Sealant for cast iron soil pipe

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68000

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My cast iron soil pipe does not seem to be leaking, but there are sometimes bad smells - presumably because the joints are in a poor state.

Q1 - What should I use to reseal it with?

A man who came about the drains suggested chemical metal.
But should I use something else instead, such as plumber's putty?

Q2 - Can I apply whatever sealant I use on a rusty surface (after wire brushing etc)?
Or do I paint as much of the pipe as I can get to (into the joints) with hammerite, then seal it afterwards?

And advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

pipe.jpg
 
photograph where it goes into the ground. Stand well back so we can see any broken, cracked, repaired or sunken surface.

Also photograph all the way up, as there may be a current or past leak or blockage.
 
It switches to PVC near the bottom.
(There used to be a downstairs toilet.)
The drains people put a camera through and said it's OK.

pipe2.jpg
 
Your joins have been made with what looks like sand and cement mortar. you can chisel the mortar out with a large screwdriver or an old thin chisel. Below the ring of mortar there should be packed oakum or similar materials.
Pack down the oakum and then you could fill the joins with a fresh semi-dry mortar mix.
The ground level has been raised by the patio bricks. See that the cap on the branch is fitting soundly?
 
orange plastic drainware is not resistant to UV damage, so clean it off and paint with non-drip, oil-based, gloss paint. It will last at least 20 years. No primer or undercoat is needed.
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies.
The idea of potentially messing with asbestos cement worries me.

I'm not sure whether to have a sample tested to see if it contains asbestos, then decide how to proceed.
Or just get someone to replace the whole pipe...
 
Face mask on (FFP2 just in case), whilst wetting down the joints with water run round them with a stiff brush to clean them up. Let them dry then use a gutter sealant to fill the joints.
 
68000 said:
My cast iron soil pipe does not seem to be leaking, but there are sometimes bad smells - presumably because the joints are in a poor state.

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Is your house 2 storey with another toilet going into the stack - or a bungalow . i.e where is the top of the vent pipe ?
 
It's an average 3-bedroom semi detached house, built in 1954.
There is just one toilet upstairs.
There used to be a downstairs toilet, but that was a removed about 20 years ago.
 
Thanks, the reason I asked was that in 2 bungalows where I have lived - smells blew down from the vent pipe. I assume the vent pipe is open to air, not with an AAV on it. It seems odd that a couple of small holes in a 110mm pipe would let out smells, when in theory the foul air is moving upwards.
 
Yes, I'm not totally convinced about that being the cause either.

About 10 years ago, there was a blockage in the inspection chamber (which is shared with my neighbour), on the opposite side of driveway (8 feet away), caused by a brick.
For quite a long time, I've noticed bad smells occasionally, often after flushing the toilet - even with nothing but fluids going down it.
It was mostly when it hadn't been flushed for a few hours.

So I got people out to check and they found no blockages or issues. (They also used a camera and showed me.)
The guy said the smell was most likely coming from the joins in the pipe.

Having said all that, I've not noticed any smells since the drain people were here about 3 weeks ago...
 
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