New Bathroom Ejector Pump/ Pit Tie In

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EJG1447

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I am adding a bathroom in my basement. After much research I decided to go the sewage ejector pump/pit route. I have a 90 year old bungalow with a 4" cast iron soil stack and 2" galvanized vent. The main floor bath is directly above the new bathroom location. When we bought the house, there was a toilet only in the basement. After breaking the concrete around the stack and digging around I found the 4" cast iron transitioning to 6" clay (via a 4" sanitary tee w/ a 2" side inlet) and then out to the city sewer. I didn't like possibly damaging the clay so I went with the pump/pit option. I have the DWV system designed & dry fitted which brings me to my questions (I will post pics when I get a chance) :

1) I have cut off the original closet flange to make room for the new toilet location. Is a fernco cap suitable for under slab application?

2) I was thinking of cutting a no-hub 4" c.i. wye and then tying the sewage discharge into that. Since I have to cut into the 2" galvanized vent to tie in my new vents anyway, can I use the remaining stub coming up from the original sanitary tee w/ side inlet as my tie in from the pump?

3) I read that the pump/pit should be vented separate from the rest of the venting, however this isn't really feasible. Why is it not ok to tie into the same vent? Can I vent out the side of the house?
 

hj

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Is this a typical DIY solution? Spend $800.00 for a pump and its installation rather than pay a plumber $150.00 to cut into the clay tile? If so, it is the most illogical one I have ever heard, especially when the pump starts giving problems.

1. You cannot use a "Fernco" inside the building
2. It is not a "sweep" fitting, so it would not normally be approved.
3. The pump cover will evenally lose its seal and if the vent were connected to the city system ITS sewer gases will circulate into the pump and leak into the basement. The pump system will create its own sewer gases so you cannot vent it through a side wall.
 

EJG1447

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Thank you for your reply. I wish it would cost me $150.00 to have a plumber cut into the clay. I am a union tradesman (not a plumber, hence this post) and have asked around. Not as easy to get a plumber to even come look at the project. So I called a contractor to come look at the job. After explaining to him what I needed and asking for a quote to rough in the DWV only. I would do all of the concrete cutting, digging, backfilling, etc... He returned with a $5,000.00 bid. The next guy quoted me $2,000.00 for doing the pump/pit rough in in PVC, again with me doing all of the concrete work and so on. Like you said, approximately $800.00 in material for the pump & PVC, $1,200.00 in labor for what would take a "professional" maybe a day to do. That"s a hell of a pay day.

Tying into the clay was my original plan but after further research I found that in my city their code actually calls for an ejector pump/pit set-up for new bathrooms. Several years back we had some very strong rains and flooding.

Thank you for your explanation on both the fitting and the vent question. However I have another for you if you don't mind:

Instead of trying to cap off the 4" c.i. where the original closet flange (the one I cut off) was, could I then use this as my ejector tie in? If so, what do you recomend to transition from c.i. to PVC under slab?
 
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hj

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The pump ONLY makes sense if your existing system is "sealed" so that water cannot back up into the basement, but this is IMPOSSIBLE with a clay tile pipe since it will at best leak under the floor, and at worst fracture, either way will create immense pressures under the floor, usually resulting in destruction of the concrete floor. Cut the closet bend off, and then transition to PVC/ABS with a specific transition coupling designed to join the two materials. I would love to charge $5,000 for just the DWV piping. ANd does it make sense that the second guy could do EXACTLY the same work, plus add a pump with its additional piping, but charge $3,000 LESS? I am not sure WHO these "plumbers" were, but $150.00 per hour, if it took an 8 hour day, was NOT a "heck of a payday", any more than when your boss charges that same amount for what YOU do, unless they were doing it "off the clock" which is illegal for any U.A. 130 plumber, and could get them fined or suspended.
 
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