Small bathroom blues

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Oakland

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Hello,
I am remodeling a small bathroom in my 1920’s Mediterranean and I am trying to make my old man (who was a plumber) proud by doing the work myself. I have gutted the room to studs and I am coming up on the “put it back together†stage of this which is good because if I don’t my wife will probably leave me. To my questions:

1. I intend to leave the sink drain where it was and hopefully the supply lines to the bathroom sink but I am changing the fixture type from a vanity faucet to a wall mount faucet. The existing vent pipes are probably going to be in the way for the new faucet rough-in because I have to raise the supply lines almost to the level of the vent pipe. The horizontal vent pipe was over six inches above the flood level of the old vanity sink and there are no floors above to consider so can I raise the horizontal vent pipe out of my way and tie it back into the vent pipe and still be within California code? The distance from the drain to the vertical stack is just less than 5 ft. There is a bathroom below that appears to have a 1 ½ inch ABS vent pipe which then turns into a 2 inch vent pipe in the room I am working in. Will this be a problem when the inspector comes out? I don’t think the basement bathroom was permitted by the previous owners.


2. I removed a fiberglass shower unit and I intend to install a tile shower. We have a ceiling mounted rain shower head we purchased along with new shower controls. I intend to leave the drain where it is because it is located in the center of the shower and I don’t have a reason to screw with it. I plan on moving the supply lines left of their current location so my shower controls will not end up in the seam of two 18x18 wall tiles. Originally, I intended to boar holes in the ceiling joists to run the copper for the rain shower but yet another present from the previous owners, they didn’t remove the plaster ceiling when they sheetrocked the walls. In order to level the ceiling I intend to suspend the new ceiling from the lathe using 2x4s once the plaster is removed. Would it be acceptable to cover the lath with ¼ in plywood (to prevent the cotton cellulose insulation from falling between the boards then run the copper for the rain shower between the plywood and the finished sheetrock (probably a gap of no more than 2 inches)? Should I insulate the copper in the ceiling?

3. When it comes to shower pans, I have a friend who used the Schluter System and said it was not as easy as he thought it would be but still easier than a mortar base. Does anyone have any feedback on this line (or similar)? I have not fully assessed the condition of the joists (there is some damage to the subfloor) but I was leaning toward this system to reduce the weight.

This is my first post to a place like this so sorry if my questions were improperly phrased or long winded. Thanks for your help.
 

Terry

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I'm not picturing your vent problem very well. A picture that is 800 pixels or less would be nice here. You can add them as attachments.
You can always go higher with a revent.
Adding the wall faucet is always a challenge. The studs may need to be moved or cut out, the vent may need moving.

If you run the shower head in the ceiling, don't insulate the pipe. Make sure the insulation is above the pipe. Not below. You want to trap the warm air.

Leaving the shower drain where it is can be good. You will need to replace the drain itself to work with the new pan.
No big deal though.
 

Jimbo

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►Yes, an inspector usually has free rein to look at everything, and without better description or pictures, I have some concern that the basement bathroom may be wet vented through the upstairs. This is not allowed.
►18X18 tiles are VERY difficult to work with. You have to use extreme care that they are plumb and level, and in the same plane from one to the next.
I was in a house recently where they had large tiles done in about a 500 square foot area, 3 rooms. There were blue tape tabs in over a dozen spots, where the owner noted that the tiles had a high corner. That's the problem with big tiles. You get one corner down a little, the opposite corner is up a lot! They were still haggling with the tile guy to pull up a bunch of tiles for redo.
 

hj

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bath

Your "old man" was a plumber. How did he feel about DIYers attempting jobs when they did not really know what they were doing? You can raise the horizontal vent as much as you want to, but it CANNOT drop back down to connect at the same place it does now. The distance from the drain to the stack is immaterial, since it depends on HOW the piping is arranged, as much as a horizontal distance.
 

