Question about basement plumbing

[tameria11]

We have an above concrete toilet and shower in the basement in the home we bought. I would like to install a proper shower, bath and toilet. How Do you know if you can break the floor and have enough room for plumbing I will be calling a plumber for the work, however I prefer to know before they come over and tell me. I like to know as much as I can before I commit on a big project.
all info would be very helpful.
A plumber will be doing most of the work as mentioned, I would just like to know what that plumbing would be from the good people on the forum
Thanks
Dave

[finnegan]

When you say "above concrete toilet and shower", I assume you mean that they are on a platform of some sort. If you want to determine how much available altitude you have under your slab, you should be able to do this by checking out the nearest cleanout. Wherever your main sewer pipe leaves your house, (if you are on a municipal sewer it will likely be in the front of your house. If you have a septic system, then it can be anywhere) there should be a 4" plug that you can remove (this may not be easy, especially without a large pipe wrench) and peak in with a flashlight. The main pipe should run horizontal and the cleanout should be on a 45 degree angle running with the flow of the pipe. This should give you an idea of how much space you have available.

[tameria11]

You are correct, the present set up is raised, sort of like sitting on a throne. Of course when I stand up I knock myself out. I have a drain near my main stack, when I look in it I see about 4 inches clear than water, I guess this would be the trap?
Dave

[finnegan]

If this is a floor drain (a big one) then yeah, that would be the trap. If it is not a floor drain, it could be a whole house trap which you see from time to time. It is going to be hard to tell from that trap how deep the sewer pipe to which the trap is attached is. Can you find a clean out which would have a plug with a raised square in the middle near that trap?

[hj]

Getting someone there to look at it is the only way to know for sure if it can be done, and if so, how much it will cost.