Plumbing – Removing kitchen sink drain pipe from behind a wall

kitchen-sinkplumbing

I'm replacing an old galvanized pipe from my kitchen drain to the basement. The drain pipe corroded a couple feet down the line and is leaking. I'd like to replace the entire run from the sink to the sewer with PVC.

The sink drain runs into a wall behind the cabinets and then straight down into the basement.

I don't know how to remove the section in the wall without cutting into the back of my fancy-ish new-ish cabinets and taking out drywall.

It looks like there's a nut right on the wall. If I remove that nut should I just be able to pull the pipe down into the basement?

Under the sink, into the wall

From the wall, down to the basement

Best Answer

As you suspect, if the drain is plumbed correctly, there is a vent pipe extending above the drain connection inside the wall. The connector is probably a wye, and there is no way to free the pipe without opening the wall.