Question on sewage ejector?

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Ingeborgdot

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We have a basement bathroom that we are remodeling. This is not by choice but out of necessity. Our shower drain started leaking and caused some problems so we had to tear out our shower. We also had to tear out some tiles and found that they can't get those same tiles so we had to tear out and replace that also. Well, this lead to that and we just decided to gut the whole bathroom and start over.

Here is where the fun begins. I have had the plumber over several times to see what we were going to need to do and he did not see any formidable problems, but we didn't have the toilet off the drain etc. I since have taken everything out of the br and had him come over today to take a look. The first thing he did when he saw the drain for the toilet was start cussing. This made me sick because I knew it did not mean anything good. He proceeds to talk about how the toilet even flushed because the drain was even with the sewage pipe.

Our basement does not have a drain in it at all and we were planning on putting one in but now he says that will be impossible because we will have more problems if we do that because it will be level with the sewer line. He also tells me that the shower and toilet need to be put on a 2x4 floor so we can have enough height to get a decent flush from the toilet and out of the shower. It was on a floor before but he thought that we should be able to put it right on to the cement but again that was before he saw what we had to work with.

My wife wants a drain real bad in case we do have some type of water leak it would drain out and only give us an inch or so of water instead of a couple feet. We asked about a sump pump but he didn't recommend it but started thinking and then recommended a sewage ejector. He said it has a check valve on it and that it would protect against sewer back up also. Is this correct? Can anyone tell me a little about what I should expect? I hope I made sense with what I explained. Thanks for your time and help.
 

Jadnashua

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It's always preferable to let gravity do its thing rather than relying on electricity and a pump. If you drain line is that high, your choices are raise the floor, or pump it. Raising the floor often looks pretty funky unless the whole basement is raised, and that often causes other problems - the stairs may need to be redone, you usually don't have that much headroom in the first place. So, all that being said, a sewage ejector pump and pit may be the best (although not ideal) choice. A check valve is often a part of a sewage ejector, but they can be problematic and be prevented from fully closing by stuff caught in it.

As to a sump pump to get rid of ground water, that's up to you and the local conditions.
 

Ingeborgdot

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We don't have any ground water problems so I do think also a sump pump to be unnecessary. My wife thought we needed one but that was only becasue her brother had one and thought she needed one. Our ground water level is low.

He would rather let gravity do the work also but our other choice is to build up the floor under the shower and toilet with 2x4 to let gravity work but then we won't get our drain we should have or build up the entire floor but that is out of the question. The only other alternative is to use the sewage ejector to make it work right I guess.
 

Ingeborgdot

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How much space will a sewage ejector take up? Space is an issue as to where we will have it located?
 

Jadnashua

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They vary is size...maybe 2-3' in diameter max needed for eventual maintenance - more room would be nice. Eventually, the pump and possibly the float switch will have to be replaced or repaired...you need room to get the cover off and work on it.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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get another opinioin

I dont understand what the problem is anyway???


you have a basement depth swere line correct????

you had a shower and toielt down there for a long time and
they worked fine. Now this fellow is telling you that they
need to be raised up to make them drain properly????

if they were not draining properly all these years, where did it all go????

Perhaps their is a little water laying in the toilet pipe,
that does not mean that the system is not going to work

it just means that you have a minimm amount
of fall on the system, and I am guessing that it
has worked fine for years and years????


installing a floor drain should not be a big deal either if
everythign is working correctly......and you could always put a
check ball in the floor drain if you are worried about the line
backing up in the floor drain...


its time get a second opinoin on this...
 
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Ingeborgdot

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So you don't think a sewage ejector is a good idea. It is not that expensive and it could prevent against sewer backup because of the check valve. They did drain but very slowly. The shower worked but that was because it was raised 4" on a platform.
Are you a plumber?
Why would there be a problem with a sewage ejector? That is my big question now.
Actually I probably didn't state it quite correctly but the drain is about a 1/2 in above the cement and all they had done was kind of taper the cement to it.
I know the toilet worked but it did not flush very good at all and many times would cough back up part of what I put in there. Now we see why.
 

Jadnashua

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Gravity is always better, since you don't lose it in a power outage. But, if your situation doesn't allow it, you have no other choice. Being mechanical and powered, an ejector system can fail. Then, the sewage sits there. It doesn't usually take all that much to fill up the tank...then, if you flush the toilet or take a shower, you'll be standing in the stuff. Fixing one where the tank is full of nasty stuff is not a pleasant job, either, and tends to get a premium. Putting one in initially isn't a big deal, although you'll need to break up a bunch of concrete to route the new lines under the floor to the new tank. At least you won't need to build your shower and stuff up on a platform...it will look and operate 'normally'.

Check valves aren't the most reliable thing, so I wouldn't consider that a big plus.
 

Ingeborgdot

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I know that gravity is better. I don't know enough about the line being level though. I don't know if there is another alternative to a sewage ejector if I want a drain. I think a drain is important. Don't you? That is my main problem. How much of a drop does a person need to get good drainage?
 

Ingeborgdot

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My shower is 6' from the main line and my toilet is 2'. The pipe is actually 1/2 above cement. I guess the ejector might be the best way to go. If I have failure my plumber is the one that is going to work on it anyway. Also only my shower and toilet downstairs will be using it along with the drain. The upstairs will bypass it so I will always have an outlet to go to. Thanks to everyone for their opinions. I appreciate it.
 
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