Before demo, I knew there was a pipe in the back right corner of my kitchen. There was a little hole in the drywall of the useless nook that was previously here and I could see it running vertically up the chase. I gave myself a couple extra inches from the edge of this pipe and planned out my cabinetry from there.
HA.
hahahahahahahahahaha!
Here’s the thing about my house –
Nothing is EVER as it seems and nothing will ever go smoothly or according to plan. Ever. Ever.ever.
See that little T juts out about 6″ into what would begin the main wall of my kitchen.
In some spaces, 6″ may not seem like much or could easily be absorbed in other places. This space? NotSoMuch.
In this space, that T affects – oh, everything:
- overall cabinet placement
- electric – outlet placement and circuit load distribution
- storage & cabinetry (which is actually different from overall cabinet placement)
- fridge height & placement
- how much counter I need
- how many pieces of kitchen hardware I need
- traffic flow in the kitchen
That’s basically everything in my kitchen except paint colors & the island. And here I thought I had everything figured out and ready to go.
NOPE.
As I see it, I have 3 choices:
- Leave the pipe where it is. Keep everything shifted to the left 6″. Lose the 6″ of counter space and gain the 6″ here for other storage. {This choice also puts the edge of my sink right up against the arched opening for the front hallway. Cozy.}
- Build a platform over the T, thus raising the floor up 4″ under the fridge only. This would make my 80″ fridge now 84″ tall {I’m 5’3″ – who needs that top shelf anyway?!}. A platform/ramp would also have to be built for whenever I needed to clean behind the fridge {almost never}. Hope that any future tenants/roommates {if this place becomes a full rental} don’t yank the fridge off said platform.
- Pay the plumber $500 to remove the pipe and replace with PVC. This gains the maximum sqft and counter space. It also inconveniences my current garden unit tenant, as I will have to open a wall in her closet so the plumber can get far enough down the pipe to create a clean break {my kitchen is directly over her unit}.
So that’s where I’m at.
6″ of cast iron pipe is ruling my world.
brickcitylove.com 
I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but I say replace the pipe…
I would replace the pipe, if it was me it would always annoy me otherwise.
oh no! Nothing can EVER be easy.
Honestly, I’d replace the pipe. In the big scheme of things, $500 isn’t that much. (I know it really is, but in renovations it feels like $500 is nothing.) And then it will be according to plan.
yeah, i think i’d also go with replacing the pipe. i’m sorry that this has become an issue though!!
I’d definitely replace the pipe. The raised platform seems like it would be strange and you’d regret it later. If I went to buy or rent a place and the fridge was on some sort of alter thing, my short self would cross it off the list. Same with the sink being in an awkward place. You want the kitchen to be user friendly. $500 is a good chunk of change, but having a kitchen that is easy to use and clean will save you money in the long run because you’ll be less tempted to eat out.
Full rental??
Only 500? Assuming all your upstairs drains feed into this, too, that’s a pretty good price. Pretty major project replacing the whole stack like that.
Yup! Both upstairs baths come into this one.
Honestly, I think it will be $500 well spent. Just pretend like you had to pay a plumber to come out an fix an emergency toilet leak or something… I’ve definitely spent close to $500 on unexpected home repairs before. Yes, you have a choice here, but at least the money will go to making the space look and function better.
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