# Cast Iron Stack Replacement in Columbus, Ohio > Cast iron drain stack replacement in older Columbus houses: cracked or rusted stacks, sewer gas and slow drains, replaced in PVC, ABS or cast iron under permit. URL: https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/cast-iron-stack-replacement/ The vertical cast iron drain, waste and vent stack inside an older house, replaced in PVC, ABS or new cast iron under a plumbing permit, often while the walls are open for a repipe. Last Updated: October 29, 2026 The vertical cast iron drain, waste and vent stack inside an older house, replaced in PVC, ABS or new cast iron under a plumbing permit, often while the walls are open for a repipe. Last Updated: October 29, 2026 **62.9%** Share of homes in the 43205 ZIP around Olde Towne East and Driving Park built in 1939 or earlier, Census figures **56.1%** Share of homes in 43206, around German Village, built in 1939 or earlier **2021 IPC** The model code the Ohio Plumbing Code is built on, which lists cast iron, PVC and ABS for drain, waste and vent pipe **$275** City of Columbus plumbing permit for a 1, 2 or 3 family home, two inspections included [Slate Repiping Columbus](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/) offers and manages cast iron stack replacement in older houses across Columbus and nearby Franklin County communities. The stack is the large vertical pipe that carries waste from the toilets, tubs and sinks down to the building drain and vents sewer gas out through the roof. In houses from the early twentieth century it is usually cast iron, and it often sits inside the same walls as the old supply pipe. The work is carried out by licensed and insured plumbing contractors, under a plumbing permit, and it is a drain job: separate from the water supply pipe a [whole-house repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/whole-house-repiping/) replaces. ## Where cast iron stacks are found in Columbus Cast iron stacks belong to the oldest housing, and Columbus’s oldest housing is concentrated. Census figures put 12.0% of the city’s homes as built in 1939 or earlier, but the share is 62.9% in the 43205 ZIP around Olde Towne East and Driving Park and 56.1% in 43206 around German Village. [Bexley](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/service-areas/bexley/) and [Grandview Heights](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/service-areas/grandview-heights/) are each above 40%. Many of those houses are two stories over a basement, so the stack runs from the basement floor up through a first-floor wall, past the upstairs bath and out through the roof. The [old house repiping](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/old-house-repiping/) page covers what else those houses tend to have behind the plaster. ## How cast iron stacks fail Cast iron is strong and quiet, and much of it lasts for generations. When it fails, the cause is usually corrosion, and that can work from the inside, the outside or both. Several patterns show up in older stacks: - **Rust-through.** Waste and the air in the pipe corrode the iron over decades. The wall thins, often at the bottom of horizontal sections and at fittings, until a weep or rust stain appears on the outside. - **Cracks.** A long vertical crack on the stack, or a crack at a hub, can come from corrosion, settling, freezing or impact. Cracks may weep only when an upstairs fixture drains. - **Scale and roughness inside.** Corrosion and buildup narrow the bore and catch paper and debris, which can slow drains on the floors above. - **Failing joints.** Older cast iron was joined with packed oakum and poured lead at the hubs. Those joints can loosen or leak over time. Symptoms point toward the stack but do not prove it. A slow drain can be a clogged trap or branch. A sewer gas smell can come from a dry trap in a basement floor drain, a failed toilet seal or a vent issue. A rust stain on a ceiling can be a supply leak rather than a drain leak, which is a job for [water leak detection](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/water-leak-detection/) or [pipe repair](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/pipe-repair/). The visible condition of the outside also does not show how thin the wall is inside, which is why a camera inspection is used where the decision depends on what is in the pipe. > Sewer gas > > A persistent sewer smell indoors is worth having checked, and a strong one is a reason to ventilate and keep flames away from the area. It is not, on its own, evidence that the stack has failed. ## Repair, section replacement or full replacement Not every problem calls for a new stack. A single leaking joint or one cracked length in an otherwise sound stack can often be cut out and replaced with a new section joined to the old iron with listed transition couplings. That fits when the rest of the stack has good wall thickness and the problem is local. A full stack replacement fits when there is rust-through or cracking on more than one floor, when the camera shows