All Forum Posts by: Cindy Joseph

 99.9999% get ripped off on all home repairs.  Wait you mean just from street to basement? I have done many of these. Depending how long the run is 8- 11k. BTW 5 years ago we did them for 6k. Not sure why things have gone up so much. The piping is inexpensive, 

All the best  

I do these all the time. cost about $1500. Its relatively easy. You do not have to tear up flooring. (not in my market )   I assume you are referring to just from meter in the basement to HW tanks, baths and kitchen. 

I had a couple built in the mid 50’s replaced. Cost me around 6k. They have to tunnel under the whole house. I’d wait til they go out. You might get another decade out of them.

Is there a reason you're doing this change? 

You're going to have to reframe the top of the house/get new rafters is what it sounds like. If that's the case then yes it's going to be expensive. My question would be why are you doing this, if the roof is leaking you can maybe get a new roof and improve the pitch some, but changing the entire roof does not seem feasible to me based on the limited info I have here. 

@Cindy Joseph  I don't see where you mention what state you are in. If you are in a heavy snow state, flat roofs are discouraged or not permitted due to snow loads. Too many have collapsed with the weight and can become a liability for a rental property. If I were in your shoes, I would get an estimate and then decide. Many commercial buildings have flat roofs and in snow states, they tend to leak more often than pitched roofs. 

I am an inactive commercial broker in Colorado as well as a RE tax consultant for cost segregation, tangible property regulations and more. I have also done a podcast on BP about cost segregation.  

First option to do this is reframing and shingle etc. This route will require structural calc's and drawings, permit. This will be a very costly option, but could be good if you need it to implement central HVAC or another consideration. 

If you're just trying to eliminate ponding and/or insulate the roof better, then you should consider a pitched foam type roof system. For commercial roofing there are pre-sloped foam segments that will put a very slight pitch on the flat roof to allow better drainage as well as creating an insulated system. You probably still will need a permit for this option but it should be more of a re-roof type permit and not nearly as costly or involved to implement. 

Is there a reason you're doing this change? 

You're going to have to reframe the top of the house/get new rafters is what it sounds like. If that's the case then yes it's going to be expensive. My question would be why are you doing this, if the roof is leaking you can maybe get a new roof and improve the pitch some, but changing the entire roof does not seem feasible to me based on the limited info I have here. 

@Cindy Joseph, perhaps. All cast iron pipes are rusting so that scary word alone really doesn't mean much. They are fairly thick so they take a long time to rust through depending on the conditions.

Did they provide pictures of the cracks? Are there roots penetrating? Is there any kind of collapse where there are jagged edges that will catch things and cause blockages? Minor imperfections might persist for many years without causing an issue.

For me if there was nothing that is obviously going to cause an issue like tree roots or the line collapsing, I might take a measured approach and start budgeting for having it lined or replaced BUT I would probably wait and schedule it to be done during my next tenant turnover. 

Replace with modern plumbing as soon as possible.  The last thing you want it demo on new construction to fix a cast swear, they do and will fail.

Cost depends on what is needed to get to it, we had a property with cast sewer running under a cement porch, we added a BR and during demo put the new sewer in for $3100.  32ft of run.  Feb of 2020