Plumbing for new bathroom—does this look right?

[Win-ak]

Hi All,

Newbie here, I am working with licensed GC and plumber to add a new bathroom on my main floor (there is a basement below).

Plumber just added rough-ins for all lines, some of this seems sloppy (on their part) and not right to me, but I am not even at a DIY level for plumbing. Your thoughts are appreciated. The plumber is not finished yet, but I’d like to address any issues sooner rather than later.

New bathroom will have separate tub and shower, sink, and toilet. First picture below shows drains (from below) for shower (S) connecting to toilet (T), which is connected to the vent (V). The sink (Si) is connected to the vent (above). The 3” PVC drain plumbing currently pitches towards the vent and not the main drain.

does anything not look right? I am particularly concerned about how the shower drain is connected to the toilet drain, and the potential for backup into the shower.

Lastly, there are many places with copper touching PVC, is there any issue with that? Google search talks about water hammer and possible long-term effects of eroding the copper.
Ty.

 

[Reach4]

IPC 2018 for MD.

The toilet picture does not look right to me. I don't think that side inlet elbow for the toilet is OK. What is that side inlet carrying, anyway. Also, that path between the closet flange and that side inlet elbow looks cocked.

I did not understand just where the wrong slope is, but drainage has to slope downhill at at least 1/8 inch per foot for 3 inch pipe, and 1/4 inch per foot for smaller. I think the elbow in the 3 inch pipe needs to be a long sweep, and I cannot tell if that is long or medium.

The other two photos look ok to me.

I am not a plumber.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Michael Young]

Hi All,

Newbie here, I am working with licensed GC and plumber to add a new bathroom on my main floor (there is a basement below).

Plumber just added rough-ins for all lines, some of this seems sloppy (on their part) and not right to me, but I am not even at a DIY level for plumbing. Your thoughts are appreciated. The plumber is not finished yet, but I’d like to address any issues sooner rather than later.

New bathroom will have separate tub and shower, sink, and toilet. First picture below shows drains (from below) for shower (S) connecting to toilet (T), which is connected to the vent (V). The sink (Si) is connected to the vent (above). The 3” PVC drain plumbing currently pitches towards the vent and not the main drain.

does anything not look right? I am particularly concerned about how the shower drain is connected to the toilet drain, and the potential for backup into the shower.

Lastly, there are many places with copper touching PVC, is there any issue with that? Google search talks about water hammer and possible long-term effects of eroding the copper.
Ty.


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Dude, you're in a plumbing forum with lots of licensed guys. Most of absolutely HATE homeowners like you. You mentioned, "The plumber is not finished yet." Give the man a chance to do his f*cking job. Quit being a harassing big dumb in-the-way mutherf*cker. You have permits. It'll get inspected. Unless you have some specific request, stay completely out of it and out of the way. That's why you hired a GC. And for being a check-behind-your-back twat, be sure you throw some good mojo when the man finishes and passes inspection on your job. Be sure to write positive reviews on google, yelp, facebook, etc. freakin’ homeowner will howl foul and give a freakin’ 1-star review because a god damned hose bibb is less than a bubble off on the grade. Not picking on you man. I know you want your work done right. But please, trust the process. And for the f*cking love of god, get it in your head that what we do IS NOT EASY.

The worst thing you can do; your plumber has been busting his ass all day FOR YOU. He's hot, sweaty, hurting a little, tired, grateful that he's at the end of a hard day; and here is homeowner flapping their gums to the plumber about how...this plumber said this, this plumber said that. You're likely to hear the words, well HIRE THAT OTHER PLUMBER. Peace out.

Don't second guess his work. Cuz guess what. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT. The work has to be TESTED and INSPECTED.

 

[Reach4]

You mentioned, "The plumber is not finished yet." Give the man a chance to do his f*cking job. Quit being a harassing big dumb in-the-way mutherf*cker. You have permits. It'll get inspected.

Are you not bothered by the side inlet elbow for the toilet connection? Actually, it would probably work fine, especially if that side inlet was lavatory waste.

 

[Win-ak]

The licensed guy is already doing things to cut corners, like he bent an existing copper supply line to shove in the new drain connection. He also didn’t install supply lines in the exterior wall with enough space to insulate them, like I requested before they started.