heavy corrosion along the run, or when the walls are already open and the remaining iron is near the end of its service. Lining products exist for some drain pipe, but lining is not right for every stack: badly corroded, cracked or deformed pipe may not be suitable, and a liner follows the shape of the pipe it is in. The scope says which approach is being used and why. ## PVC, ABS or new cast iron The Ohio Plumbing Code is built on the 2021 International Plumbing Code, which lists cast iron, PVC and ABS for drain, waste and vent pipe. No one material is right for every house. - **PVC and ABS** are light, quick to cut and join, and easier to carry through a finished house. They transmit more drain noise than cast iron, which matters where the stack runs beside a bedroom or living room. - **Cast iron** is heavier and needs more support, but it is quieter and is sometimes chosen for that reason, or where the building or a fire separation calls for it. Where new pipe meets old cast iron at the building drain or a branch, a listed transition coupling joins the two. The permit and the inspector confirm the material and the method for that building. ## How the job runs Cast iron is heavy, and an old stack is held up partly by the floors it passes through and by its own joints. Before it is cut, the stack is supported above and below the cut with clamps or blocking, so the iron above does not drop. Old sections are broken or cut into pieces that can be carried out. The openings follow the stack: usually a strip of wall on each floor, a section of ceiling below an upstairs bath, and sometimes floor at the base. Each opening is listed in the scope with who closes it. While the stack is out, drains that tie into it cannot be used, so the schedule says which fixtures are off and when. The new stack goes in with fittings for each fixture branch, is connected to the building drain and the roof vent, and is tested with water or air before the walls close. ## Doing it with a repipe Cast iron stacks and old galvanized supply pipe often share the same wall cavities, especially in the bathroom wet wall of an older two-story house. When a [galvanized pipe replacement](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/) or full repipe opens those walls, the stack is exposed for little extra disruption. Replacing it then means one set of openings and one round of patching rather than two. The [guide to whether repiping includes drain pipes](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/does-repiping-include-drain-pipes/) covers where the two scopes meet, and [repiping during renovation](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/repiping-during-renovation/) covers planning both around a remodel. The [guide to how invasive repiping is](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-invasive-is-repiping/) covers what the openings look like. ## Permit and inspection Replacing a stack is plumbing work that needs a permit. Inside the City of Columbus, Building and Zoning Services issues it; a plumbing permit for a 1, 2 or 3 family home costs $275 with two inspections. In many suburbs, including Bexley, Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights, the city issues the permit and Franklin County Public Health reviews the plan and inspects; since February 2026 those applications need the county’s plan review approval with a matching fixture count. The [Columbus repiping permit guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/) covers which office handles which address. ## What this service does not include This service ends where the stack meets the building drain inside the house. The buried sewer lateral that runs from the foundation to the public sewer is outside the scope. If a camera shows problems past the foundation, that is a separate sewer line job. A [buyer looking at a house with old pipes](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/buying-house-with-old-pipes/) should note the difference: a stack, a building drain and a sewer lateral are three different repairs with three different prices. ## What drives the price There is no public price for cast iron stack replacement in Columbus. The cost depends on how many floors the stack runs through, whether a section or the full stack is replaced, the material, how many fixture branches tie in, how the walls are finished, whether the work shares openings with a repipe, and what restoration is included. A written scope lists each one. ## What's included - A look at the stack, its branches and the cleanouts, with a camera where the inside matters - Temporary support for the stack above and below each cut - Removal of the failed section or the full stack from the building drain to the roof - New stack in the material agreed in writing, with branch fittings for each fixture group - Transitions to the old building drain or vent where those stay - A test of the new drain and vent piping, then the inspection - Fixture reconnections for the drains that tie into the stack - A list of every wall, ceiling