floor, what is a permanent cap for these pipes? I assume they are 4" and I don't want to take the pipe back to the next joint if I can just seal it under the floor.
This is all volunteer work and they don't have unlimited funds for materials either - if that makes a difference.
Thanks.
Hopefully, a Plumber will chime in here, but a cap should be available at a plumbing supply. A Furnco fitting is the easiest to use, a rubber collar with zip clips. If it is a lead pipe, I be inclined to remove it and make the cap at the cast. I think the difficult part here is to get working space and cutting the pipe if a joint is not handy.
There's probably not a lead bend, since you have to have something solid to attach the flange to. You didn't say, but it sounds like you have a concrete floor. The pipe will be under that, ending in an ell that nearly reaches the surface of the floor. The flange will have been fitted around that pipe and will be inset or supported by the floor. If it sticks up above the floor, you will have to remove it. I would use a cold chisel and a small sledge hammer.Start by removing the toilet to see what you have there. Assuming that you find a cast iron pipe & flange, plug the pipe with the rubber & steel compression plugs made for that purpose. Lowes (for one) sells these. The plug is inserted and then compressed by tightening a wingnut, which compresses the rubber gasket. See if you can insert it far enough into the pipe that the nut will be below the surface of the floor. If you can do that, tighten the nut to lock this in place. Then clean the inside of the pipe and make a permanent seal by applying "plastic lead" to the seam between the plug and the pipe.If the nut sticks up a bit too far, you can replace it with a standard nut. You might also consider coating the rubber parts of the plug with plastic lead before insertion. If you do, make sure things fit first.After that, chisel the flange off if it sticks up far enough to make this necessary. Try not to damage the pipe itself, but don't worry a lot about the concrete.After that's done, coat the concrete with concrete bonding agent and fill the hole with patching concrete. Home Depot sells a nice one that comes in small quantities and sets up fast. Get that pretty smooth, and you can lay the tile right over it.George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
Thanks for the info. A buddy of mine who does a/c and ref. mentioned the same type of expanding plug. I assume once that is expanded and sealed you can bury the pipe. The floor is concrete so the tiling will be easy.
Is this "plastic lead" a generic term or is that the brand name? Where do I find this magical substance? Does it need to get heated like lead or is it some sort of 2 part epoxy type of thing?
Thanks.
Plastic lead is probably a brand name, but all I know for sure is that that was what was on the can. It's a gluey substance that can be applied like window putty. It is applied at room temperature and sets up on exposure to air. It's intended to be a modern substitute for the actual lead they used to use with cast iron pipe joints. I have used it several times as a lead replacement to secure plastic pipe within a cast iron bell. I bought it at local stores like Home Depot or Ace hardware.George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
Edited 4/4/2007 10:55 pm ET by grpphoto
Simplest, quickest fix is to get a rubber test plug and install it. Probably you can figure out a way to eliminate the bolt sticking out of the top and replace it with something reasonably flush. How you then cover/protect that is a "situational" issue.
If you think it should remain accessible (the test plug is probably suspect enough that it should, but a regular no hub cap should be safe to bury), you can arrange for a metal cover such as you sometimes see over cleanouts in the floor.
It really depends on what's under the toilet.
So I don't have to type out every scenario pull the toilet & tell us what's there---- Take a pic & post it if possible.
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