Bathromm Renovation Questions

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MikeSmith

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Renovating my bathroom I had a bathtub on the left hand side a toilet and a sink. The bathroom is very small. First off I’m not a plumber and don’t really know what I’m doing. Have a few questions and was hoping someone on this form could help. I hope this diagram that will help explain what I’m talking about.
Bathroom.gif
Some more info, this bathroom is in the basement and sits on a 4 inch floor. The house is 55 years old.

First off can I put a stand up shower and a sink in the 60 inches of space I had where the tub used to be?

Second: Can I have the sink drain into the same place as the shower ie the old tub drain?

Third: Can I have the shower drain where it currently is or do I have to ruff in a new drain closer to the middle of the shower? (The tub/shower drain looks to be in bad shape)

Forth: BTW for the toilet where do you messure where the drain is from the wall? Is it from the wall to the start of the drain, middle of the drain, or end of the drain? So in my diagram is the drain 8.75 inches from the wall or 13?

I'll post pictures if need be.

Thanks for all the help
 
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Jimbo

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A shower drain can be anywhere, as long as you properly slope the floor so that it drains, and does not leave standing puddles.

A toilet rough-in is measured from the wall BEHIND the toilet to the CENTER of the drain opening ( measure to the bolts). This dimension is usually 10" or 12". However, you cannot put a toilet that close to the SIDE wall. Your inspector will insist that this is done to code on any remodel.
 

Gary Swart

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First off can I put a stand up shower and a sink in the 60 inches of space I had where the tub used to be? You should be able to fit a shower stall and sink/vanity in that space OK.

Second: Can I have the sink drain into the same place as the shower ie the old tub drain? If you mean into the same drain, yes. Note that connections must be made properly, the drains must be properly sloped and vented.

Third: Can I have the shower drain where it currently is or do I have to ruff in a new drain closer to the middle of the shower? (The tub/shower drain looks to be in bad shape) The shower drain must be centered on the shower base and should be a 2" drain. It also must be trapped and vented. You certainly don't want to have a drain in questionable condition under the shower either.

Forth: BTW for the toilet where do you messure where the drain is from the wall? Is it from the wall to the start of the drain, middle of the drain, or end of the drain? So in my diagram is the drain 8.75 inches from the wall or 13?

The location for a toilet drain is 12" from the finished wall to the center of the drain. Could be a bit more, and there are toilets made for smaller distances, but 12" is the standard. Don't forget you need at least 16" on each side as well.

All of that said, I would advise you not to tackle this yourself. A total bathroom renovation is not a good first-time project. There are many ways to do it wrong and only a very few ways to do it right. There's too much time, money, and expense involved to chance screwing up, and any online advise is going to be general at best. It takes on-site evaluation to get the true picture and be specific on just what to do.
 

MikeSmith

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Thank you both for your replies.

Gary Swart said:
First off can I put a stand up shower and a sink in the 60 inches of space I had where the tub used to be? You should be able to fit a shower stall and sink/vanity in that space OK.
Out of curiosity how large was the shower and your sink?

Gary Swart said:
Second: Can I have the sink drain into the same place as the shower ie the old tub drain? If you mean into the same drain, yes. Note that connections must be made properly, the drains must be properly sloped and vented.
How do I know if it is vented? The drain goes into the concrete floor I see no vent near by except for the big drain on the right hand "East" side of the picture.

Gary Swart said:
Third: Can I have the shower drain where it currently is or do I have to ruff in a new drain closer to the middle of the shower? (The tub/shower drain looks to be in bad shape) The shower drain must be centered on the shower base and should be a 2" drain. It also must be trapped and vented. You certainly don't want to have a drain in questionable condition under the shower either.
k

Gary Swart said:
Forth: BTW for the toilet where do you messure where the drain is from the wall? Is it from the wall to the start of the drain, middle of the drain, or end of the drain? So in my diagram is the drain 8.75 inches from the wall or 13?

The location for a toilet drain is 12" from the finished wall to the center of the drain. Could be a bit more, and there are toilets made for smaller distances, but 12" is the standard. Don't forget you need at least 16" on each side as well.
Man I don't have 16" on each side the green toilet was practactly flush against the wall. As you can see at best the drain is 11" (from center) on the "North wall" and "East wall". How was there a toilet there in the first place? Can I still put it in the same position it was before?

Gary Swart said:
All of that said, I would advise you not to tackle this yourself. A total bathroom renovation is not a good first-time project. There are many ways to do it wrong and only a very few ways to do it right. There's too much time, money, and expense involved to chance screwing up, and any online advise is going to be general at best. It takes on-site evaluation to get the true picture and be specific on just what to do.
Ya figuring all that out slowly ;) probably at the most will do the ruff in and leave most of the rest of the work to contractors.
 

Jadnashua

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For the shower, if your drain is not in the middle, the slope on the side where it is closest to the wall can become quite steep. You need the slope on the floor to be about 1/4"/FOOT. If the drain was left in the typical place for the tub, it would be near the wall, maybe 6" or so. If you made a 30x30 shower (small), you have 2.5', so the drain would have to be 1.25x0.25 or 5/16". That amount spread over each side is not much. Now, move the drain to the edge like it is for the tub. Instead of centering it, you have a slope for 2', and you'd need 1/2" of drop from the far wall to the drain. You still need to get that same drop from the short edge, but now you have to do 1/2" in 6" rather than 5/16" in 1.25'. Clear yet :D .
 

Jimbo

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When you remodel and move things, the inspectors usually will NOT grandfather existing code violations, such as the side clearance for the toilet.
 

hj

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First, you are completeky out of your league to even try this yourself, since you admit you do not know anything about plumbing. This job is not a "15 minute" read the Cliff's Notes project. You do not need 16" from each side of the toilet, you need 15" to either side of the center of the drain opening.
 
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