Shower installation

[slanderman]

I wasnt sure which thread to post this in. I'm planning on somehow installing a standup shower in the laundry room that is in the basement of our new house and having the shower drain into the existing floor drain. The only problem is, there is a 3" PVC pipe that runs from floor to ceiling and is about 12" away from the floor drain, so I'm not sure how I'm going to circumvent the pipe so that a standup shower will fit there. I've drawn a diagram so that you can kind of see the problem.

Anyone have any ideas how I can do this? By the way, these are concrete floors and walls.

[jimbo]

Hard to tell what that pipe is, but it may well be a vent for the floor drain. It could also be a waste stack from upper floors. Don't see how you can get rid of it. You might be able to move it, but that will involve chopping up some concrete. Trying to connect a shower drain to the floor drain will also involve chipping out some cement. It would NOT be proper to just have shower water run on that floor and into the floor drain. The floor is not considered a waterproof barrier, the seam at the wall is not watertight, and you have no curb. You need to put a preformed pan, or a membrane, on top of the concrete. If the floor is not sloped into the drain, you need to accomplish that with a preslope mud base.

[slanderman]

There will be a preformed pan for the shower. That pipe is running from the kitchen upstairs. I will be using a shower kit similar to the one below.

[GrumpyPlumber]

The 3" pipe is probably you're soilpipe...a vent wouldn't be 3" for one fixture.
There's no way around it...if you want the shower there you'll have to open the floor, offset the 3" and locate a new 2" drain from the current floor drains branch to meet the premade showers drain.
You'll also need to vent the showers trap, which means you'll have to run a 1-1/4" minimum vent up through the ceiling and connect it to the stack at least 6" above the flood rim of the highest fixture.
You could also run the vent all the way through the roof in 2" by finding a closet you can locate it in the corner of, opening a wall to run it in, or building a chase around it.
This isn't a small project....there are numerous variables here that have yet to be seen without more detail.
How many floors above have plumbing?
Also...though I assume the 3" is a soilpipe....it could also be a radon vent.
Are there any other 3" or 4" pipes through the floor or foundation?

[slanderman]

hrm, It may not be 3". We havent moved into the house yet, i've only seen this room one time. i'm no plumber, this will be my first house and pretty much my first DIY job. However, theres one thing i'm certain of, that pipe is running from the kitchen sink and dishwasher on the main floor.

[jadnashua]

Sounds like that is the drain...you need to move it as indicated if yo uwant to use that area. Don't rely on the floor drain, put a proper one in. An alternative to one of those shower kits is to do it yourself; not as hard as you think. Check out www.johnbridge.com if you want some guidance on that.

[geniescience]

things to learn more about:
"trap primer" for your floor drain
"shower membrane or liner"
"standpipe and washer" for the washing machine

Moving the 3" is a big big job. You would have to dig up and redo the plumbing in the floor around it. Or, you could use four 1/8th bends (45 degree angless) to make it zigzag away at the top and then back again at the bottom, if you were going to build a custom shower around that volume it would leave you with.

Where to put the washer drain water is the next question. Either a standpipe or a washbasin next to the shower is what people will recommend; nobody will tell you to drain it into your new shower.

david

[hj]

Do you realize how deep the sewer would have to be to use 1/8 bends to offset it at the bottom?

[GrumpyPlumber]

He's referring to offsetting the stack (what we so far presume to be) both top and bottom in the cellar...er...I think.
IF thats what he means it really wouldn't have any bearing on the depth of the waste main below slab.
IF thats not what he meant...then, Who's on first?

[GrumpyPlumber]

Referring to what I think he meant...from appearances, and there's not much to go on...there wouldn't be enough room on the floor for the pan if it were to be offset that way.
Shower pans require a minimum 900" surface area...or roughly 30" by 30" inside the lip.
A custom pan made to fit around the stack at the floor would be asthetically "interesting" and comparatively expensive.

[cwhyu2]

You will have get out the jackhammer (rent) no mater you do you will
still have accomadate the stack.

[GrumpyPlumber]

You will have get out the jackhammer (rent) no mater you do you will
still have accomadate the stack.

Exactly my point, often looking for easier ways is more difficult than the right way.

[jadnashua]

Move the washer/dryer into that corner and install a shower elsewhere; probably where the washer/dryer are now. WHile you are at it, install a proper standpipe for the washing machine. You could probably then get a shower that's a little bigger, too.

[toolaholic]

Who hacked that job?? Have everything checked by a plumber!