Bath/Powder Rm addition -- drain/plumbing issues

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Herrada

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I need to add a Powder Room (or possibly a 3/4 bath). The only realistic space to do this is an area off a hallway that is between the garage and main house. Location is best explained by a drawing, which I am including below. The walls are in part existing exterior walls of the house and in part a couple small new exterior walls. Five-sixths of the floor of the new room will be a new slab. So far this isn't the hard part.

The hard part is hooking this new bath into the existing plumbing of the house. Since the new bath is next to both the Boiler/HW Heater Room and the Laundry Room a water supply isn't really a problem. The drain is. The 19 year-old house is built on a slab (this is in New Mexico, basements are not at all common) and has a septic tank/field which is all the way on the other side of the house (about 60 feet away). The only existing drain that is nearby is the drain for the laundry room, which would be in the wall between the laundry room and the proposed bath -- see drawing.

So, the question is this: How do I set-up and fit the drains for the bath? Is there a way to tie into the laundry room drain? Is there the "right" way, without regard to cost, to do this; and is there a less good, but "cost effective" was of doing it? Is this a situation where I might want to use a Saniflo unit (perhaps one I can hide in the wall) to handle the drain connections? How would you do this?

I won't be doing the major plumbing (rough-ins, etc.) myself, but I would like to know what is possible, what the potential options are, and have a good idea of what I am talking about before I start talking to plumbers. So I really appreciate you insight, advice and suggestions. Thanks.
ProposedBath-plan.jpg
 

Jadnashua

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The first question is what size is the drain line from the laundry. If it is 3", then you have a chance, if it is only 2", and you plan a toilet, you'll have to go back to where you can find a 3" or larger line.
 

Herrada

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THanks for the response. Unfortunately, I'd have to open up the wall to find out the size of the laundry drain. The next closest drain is about 18 feet away on the other side of the Kitchen (Kitchen sink) -- and this being a slab foundation would seem to make that option virtually impossible.

If it is only 2", would a Saniflo unit (w/macerating pump) be a possible solution? These seem to specify a 3/4" minimum discharge pipe -- which if I am reding and interpreting this stuff correctly should be OK with a 2" drain. But I really don't know.
 

Jadnashua

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That would likely be an option, but more of a maintenance chore. There is a limit on what can be plumed into a particularly sized line. Depending on the size of the pipe, you may not be able to run stuff into that line because of overall capacity. There are some rules about what can be run into a line that has a WM hooked up.
 

hj

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1. FORGET about using the laundry drain for the new bath.

2. FORGET about using a SaniFlo, or any pump system.

3. You have access to the pipe to the septic tank by going around the house, and do NOT have to cross any existing rooms to do it, so that is the best way, and how I would, and usually do, do it.
 

Herrada

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3. You have access to the pipe to the septic tank by going around the house, and do NOT have to cross any existing rooms to do it, so that is the best way, and how I would, and usually do, do it.


Thanks. That seems like a very expensive proposition. To run a new drain line to the tank I'd have to run a line out 20-30 feet across the front through a garden, then down the front of the yard another 60 feet, dodging trees and bushes. Maybe I just think that will be really expensive. Is it possible to ballpark the cost of something like that? I realize there are a lot of variables involved. I'm in Northern New Mexico (high desert at 6660 feet, hard dry soil and a bunch of big junipers, if that helps). $2000, $5000, $10000, $20,000 or more? Maybe I should give this up before I start on the basis that it will be ridiculously expensive to add this modest convenience to the house. A ballpark cost would let me know if I should waste anymore time on this idea. I really appreciate your input. It's really helpful.
 

Jadnashua

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Digging the trench, not all that much, preserving the landscaping or restoring it, could be a lot. Local labor rates vary considerably by where you are. Material costs are not a big issue, it's the labor.
 

Cacher_Chick

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I can rent a skid-steer with a trencher attachment for about $300 a day here. Unless you are in solid rock, it would take a few hours to run the trench.

What you want to do, should do, and what you have the ability to do, are the greatest variables of all.
 
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