replacing 1950's bathtub

[corkercoon]

Hi all,

I am slowly working towards revovating my first bathroom. I have worked on sinks and toilets, but this will be my first bathtub. The area of the house I will be working on was built in the mid 1950's, and it is bungalow with crawl space (not sure if it will matter). I have removed all of the fixtures and am about half way through the demo job, but wanted some advice on what exactly I am looking at in regards to plumbing.
I have attached some pictures to help. In the first picture, this is what I uncovered after removing the bathtub. Is there a link to a post or site that may provide a good detail description on how to update this setup? In the second picture, there seems to be a big copper/brass pipe (in the wall to the right of the faucet and drain) that comes up from the crawlspace and vents outside. Does this pipe tie in with the plumbing, or does anyone know what it's purpose is (I haven't actually gone into the crawlspace to see it's origin yet which will probably answer my question). In the third picture, there is a thinner pipe that also seems to come from the crawl space and goes straight up. Any ideas on that one?
I appologize if this sounds really ignorant, but I am a relatively new homeowner and am trying to figure how everything comes together.

Thanks,

Mike

[patrick88]

Hi all,

I am slowly working towards revovating my first bathroom. I have worked on sinks and toilets, but this will be my first bathtub. The area of the house I will be working on was built in the mid 1950's, and it is bungalow with crawl space (not sure if it will matter). I have removed all of the fixtures and am about half way through the demo job, but wanted some advice on what exactly I am looking at in regards to plumbing.
I have attached some pictures to help. In the first picture, this is what I uncovered after removing the bathtub. Is there a link to a post or site that may provide a good detail description on how to update this setup? In the second picture, there seems to be a big copper/brass pipe (in the wall to the right of the faucet and drain) that comes up from the crawlspace and vents outside. Does this pipe tie in with the plumbing, or does anyone know what it's purpose is (I haven't actually gone into the crawlspace to see it's origin yet which will probably answer my question). In the third picture, there is a thinner pipe that also seems to come from the crawl space and goes straight up. Any ideas on that one?
I appologize if this sounds really ignorant, but I am a relatively new homeowner and am trying to figure how everything comes together.

Thanks,

Mike

I would remove and replace that old shower/tub valve. I would not try to keep the tub drain. The new tub will most likely not line up to it. The pipe in the wall could be a vent for the tub or a drain to something upstairs.

[corkercoon]

Thanks, I would probably not have questioned it if I had an upstairs; but it is a bungalow so that is what is puzzling me. I am also on a well, not sure if that matters?

[hj]

Just looking at a pipe does not tell us anything about it. We have to know where it begins and where it ends up, for starters.

[corkercoon]

Fair enough, I will check their origin and termination. Not being very familiar with the bathtub plumbing I thought perhaps it was a standard setup back in the day or something. I really appreciate the responses.