Posts: 217
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2002
I was at my neighbors house yesterday to look at his remodel job ... he has torn all the plaster from his interior walls. We noticed that the vent stack for his toilet started out cast iron but about half way to the ceiling it transitioned to asbestos pipe. We thought that kind of odd. Today I was in my attic and noticed that the vent pipe for my toilet was also asbestos pipe ... at least the part in the attic so I assume that the vent transitioned from cast iron to asbestos somewhere in the wall, just like my neighbors. These houses are single story, track houses built in the early 50's. I was just curious and wondered if anyone knew a reason why the builders would make the transitions from cast iron to asbestos pipe.
Thanks.
Posts: 5,733
Threads: 2
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Fort Worth
02-18-2018, 10:03 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-18-2018, 10:08 PM by Robert Adams.)
Odd. Have seen many houses up until the 70s have asbestos flue pipes in the attic but not vent pipes.
Posts: 1,531
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2007
02-18-2018, 10:37 PM
Too many jokes about hot air.
John T.
Posts: 12,197
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 1999
Location: Nebraska City
(02-18-2018, 07:38 PM)dgman Wrote: I was at my neighbors house yesterday to look at his remodel job ... he has torn all the plaster from his interior walls. We noticed that the vent stack for his toilet started out cast iron but about half way to the ceiling it transitioned to asbestos pipe. We thought that kind of odd. Today I was in my attic and noticed that the vent pipe for my toilet was also asbestos pipe ... at least the part in the attic so I assume that the vent transitioned from cast iron to asbestos somewhere in the wall, just like my neighbors. These houses are single story, track houses built in the early 50's. I was just curious and wondered if anyone knew a reason why the builders would make the transitions from cast iron to asbestos pipe.
Thanks.
Cost?
Posts: 13,419
Threads: 4
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: New Jersey
(02-19-2018, 07:54 AM)KC Wrote: Cost?
Likely; that pipe was a lot cheaper than cast iron....
Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
Non impediti ratione cogitationis
Posts: 13,412
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Texas
Probably had an abundance of asbestos and needed to get rid of it someway. Why not put it in homes piping.
Just like fluoride- why not stash it in the water supply.
Posts: 5,733
Threads: 2
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Fort Worth
(02-19-2018, 02:20 PM)daddo Wrote: Probably had an abundance of asbestos and needed to get rid of it someway. Why not put it in homes piping.
Just like fluoride- why not stash it in the water supply.
Sad part is asbestos is a wonderful product and an extremely useful mineral and has many handy material qualities but it has the drawback of getting stuck in your lungs and abrading them.
Posts: 217
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2002
Do you think the asbestos pipe was cheaper than steel pipe. I ask because the vent for the sink which ties into the vent for the toilet is steel. We are talking about 8 to 10 feet of pipe.
Posts: 22,737
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada
Asbestos Cement pipe is and was uncommon in sizes smaller than 4".
It's a PITA to work with and labour intensive for joints, especially with anything besides full lengths.
Blackhat
Bad experiences come from poor decisions. So do good stories.
Posts: 64,825
Threads: 3
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Merryland
(02-19-2018, 06:50 PM)blackhat Wrote: Asbestos Cement pipe is and was uncommon in sizes smaller than 4".
It's a PITA to work with and labour intensive for joints, especially with anything besides full lengths.
Is it asbestos pipe or asbestos wrapped? I see iron vent stacks in attics insulated with asbestos to control sweating.
