Finishing a basement with cast iron drain lines

If you have cast iron drain lines throughout your home you need to be careful if you have any plans to finish your basement. Most of the cast iron drain lines that we see that are under a basement slab are in pretty bad shape. If you want to add a bathroom to your basement, you will need to be able to connect your pvc drain lines to the old cast iron plumbing. If the cast iron is in bad enough shape, your plumber may not be able to tie onto the lines. This means that they will have to keep exposing more of the drain until they find good cast iron. For some houses, this could mean that they need to replace the drain lines lines all the way to the street or until decent sewer has been reached. In past jobs replacing the drain line out to the sewer can cost anywhere from $4,000-$12,000 for most projects. Here in Kansas City, many of the drain lines are several feet below the ground and trenchless sewer installation is the best option. This route allows the sewer to be replaced with minimal damage to the lawn. It's really pretty amazing how this technology works.