I am trying to be proactive so they don’t have to take more apart later to fix things. I would hire a different plumber if I could, but I hired the GC.

Dude, you're in a plumbing forum with lots of licensed guys. Most of absolutely HATE homeowners like you. You mentioned, "The plumber is not finished yet." Give the man a chance to do his f*cking job. Quit being a harassing big dumb in-the-way mutherf*cker. You have permits. It'll get inspected. Unless you have some specific request, stay completely out of it and out of the way. That's why you hired a GC. And for being a check-behind-your-back twat, be sure you throw some good mojo when the man finishes and passes inspection on your job. Be sure to write positive reviews on google, yelp, facebook, etc. freakin’ homeowner will howl foul and give a freakin’ 1-star review because a god damned hose bibb is less than a bubble off on the grade. Not picking on you man. I know you want your work done right. But please, trust the process. And for the f*cking love of god, get it in your head that what we do IS NOT EASY.

The worst thing you can do; your plumber has been busting his ass all day FOR YOU. He's hot, sweaty, hurting a little, tired, grateful that he's at the end of a hard day; and here is homeowner flapping their gums to the plumber about how...this plumber said this, this plumber said that. You're likely to hear the words, well HIRE THAT OTHER PLUMBER. Peace out.

Don't second guess his work. Cuz guess what. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT. The work has to be TESTED and INSPECTED.

 

[Win-ak]

Thanks, the red arrow shows the pitch of the branch that attaches to the main drain. That branch is pitched towards the dry vent rather than the main drain.

I am certainly not plumber, but gravity seems to be against the waste making it to the main drain in this situation.

IPC 2018 for MD.

The toilet picture does not look right to me. I don't think that side inlet elbow for the toilet is OK. What is that side inlet carrying, anyway. Also, that path between the closet flange and that side inlet elbow looks cocked.

I did not understand just where the wrong slope is, but drainage has to slope downhill at at least 1/8 inch per foot for 3 inch pipe, and 1/4 inch per foot for smaller. I think the elbow in the 3 inch pipe needs to be a long sweep, and I cannot tell if that is long or medium.

The other two photos look ok to me.

I am not a plumber.

 

[Michael Young]

Are you not bothered by the side inlet elbow for the toilet connection? Actually, it would probably work fine, especially if that side inlet was lavatory waste.

The side inlet isn't the way I would have done it. I would have opted for a wye and a 45. But I bet it will pass inspection just like it is

 

[Terry]

Wye and 45, one more vote for that.

 

[Michael Young]

The licensed guy is already doing things to cut corners, like he bent an existing copper supply line to shove in the new drain connection. He also didn’t install supply lines in the exterior wall with enough space to insulate them, like I requested before they started.

I am trying to be proactive so they don’t have to take more apart later to fix things. I would hire a different plumber if I could, but I hired the GC.

putting a little bend in the copper isn't going to restrict flow. Maybe the water travels through an oval instead of a round, but you're not going to lose volume. If it's just a supply line, they're going to choke it down to 3/8" anyways. If it doesn't leak, don't worry about it. the supply lines in the exterior walls are usually piped towards the front because your plumber already knows that the walls will be filled with insulation and will not require additional pipe insulation. If you try to insulate that pipe with 1" thick insulation, the drywall guy is going to have to fight with that shit to keep the drywall from bowing out. Sure, some guys show up and slap their shit in and they just don't care. If it functions the way it should and doesn't leak on ya, don't worry about the rest of it. Inspector won't let the job pass if its done improperly. And yes. sometimes it gets ugly. we try to be careful with purple primer. But if one of my guys makes a slop mess out of purple primer, but the work is done right, I'm not going to cut out perfectly good work because it looks ugly.

 

[Win-ak]

thanks. I have no insulation in my exterior walls, so I do need to insulate the pipes. House is brick and block, no wood framing, so no room for insulation.

My main concern, at the moment, is the shower drain connecting to the toilet drain. Sounds like it is not best practice, but passible.

