# I don't have an answer for this one!



## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

Is there a tool made that could get this 9" long piece of 3"ABS out of this 4" cast iron pipe without busting up the tile/concrete (ground) floor? It's been stuck in there for years and causes backups every couple months. It's less then 4' from the floor flange. (2' down, 1'10" horizontal) I think it would have to be cut to get it around the closet bend. A salesman told me about an air operated grabber tool? I had no idea what he was talking about. But he also thought it was a piece of 2"ABS. I'm sure it's 3". lain:


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Never say never! All I see is a bust up....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Can't you just make a hook with some flat stock steel?


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Tango said:


> Can't you just make a hook with some flat stock steel?


It’s there for a reason. Rotted out cast. Locate and bust up. This would be T&M for us with a worst case up front guesstimate.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Can't you just make a hook with some flat stock steel?



It's long and has to go around a 90, so no.








Mykeeb33 said:


> Is there a tool made that could get this 9" long piece of 3"ABS out of this 4" cast iron pipe without busting up the tile/concrete (ground) floor? It's been stuck in there for years and causes backups every couple months. It's less then 4' from the floor flange. (2' down, 1'10" horizontal) I think it would have to be cut to get it around the closet bend. A salesman told me about an air operated grabber tool? I had no idea what he was talking about. But he also thought it was a piece of 2"ABS. I'm sure it's 3". lain:





It may actually be some old hack job to fix the cast iron or a crack so maybe it's best in place. or just bust up the slab. Looks like spray foam around it used as sealant. It's definitely 3".


Assuming it's all bedded in nonflammable cement and dirt and all the rest is cast iron........


I say use a piece of skinned csst gas piping to blow hot air in with your blow torch. That will melt it good or maybe even light it on fire. Then you can run the snake through and stick it good while it's melted. Or just burn it all up.


Or pour some kerosene down, light it, and put your shop vac on blow. Gasoline would work too but that would be dangerous and irresponsible.








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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

OpenSights said:


> It’s there for a reason. Rotted out cast. Locate and bust up. This would be T&M for us with a worst case up front guesstimate.


Oh I see, Skoro has put that in, you know his trick, right? :vs_laugh:


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

OpenSights said:


> It’s there for a reason. Rotted out cast. Locate and bust up. This would be T&M for us with a worst case up front guesstimate.


I think it's been in there since the original installation in 1985. And I see no reason. It could have been kids playing in the ditches and piles of dirt after the plumbers went home after work, or a pissed off employee. I don't think it would make it around the closet bend.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

hell just pour some gasoline down the drain and light it up, that piece will melt away quicker than snow in august......


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

‘85 I have hard time believing cast was original... but I have come across clay less than 10 years old. My town was the clay city. 

Under tile it’s hard to say if it was busted up before....


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

Tango said:


> Can't you just make a hook with some flat stock steel?


I guess I'm going to have to pull the toilet, remove tile, jack through the floor down to the 1/4 bend, pull it off, get a 2' piece of 1/2" all thread, use it to hammer the ABS loose, pull it out hoping the 4" cast is there and undamaged, and then put it all back together. Dang! I was hoping someone would be able to save me from this. 
It's my own condo, so I'll have to do the work.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Mykeeb33 said:


> I guess I'm going to have to pull the toilet, remove tile, jack through the floor down to the 1/4 bend, pull it off, get a 2' piece of 1/2" all thread, use it to hammer the ABS loose, pull it out hoping the 4" cast is there and undamaged, and then put it all back together. Dang! I was hoping someone would be able to save me from this.
> It's my own condo, so I'll have to do the work.


I was thinking to make a hook onto a cable machine but it's just an idea without knowing if it's going to work. Here's another crazy idea, is it possible to send a come along cable in there? yeah that might not be too smart. :vs_OMG:

If not charge for it or just say you won't do it for what ever reason and let someone else take on this issue.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> ................
> If not charge for it or just say you won't do it for what ever reason and let someone else take on this issue.







Mykeeb33 said:


> .................
> It's my own condo, so I'll have to do the work.










If you're going to bust it up anyway I would change out whatever cast iron you can reach with pvc. I suggest a sioux chief tko stainless toilet flange.








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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

"Or pour some kerosene down, light it, and put your shop vac on blow. Gasoline would work too but that would be dangerous and irresponsible.":surprise:





......and kerosene wouldn't be irresponsible???!!! 
I guess the smoke would let you know if there were any leaks or bad trap seals in the rest of the system!

















.[/QUOTE]


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

if you get some heat down the pipe to soften it, you may be able to pull it to an opening, once you see it you can use a torch to really heat it up and bend or collapse it to get it out, but that is not without dangers of its own like poisonous gas from burning abs...
bottom line its going to cost $$$ to get it out, unless its your own house just charge the price and do the job..


