Sewer Pipe Types: Clay, Iron, Plastic, Orangeburg
Types of Sewer Pipe
After you dig your yard looking for your sewer pipe, what will you find?
It varies by the age of your house. You might find clay, cast-iron, or plastic sewer pipe. Clay and cast-iron are older types; plastic is the newest.
Just because a house is old doesn't mean it won't have plastic sewer pipe. As the years wear on, sewer systems deteriorate, necessitating replacement.
You might even find cast-iron or clay sewer lines at a new house, though this is not likely.
Sometimes--as is the case with the line shown here--you will find all three types of sewer pipe tied together.
In terms of home renovation, you may find yourself being steered in the direction of PVC or ABS plastic pipe over clay and cast-iron. While plastic pipe is undoubtedly easier to work with, clay and iron have strong points: long lifespan and strength (for the iron).
Clay Sewer Pipe
Vitrified clay sewer pipe is still laid today, though as a DIY homeowner you probably won't be choosing this for your sewer line replacement. It's heavy and hard to cut. Often, your choice of sewer pipe is dictated by what your home improvement store has on hand, and they won't have clay pipe.
As Logan Clay (a major manufacturer of clay pipe) points out, the material used for clay pipe is "inert," making it highly resistant to chemical degradation.
After all, if you're going to be installing a product in the earth, what better than a direct product of the earth?
One downside of clay sewer pipe: roots love to attach to its porous surface.
Cast-Iron Sewer Pipe
Like clay pipe, cast-iron sewer pipe is associated with older homes but is still installed today.
Cast iron pipe is incredibly strong: a 4" sewer pipe can withstand 4,877 pounds of pressure per linear foot. By contrast, you can barely stand on ABS or PVC pipe without it breaking (don't test this out).
Like clay pipe, cast-iron is heavy and difficult for a DIYer to cut. To cut a cast-iron DWV pipe in place--in the ground--you need a soil pipe cutter.
These pipe cutters run $400-$500, though can be rented from supply houses for a small fee.
Cast iron pipe is non-flammable. This is not an issue for below-ground installations; but should you decide to continue the cast-iron into the house, you can feel secure knowing that cast-iron pipe will not melt in a fire.
Plastic sewer pipe for underground installations is available in both ABS and PVC.
Both types of pipe have smooth interiors for excellent carrying capacity of solid waste matter. The smooth exteriors also help resist root anchorage.
This photo, of the nice, pristine Orangeburg sewer pipe, is not something you will ever see in real life. That's because you're more likely to find it in a collapsed state after you dig up your malfunctioning sewer line.
Fiber conduit pipe (its proper name) was "made of ground cellulose (wood) fibres bound together with a special water resistant adhesive, and, thereafter, impregnated with liquefied coal tar pitch," according to SewerHistory.org.
Lightweight, it was easy for plumbers to carry. Brittle, it was easy for them to cut with regular carpenter's saws.
But like today's PVC and ABC pipe, it had a tendency to collapse. Thus, the pipe had to be properly bedded in sand and pea gravel to reduce stress on the pipe.
After you dig your yard looking for your sewer pipe, what will you find?
It varies by the age of your house. You might find clay, cast-iron, or plastic sewer pipe. Clay and cast-iron are older types; plastic is the newest.
Just because a house is old doesn't mean it won't have plastic sewer pipe. As the years wear on, sewer systems deteriorate, necessitating replacement.
You might even find cast-iron or clay sewer lines at a new house, though this is not likely.
Sometimes--as is the case with the line shown here--you will find all three types of sewer pipe tied together.
In terms of home renovation, you may find yourself being steered in the direction of PVC or ABS plastic pipe over clay and cast-iron. While plastic pipe is undoubtedly easier to work with, clay and iron have strong points: long lifespan and strength (for the iron).
- Sewer Pipe Types - Introduction
- Clay Sewer Pipe
- Cast-Iron Sewer Pipe
- Plastic Sewer Pipe (ABS, PVC)
- "Orangeburg" Fiber Conduit Pipe
Clay Sewer Pipe
Vitrified clay sewer pipe is still laid today, though as a DIY homeowner you probably won't be choosing this for your sewer line replacement. It's heavy and hard to cut. Often, your choice of sewer pipe is dictated by what your home improvement store has on hand, and they won't have clay pipe.
As Logan Clay (a major manufacturer of clay pipe) points out, the material used for clay pipe is "inert," making it highly resistant to chemical degradation.
After all, if you're going to be installing a product in the earth, what better than a direct product of the earth?
One downside of clay sewer pipe: roots love to attach to its porous surface.
Cast-Iron Sewer Pipe
Like clay pipe, cast-iron sewer pipe is associated with older homes but is still installed today.
Cast iron pipe is incredibly strong: a 4" sewer pipe can withstand 4,877 pounds of pressure per linear foot. By contrast, you can barely stand on ABS or PVC pipe without it breaking (don't test this out).
Like clay pipe, cast-iron is heavy and difficult for a DIYer to cut. To cut a cast-iron DWV pipe in place--in the ground--you need a soil pipe cutter.
These pipe cutters run $400-$500, though can be rented from supply houses for a small fee.
Cast iron pipe is non-flammable. This is not an issue for below-ground installations; but should you decide to continue the cast-iron into the house, you can feel secure knowing that cast-iron pipe will not melt in a fire.
Plastic sewer pipe for underground installations is available in both ABS and PVC.
Both types of pipe have smooth interiors for excellent carrying capacity of solid waste matter. The smooth exteriors also help resist root anchorage.
This photo, of the nice, pristine Orangeburg sewer pipe, is not something you will ever see in real life. That's because you're more likely to find it in a collapsed state after you dig up your malfunctioning sewer line.
Fiber conduit pipe (its proper name) was "made of ground cellulose (wood) fibres bound together with a special water resistant adhesive, and, thereafter, impregnated with liquefied coal tar pitch," according to SewerHistory.org.
Lightweight, it was easy for plumbers to carry. Brittle, it was easy for them to cut with regular carpenter's saws.
But like today's PVC and ABC pipe, it had a tendency to collapse. Thus, the pipe had to be properly bedded in sand and pea gravel to reduce stress on the pipe.