Isn’t there evidence of changes to fluid dynamics within a copper pipe leading to premature wear and pinhole leaks (over longer timelines)?

putting a little bend in the copper isn't going to restrict flow. Maybe the water travels through an oval instead of a round, but you're not going to lose volume. If it's just a supply line, they're going to choke it down to 3/8" anyways. If it doesn't leak, don't worry about it. the supply lines in the exterior walls are usually piped towards the front because your plumber already knows that the walls will be filled with insulation and will not require additional pipe insulation. If you try to insulate that pipe with 1" thick insulation, the drywall guy is going to have to fight with that shit to keep the drywall from bowing out. Sure, some guys show up and slap their shit in and they just don't care. If it functions the way it should and doesn't leak on ya, don't worry about the rest of it. Inspector won't let the job pass if its done improperly. And yes. sometimes it gets ugly. we try to be careful with purple primer. But if one of my guys makes a slop mess out of purple primer, but the work is done right, I'm not going to cut out perfectly good work because it looks ugly.

 

[Michael Young]

thanks. I have no insulation in my exterior walls, so I do need to insulate the pipes. House is brick and block, no wood framing, so no room for insulation.

My main concern, at the moment, is the shower drain connecting to the toilet drain. Sounds like it is not best practice, but passible.

Shower drain connecting to the side-inlet of the toilet is fine. If the toilet clogs up, yes, you will get shit water in your shower. But that is true of any fixture group.

 

[Win-ak]

I have been known to kill/clog toilets. Any reasonable way to plumb it in a way to make it even less likely to backup into shower?

Shower drain connecting to the side-inlet of the toilet is fine. If the toilet clogs up, yes, you will get shit water in your shower. But that is true of any fixture group.

 

[Michael Young]

I have been known to kill/clog toilets. Any reasonable way to plumb it in a way to make it even less likely to backup into shower?

if the fixture group clogs, you're going to end up with shit in your shower. Your best bet is to install a full-port toilet. I personally prefer Toto toilets. Go ahead and spend the extra $50bucks to get an ADA compliant toilet with an elongated bowl. Buy the toilet with the biggest trap you can find. I have a TOTO at my house that we had left-over from a commercial project. Have never once had a problem with it.

 

[Win-ak]

Thanks, an recommendations on the specific model? The port is for the supply valve, yes?

i am actually looking to buy 3 toilets, each to minimize the clogging issue. A specific Toto recommendation would be welcome.

if the fixture group clogs, you're going to end up with shit in your shower. Your best bet is to install a full-port toilet. I personally prefer Toto toilets. Go ahead and spend the extra $50bucks to get an ADA compliant toilet with an elongated bowl. Buy the toilet with the biggest trap you can find. I have a TOTO at my house that we had left-over from a commercial project. Have never once had a problem with it.

 

[Reach4]

I think it is the plumbing below the toilet that can cause a backup. A clog in the toilet itself will not backup into a shower.

 

[Michael Young]

Thanks, an recommendations on the specific model? The port is for the supply valve, yes?

i am actually looking to buy 3 toilets, each to minimize the clogging issue. A specific Toto recommendation would be welcome.

we don't care about the supply. we care about the waste. Your toilet has an integral trap. The larger the throat, the bigger the shit your toilet can swallow.

 

[Win-ak]

Old plumbing leaked today at the joints nearest (a few inches) where the new drain pipe was pushing down on it. Of course I was blamed because the plumbing is “old,” which is true only in the most relative and absolute sense.

All new plumbing installed by licensed plumber leaked too, at the same time. Coincidences exist, but probably not here.

putting a little bend in the copper isn't going to restrict flow. Maybe the water travels through an oval instead of a round, but you're not going to lose volume. If it's just a supply line, they're going to choke it down to 3/8" anyways. If it doesn't leak, don't worry about it. the supply lines in the exterior walls are usually piped towards the front because your plumber already knows that the walls will be filled with insulation and will not require additional pipe insulation. If you try to insulate that pipe with 1" thick insulation, the drywall guy is going to have to fight with that shit to keep the drywall from bowing out. Sure, some guys show up and slap their shit in and they just don't care. If it functions the way it should and doesn't leak on ya, don't worry about the rest of it. Inspector won't let the job pass if its done improperly. And yes. sometimes it gets ugly. we try to be careful with purple primer. But if one of my guys makes a slop mess out of purple primer, but the work is done right, I'm not going to cut out perfectly good work because it looks ugly.