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

*This might work!*



Tango said:


> I was thinking to make a hook onto a cable machine but it's just an idea without knowing if it's going to work. Here's another crazy idea, is it possible to send a come along cable in there?
> 
> I like the come along idea. _*IF*_ I can get it to hook the backside of the 3"ABS, I might be able to break it loose and then pull it back to the closet bend. Then maybe sawzall it to bits.
> 
> Thanks Tango!:smile::vs_cool:


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Tango said:
> 
> 
> > I was thinking to make a hook onto a cable machine but it's just an idea without knowing if it's going to work. Here's another crazy idea, is it possible to send a come along cable in there?
> ...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Tango said:
> 
> 
> > I was thinking to make a hook onto a cable machine but it's just an idea without knowing if it's going to work. Here's another crazy idea, is it possible to send a come along cable in there?
> ...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> Mykeeb33 said:
> 
> 
> > what are you gona hook the other end of the come along to?? the bottom of the pedestal sink?..:vs_laugh:
> ...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> ShtRnsdownhill said:
> 
> 
> > It's a slab. I would guess he could remove a trim board and use some concrete anchors to secure a d-ring or a hilti anchor and an eye hook. He could remove the pedastal and secure it there too. I am sure he can figure it out. Even if he put some holes in the sheetrock, that's easier to patch than a tile floor.
> ...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> Mykeeb33 said:
> 
> 
> > what are you gona hook the other end of the come along to?? the bottom of the pedestal sink?..:vs_laugh:
> ...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Tango said:
> 
> 
> > I was thinking to make a hook onto a cable machine but it's just an idea without knowing if it's going to work. Here's another crazy idea, is it possible to send a come along cable in there?
> ...


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

how deep is the sewer. can you push it out to outside that way you just dig it up outside.. 



If its a slab on grade house shouldn't be too deep


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## SchmitzPlumbing (May 5, 2014)

the guy i sub out to for camera work and jetting has an air operated grabber. why are you not busting up the floor? are you the one that did the work the first time?


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SchmitzPlumbing said:


> the guy i sub out to for camera work and jetting has an air operated grabber. why are you not busting up the floor? are you the one that did the work the first time?






You ever heard the story about the cobblers children always going barefoot?


In this case he's the cobbler and this pipe is his child lolz. It's his condo and he's too lazy to fix it since he snakes drains anyway and it doesn't happen too often.


My father in law is a gc. My mother in law put up for years with a spot of floor in front of the kitchen sink where the linoleum had worn through, the old linoleum below wore through too, the old wood floor wore through, and finally the subfloor was showing. She took a hammer to it so he would have to fix it lolz.


My father was also in the trades. My mother took a hammer to the pink tile shower after 15 years so my father would have to have a fiberglass surround put in.


Maybe we all need to chip in and buy his wife a 16lb sledge 








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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

SchmitzPlumbing said:


> the guy i sub out to for camera work and jetting has an air operated grabber. why are you not busting up the floor? are you the one that did the work the first time?


First let me be clear; I would never do something so stupid! Does anyone have a spec sheet for the air grabber? I've never seen one. 
This is my own condo in Maui. I've had it since 2013. It's on the ground floor of a 4 story building. I've had lot's of cancellations because of the virus so now is the time to have it fixed. I live in the Seattle area. A shop in Maui gave me a bid of $850 to get it out. He says he has something that will chew up the piece of ABS pipe. That would be a lot cheaper then busting up the floor.


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## The Dane (Feb 19, 2015)

Mykeeb33 said:


> First let me be clear; I would never do something so stupid! Does anyone have a spec sheet for the air grabber? I've never seen one.
> 
> This is my own condo in Maui. I've had it since 2013. It's on the ground floor of a 4 story building. I've had lot's of cancellations because of the virus so now is the time to have it fixed. I live in the Seattle area. A shop in Maui gave me a bid of $850 to get it out. He says he has something that will chew up the piece of ABS pipe. That would be a lot cheaper then busting up the floor.


"Chew it up" it's probably nothing more than a flexshaft with either rough sandpaper or extra sharp carbide chains. I doubt they would have had both cast and plastic on the jobsite when initially installing that pipe so I would assume it is in there for a purpose. They should have reamed the inside of the plastic pipe really good before shoving it in.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Mykeeb33 said:


> First let me be clear; I would never do something so stupid! Does anyone have a spec sheet for the air grabber? I've never seen one.
> This is my own condo in Maui. I've had it since 2013. It's on the ground floor of a 4 story building. I've had lot's of cancellations because of the virus so now is the time to have it fixed. I live in the Seattle area. A shop in Maui gave me a bid of $850 to get it out. He says he has something that will chew up the piece of ABS pipe. That would be a lot cheaper then busting up the floor.







