Saving a Brookhaven Homeowner Thousands on a Clogged Cast Iron Drain

Drain Repair Case Study

• Client Location: Dresden Drive, Brookhaven, GA
• The Problem: A slow, leaking kitchen and laundry drain in a 1947 bungalow. Another plumber quoted over $9,000 to tear out the kitchen and laundry room flooring to reach the cast iron pipe.
• The Solution: Master Plumber Ryan Hanson reached the failing pipes through a very tight crawl space and replaced the damaged cast iron with code-compliant PVC. No floors were removed.
• Key Result: The job came in under $2,500, saving the homeowner over $6,500 and their kitchen floor.

The Challenge: A $9,000 Quote and Torn-Up Floors

A homeowner on Dresden Drive in Brookhaven had already called another plumber to clear a stubborn drain clog. That plumber found a leaking cast iron pipe in the crawl space.

Their fix was invasive:

• Tear Out the Flooring: Remove sections of the kitchen and laundry room floors to reach the pipe from above.
• A Steep Price: The quote came in at over $9,000, before any flooring repairs.

The price felt high and the plan felt like overkill. So the homeowner called True Plumbing, Heating & Cooling for a second opinion.

The Diagnosis: Grease Outside, Corrosion Inside

Licensed Master Plumber Ryan Hanson arrived at the 1947 bungalow the same day to inspect the system himself.

Here is what he found:

• Years of Grease Buildup: The cast iron drain was packed with decades of grease, which caused the stubborn clog.
• Corroding From Within: The pipe walls were rotting from the inside out, leaving cracks and active drips into the crawl space.
• Partial Failure, Not Total: About 40% of the drain piping needed replacement. The rest was still serviceable.

Cast iron drains in homes from this era often fail this way. The drain cleaning alone would not have solved it. But the fix did not require ripping up the floors either.