Slope in the Basement.

[Jeremy Poling]

Hello Everybody - I spent some time browsing the forum and you guys really know your stuff... I know my stuff - but not plumbing so if I don't use the correct terminology I apologize!!

I am finishing my basement and it has a rough-in for the toilet and shower/tub. We want to bust into the concrete and move the bathroom - which will ultimately make the runs longer.

How can I determine if I have enough depth to move the bathroom where I want it and still maintain adequate slope?? does that make sense-- do I need to break into the concrete to see how deep the line is?

JP

[jadnashua]

Unfortunately, sometimes, the only way to know if you'll have enough slope is to crack some concrete. If you pull the existing toilet and look at how far it drops and which way it runs from there, you may be able to figure out if there's enough depth to accomplish what you want without major hassles.

[Jeremy Poling]

Thanks for the reply. That is what I was afraid of..

What are the options if it is not deep enough??


Here is my basement. I am figuring that the toilet run will have to drop 5 inches. Do I need to add calculations in for the shower??

[cacher_chick]

At this point we can only guess how the existing pipes are routed and connected under the floor. The existing risers might be shallow, but the building drain connection might be deep. Alternatively, it is possible that neither are deep enough. There should be a main line cleanout outside of the foundation wall and that would be a good place to determine how deep the building drain is at that point. Breaking concrete does tend to clarify things.

[hj]

As far as what you now have is concerned, it is completely irrelevent. You will have to "scrap" it and start over with a new piping design. Until you break the floor open there is no way to tell HOW the new piping will need to be installed in order to have the proper pitch, and this might not be a good DIY job for an inexperienced "newby". THere is more to plumbing than just sticking some pipes and fittings together and saying, "Two munce ago I cudn't spell plummer, but now I are one".

[jadnashua]

If you're lucky, you'll be able to see how deep the pipe drops from the existing toilet's position once you remove it. If it immediately goes into an elbow, you may be out of luck without doing something like installing a pump and pit to drain things into.

Take the suggestion from earlier, and see how deep the pipe exits the house. That will give you the depth you have to work with. Depending on how high the house sits from the road, or where the main sewer line on your street is, you might be able to run a new line out into the yard and join with your existing sewer line, but again, you won't know until you measure and probably break up some concrete.

[hj]

quote; where the main sewer line on your street is, you might be able to run a new line out into the yard and join with your existing sewer line,

If the line under the floor is not deep enough, then the likelihood that the pipe in the yard would be deeper is approximately ZERO.

[jadnashua]

quote; where the main sewer line on your street is, you might be able to run a new line out into the yard and join with your existing sewer line,

If the line under the floor is not deep enough, then the likelihood that the pipe in the yard would be deeper is approximately ZERO.

If the house is on a hill, who knows...I did say it 'depends'.

[Jeremy Poling]

So after several hours of banging and cutting the line is 9 inches from the top of pipe at point A to the top of my concrete slab. Now on to more work!!

[hj]

If you are going to assume it is on a hill, then I am going to assume it is in a valley. With only 9" to work from, you have your "design work" cut out for you, and it may take a professional to make it work, and some professionals might not be able to do it either.