I say you should get the heck out of coronaville, fly down there, and just do it yourself.


As has been stated in between the fevered dreams of grabbing and lighting things on fire, that pipe is probably there for a reason. yeah it's possible they buried cast and did abs above, but I just dont see how it accidentally falls in.




Bust up the slab yourself and fix that pipe the correct way.








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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

_"As has been stated in between the fevered dreams of grabbing and lighting things on fire, that pipe is probably there for a reason. yeah it's possible they buried cast and did abs above, but I just dont see how it accidentally falls in.
Bust up the slab yourself and fix that pipe the correct way."_

Well, I probably will end up going over there and doing it 'the correct way' but I thought it was worth a shot to see if some our professional guys who work with cable machines all the time had any thoughts on the matter. I worked as a commercial plumber for 40 years and never used a cable machine. 
Thanks to all who commented!:vs_cool:


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

does it move and rotate?


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

gear junkie said:


> does it move and rotate?





Judging by the carbuncles, if it did rotate it hasn't in some time.










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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Mykeeb33 said:


> _....._ I thought it was worth a shot to see if some our professional guys who work with cable machines all the time had any thoughts......



The consensus of the drunk think tank is as follows, you could pull it out, or melt it, but you shouldn't cuz it's prolly a patch and the area around it will collapse into it. Also, send boobs.







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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> The consensus of the drunk think tank is as follows, you could pull it out, or melt it, but you shouldn't cuz it's prolly a patch and the area around it will collapse into it. Also, send boobs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ok if it was a patch, how did it get in there for that purpose???


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> ok if it was a patch, how did it get in there for that purpose???





Cut 6" wide hole in top of pipe, put 6" long piece inside and slide left, then put another 6" piece in and slide right centering the two to meet at the center of the hole while you smear abs glue on. Like an inside out slip coupling.


Or a couple loose tiles had smelly water leaking between the grout when the line clogged so they just broke up the floor around flange and 90 with a claw hammer from the dollar store and when the nipple after the 90 broke they shoved it all back together with a piece of abs to splice it because the hardware store doesn't carry cast iron. Then they patched the hole with premixed cement in the 1 gallon pail because even though its 12$ a bucket they have never mixed concrete before and just want to sell this place.










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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> Cut 6" wide hole in top of pipe, put 6" long piece inside and slide left, then put another 6" piece in and slide right centering the two to meet at the center of the hole while you smear abs glue on. Like an inside out slip coupling.
> 
> 
> Or a couple loose tiles had smelly water leaking between the grout when the line clogged so they just broke up the floor around flange and 90 with a claw hammer from the dollar store and when the nipple after the 90 broke they shoved it all back together with a piece of abs to splice it because the hardware store doesn't carry cast iron. Then they patched the hole with premixed cement in the 1 gallon pail because even though its 12$ a bucket they have never mixed concrete before and just want to sell this place.
> ...



if your gona dig down to the pipe why not cut the cracked/rotted piece out and put back with clamps a new piece?


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

No rotation. It's been there along time. I'm afraid if breaks loose, It will go further down the line. Out of reach . (When I break up the floor by the WC, I want to be able to dig down, take off the 1/4 bend, break the 3" ABS loose, hook it, and pull her out!) I don't want it pushed further down into the common piping possibly getting stuck somewhere else. 
There are 2 main problems for a cable guy. 
1. Some kind of head that will break it loose _and_ pull it back.
2. Getting it around the 4" CI closet bend. (I think the ABS would have to be cut up.)


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

To be continued......


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

Hmm, buy me a ticket to Maui and let me stay for a few weeks, gotta hide out for a bit. I'll fix it.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

chonkie said:


> Hmm, buy me a ticket to Maui and let me stay for a few weeks, *gotta hide out for a bit*. I'll fix it.





chonkie said:


> Try referring to her has your future ex-wife and see how mad she gets. Post a reaction video here. Pleeeease.








You did it didn't you? lolz :vs_laugh:








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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

skoronesa said:


> You did it didn't you? lolz :vs_laugh:
> .



No, not yet.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

chonkie said:


> No, not yet.


if we dont see any posts from you we will send the cadaver dogs to look for you...


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

What if she ties me up in a basement somewhere and keeps me alive? It puts the lotion on it's skin type stuff.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

so your gona end up like this....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Yep, when you decide to break up that's when you find out they were in reality demons from hell. I had one decide to put the truck in park while I was driving, I heard a lot of gears clash. She tried to have a last time in bed so she could get pregnant and 2-3 days later at a bar I saw her on the dance floor and had unzipped a guy's pants with her hand inside.... :vs_whistle:

I moved away and 20 years later I walked in a Tim Hortons to get a coffee and and all of a sudden I saw those eye burning holes in me, it was her! It was so damn creepy.