Oakland

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Thanks for the quick responses. I hope the photo helps. I did not intend to reconnect the vent to the same place on the stack. I have to remove the horizontal vent pipe because according to the permits I pulled, the "professional plumbers" that did this job cut away 80% of the joist which is not up to code. I am a DIYer no a retard.

The vent coming from the downstairs bathroom is pictured to the left, the vent goes through the roof above the gutted bathroom if that helps.

Thanks for the tip and warning on the 18x18 tile.
 

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Jimbo

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So it appears that the downstairs bath is vented separately from the waste stack. That is good.
 

hj

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"joist" or "stud"? The horizontal vent is going through the studs, so I cannot see where cutting the joist would have anything to do with "moving" or "removing" the horizontal vent. Since it is ABS plastic, making revisions should be easy. Your original posting implied that you were working with cast iron and galvanized steel, which could take it out of the DIY range.
 

Oakland

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The only good thing the previous owners did was upgrade to ABS and Copper. Once I finish removing the plaster and get the rough-in schematics from the fixture guy I will post a photo with a drawing of what I intend to do over what I have now and let you guys have at it. One more question. I would like to run the copper supply line from the controls to the ceiling then to the other side of the shower. This will allow me to turn on the shower without getting wet and allow the water to warm up before jumping in and buy one piece of glass as opposed to a piece of glass and a shower door which will save money and make the room look less cluttered. Any objections or concerns?
J
 

Oakland

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Drain removal

I gutted the room to studs and I'm working on removing the tile and concrete board from the floor. I cut and smashed the fiberglass shower enclosure out but I still have about a one foot in diameter ring of the fiberglass shower stall attached to the ABS drain. Any suggestions as to how to get it off?

I had to remove the lath from the ceiling after I gutted another room (Im converting a different bathroom to a laundry room) and found several electrical issues in the ceiling. With the ceiling now open, should I run the copper above the ceiling joists for the rain shower and secure the pipe to the wood?

Should I consider using shark bite fittings so I don't have to deal with sweating a bunch of pipes? What is the longevity of shark bite?

Thanks
J
 

Oakland

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Project Update

This has turned into the $$$ pit! I removed the sub floor, a recommendation by my carpenter, and found the floor joists in the room were completely notched out. My wife wanted to move the shower controls from their current location to the opposite wall. I did not think it would be possible until I removed the sub floor and saw the water lines run from the proposed location to the current location. The problem I am running into is the studs on the wall where my wife would like the controls support my kitchen cabinets.

Should I uninstall the cabinet and reframe the wall? There is a stud in the exact location I want the shower control so what is my best course of action? Also, I am installing a ceiling mounted rain head and I was wondering if anyone have a photo of the proper framing of this from the water control to the shower head? Finally,there is a 2" hole cut into my sole plate on the wall where I would like to run my cold water line, can I use the existing hole add some blocking and secure the copper to it or do I need to repair the sole plate and drill a new hole?
 

Cookie

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Get either a new house or wife. :)

p.s. house is cheaper.
Shark bites are commonly used and last a long time.
 
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Oakland

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Moving a toilet

I am reinforcing the joists in the bathroom and trying to fix some of the gouging with sister joists. I drilled a new hole for my 2" ABS vent which connects to the 3" drain for the toilet. I have a sanitary Tee on the drain pipe which reduces in size to 2" on the T. From the T, I have a 45 degree turn which then connects to a piece of 2" to go through the joist. On the other side of the joist, I have a 60 degree turn which connects to the vertical vent pipe. The problem is that with the added depth of the sister joist, my toilet rough in will be almost 15 inches from the unfinished wall. The toilet call for 12" and with the backerboard and tile I am adding another inch. CAN I PUT A 22.5 DEGREE BEND IN MY TOILET DRAIN TO GET ME BACK TO 13"? Thanks for your help, carpenter is coming in a few minutes.
 

Jadnashua

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If you can keep the total angle change to 135-degrees or less before it drops down into the main, probably.
 
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