and floor opening and who closes each one ## Section replacement compared with a full stack replacement | | Replace a section | Replace the full stack | | --- | --- | --- | | What changes | The cracked or rusted length between two sound joints | The vertical stack from the building drain to the roof vent | | Old cast iron left | Above and below the new section | Only the building drain and anything outside the scope | | Openings | One wall or ceiling area | Each floor the stack passes through | | Where it fits | One failure in a stack that is otherwise sound | Rust-through or cracks on more than one floor, or walls already open | | With a repipe | Can be done in the same opening | Usually planned with the repipe so walls open once | ## Related resources - Learn [Does repiping include drain pipes?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/does-repiping-include-drain-pipes/)A house has three separate piping systems. A repipe replaces one of them. Here is how to tell them apart, read where a quote stops, and decide whether an old cast iron stack should come out while the walls are open. - Learn [How invasive is repiping a house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-invasive-is-repiping/)Where the openings go and why, how plaster and drywall differ, how dust is kept in one room, what to clear out beforehand, and the scope question that decides who closes every hole. - Learn [Do you need a permit to repipe a house in Columbus?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/)Which office issues the permit for your address, who is allowed to pull it, what it costs, what changed with county plan review in February 2026, and what happens when a repipe is done without one. - Decision Guide [Should you buy a house with galvanized pipes?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/buying-house-with-old-pipes/)Old pipe is a known cost once it is scoped, not a reason to panic. What the inspection note does and doesn't tell you, how to look up the service line on the City's map, polybutylene, and how to negotiate with a real number before closing. ## How a repipe runs 1. First call Describe the houseIts age, the pipe you can see in the basement, the leaks so far and which floors lose pressure. 2. Walk through Map and scopeMains, branches, shutoffs and fixtures traced from the meter; material, openings and permit agreed in writing. 3. Pipe day Replace and reconnectWater shut off in stages, new lines run, fixtures and the water heater reconnected. 4. Sign off Test, inspect, patchPressure test and flush, permit inspections, then the openings are closed. ## What this work looks like Vertical crack with rust weeping down an old cast iron drain stack in an opened wall, in a Columbus house New white PVC drain stack with a branch fitting installed in an opened wall, in a Columbus house Rubber no-hub coupling with steel bands joining new white PVC to an old cast iron drain in a basement, in a Columbus house Open chase beside a black cast iron drain stack in a basement, with new red and blue PEX lines rising beside it, in a Columbus house ## Cast iron stack replacement questions ### Do I need to replace my cast iron drain stack when I repipe? Not automatically. A supply repipe replaces the water pipe, not the drains. The stack is worth looking at while walls are open, and replacing it then can save a second set of openings, but a sound stack can stay. The decision rests on its condition, not its age. ### Can a cast iron stack be replaced with PVC in Columbus? Usually, yes. The Ohio Plumbing Code is built on the 2021 International Plumbing Code, which lists PVC and ABS as well as cast iron for drain, waste and vent pipe. Where the stack runs, the building type and noise all affect which is chosen, and the permit and inspection confirm the material. ### Is a sewer gas smell a sign my cast iron stack has failed? It can be, but it is not proof. A dry trap in a little-used drain, a failed toilet seal or a vent problem can produce the same smell. A crack or rust-through on the stack is one possibility, and the stack is checked along with the traps and seals before anything is replaced. ### Does cast iron stack replacement include the sewer line to the street? No. Stack replacement covers the drain, waste and vent stack inside the house down to where it meets the building drain. The buried sewer lateral outside the foundation is separate work and is not part of this service. ## Related services ### Old house repiping Repiping planned for prewar houses: routes through basements, closets and chases, openings in plaster kept few and listed, and the old valves and fittings brought up to date. ### Whole-house repiping Every hot and cold supply line from the main shutoff to the fixtures, replaced in PEX or copper, pressure tested and inspected under a City or suburban plumbing permit. ### Repiping during renovation New water supply piping run while a remodel has the walls open, with the scope set before demolition and the plumbing inspection timed ahead of insulation and drywall.