When I was dating her she was normal until I called it quits.


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## gosaka (Aug 17, 2019)

I just had a rough one, she ended up stealing over a thousand dollars from my house. Her mom calls me a week later saying she's taken up the oldest profession and I need to help her. lolno. Made the heartbreak that much easier to deal with I guess...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

gosaka said:


> I just had a rough one, she ended up stealing over a thousand dollars from my house. Her mom calls me a week later saying she's taken up the oldest profession and I need to help her. lolno. Made the heartbreak that much easier to deal with I guess...





Heroine or meth?








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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

OpenSights said:


> It’s there for a reason. Rotted out cast. Locate and bust up. This would be T&M for us with a worst case up front guesstimate.


Yep he right it there for a reason,bust it up or run away fast :biggrin:


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Tango said:


> Yep, when you decide to break up that's when you find out they were in reality demons from hell. I had one decide to put the truck in park while I was driving, I heard a lot of gears clash. She tried to have a last time in bed so she could get pregnant and 2-3 days later at a bar I saw her on the dance floor and had unzipped a guy's pants with her hand inside.... :vs_whistle:
> 
> I moved away and 20 years later I walked in a Tim Hortons to get a coffee and and all of a sudden I saw those eye burning holes in me, it was her! It was so damn creepy.
> 
> When I was dating her she was normal until I called it quits.


Sounds like your "snake" wasn't long enough and couldn't reach her "clog" lolololololoolo


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

gosaka said:


> I just had a rough one, she ended up stealing over a thousand dollars from my house. Her mom calls me a week later saying she's taken up the oldest profession and I need to help her. lolno. Made the heartbreak that much easier to deal with I guess...



did she live here?


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## Mykeeb33 (Mar 6, 2015)

*The End!*

Well, there's an end to the pipe in the pipe story. I was wrong on a couple of points.
1. It was a 2" ABS piece inside of a 3" cast iron line. (I couldn't tell it was a 4x3 closet bend. I assumed it was 4x4 in the video)
2. The 2" ABS piece was 6" long. (not 9")
Maui Plumbing used cable equipment with sanders & chains grinding down the ABS piece until it freed itself from the cast iron pipe. Then passed cable chains thru ABS pipe and pulled it back and up through the toilet flange.
It wasn't cheap, but at least I didn't have to jack hammer up the floor!

So I'm guessing it was accidentally dropped in to the CI pipe on a remodel because the original job was all cast iron.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Well, there's an end to the pipe in the pipe story. I was wrong on a couple of points.
> 1. It was a 2" ABS piece inside of a 3" cast iron line. (I couldn't tell it was a 4x3 closet bend. I assumed it was 4x4 in the video)
> 2. The 2" ABS piece was 6" long. (not 9")
> Maui Plumbing used cable equipment with sanders & chains grinding down the ABS piece until it freed itself from the cast iron pipe. Then passed cable chains thru ABS pipe and pulled it back and up through the toilet flange.
> ...


Excellent,hard to tell what pipe you sizes are on a camera head and in old plumbing,heck I have hardtime between 21/2 "and 3"copper


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Well, there's an end to the pipe in the pipe story. I was wrong on a couple of points.
> 1. It was a 2" ABS piece inside of a 3" cast iron line. (I couldn't tell it was a 4x3 closet bend. I assumed it was 4x4 in the video)
> 2. The 2" ABS piece was 6" long. (not 9")
> Maui Plumbing used cable equipment with sanders & chains grinding down the ABS piece until it freed itself from the cast iron pipe. Then passed cable chains thru ABS pipe and pulled it back and up through the toilet flange.
> ...



frame it and hang on the wall with the bill as a trophy...


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## txdraindoctor (Aug 14, 2020)

Mykeeb33 said:


> Is there a tool made that could get this 9" long piece of 3"ABS out of this 4" cast iron pipe without busting up the tile/concrete (ground) floor? It's been stuck in there for years and causes backups every couple months. It's less then 4' from the floor flange. (2' down, 1'10" horizontal) I think it would have to be cut to get it around the closet bend. A salesman told me about an air operated grabber tool? I had no idea what he was talking about. But he also thought it was a piece of 2"ABS. I'm sure it's 3". lain:


i have had that happen to me, is it straight down where you can access it from the vent, i took a piece of 1/2 copper hammered the end closed and made a small hook at the end helper maintained the camera until i hook it and broughtit up


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