Cast Iron Pipe Replacement in Broward County

Cast iron drain replacement swaps original 1960s and 1970s pipe for PVC to current Florida code. Yard runs and under-slab runs are quoted separately because they are different jobs: one is landscaping to restore, the other is floor demolition and rebuild inside an occupied house.

Two cast iron pipe sections side by side, one heavily scaled and one newly cut open

This is the defining plumbing job of Broward’s older housing stock, and the single largest plumbing invoice most homeowners here will ever receive.

Why so many Broward houses need it

The Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute puts cast iron’s service life at 50 to 75 years. In South Florida — high water table, sandy fill, ground that never dries out — the practical figure runs closer to 40 to 50. Roughly 35% of South Florida living units built in the 1960s and 1970s went in with cast iron, and PVC did not become standard in Florida residential construction until the late 1970s.

That makes about 1975 the practical threshold. U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year data, table B25034, shows how much of Broward sits below it:

City	Median year built	% built pre-1980
Lighthouse Point	1968	83.5
Hollywood	1969	74.7
Wilton Manors	1971	73.7
Fort Lauderdale	1972	66.3
Oakland Park	1972	66.1
Pompano Beach	1974	67.0

Two different jobs under one name

Yard runs. Excavator, trench, new pipe to spec, backfill, sod. The house stays livable and the restoration is landscaping.

Under-slab runs. The floor is cut, the trench is dug by hand inside the room, spoil is carried out through the house, and everything is reversed afterward. Tile, wood and terrazzo rarely survive. Families often move out for part of it. This is why ten feet of under-slab pipe was quoted to one Florida homeowner at $14,300 — the price is concrete, containment and floor rebuild.

Many houses need only one of the two done now, which is why they belong on separate lines of a quote.

The alternative, where the pipe allows it

Lining leaves the old pipe in the ground and cures a new one inside it, removing most of the excavation cost. It requires a host pipe that still holds its shape and grade — a bellied, offset or collapsed line cannot be lined. That determination comes from camera footage, and a homeowner reported 30 feet relined for $4,500 against a competing quote of $14,000 for the same work, which is the argument for scoping first and getting more than one bid second.

Materials and code

Florida’s Building Code lists ABS, cast iron, copper or copper-alloy, PVC and PP as conforming for building sewers on filled or unstable ground, and permits PVC DWV in SDR26, SDR35, SDR41, PS50 or PS100 — SDR 35 is an approved residential spec. Pipe bursting requires HDPE, SDR 17, ASTM F714, with a video camera survey of the completed section approved by the code official.

The insurance dimension

In Florida the cost of leaving cast iron in place sometimes arrives at renewal rather than as a backup. Carriers here examine original plumbing in older homes closely. It is worth asking a carrier, before deciding, whether documented replacement or lining changes their position — the answer occasionally shifts the economics entirely.

“We scope, mark the runs, and price yard and slab separately. Plenty of houses only need one of them this year.”

For a scoped, itemised cast iron quote, request a free quote.