Is this idea workable

[Grandma Lewis]

Hello everyone,

I want to convert a three car garage into living quarters. I can't afford professionals and will have to do much of the work myself. I live in the country so no inspections or codes to worry about. My plan is to have all the plumbing on one 30 foot wall. Black water will go into a septic but I want to keep the grey water out of the septic. My plan is to run one drainage pipe along the back wall and use a series of 45's from the exterior wall into the drain pipe. The drain pipe will have a slight slope because the garage sits on a hill. From the edge of house I can build a series of drainage systems to water trees and vegetation. I realize this is pretty vague but I'm just beginng to plan this out. There will be a shower drain at the highest point then a bathroom sink, a washer drain and a kitchen sink at the lowest point. The total drop over the 30 feet is about 12 inches. Do you see any issues with this idea?

Thanks,

Beverly

 

[Bluebinky]

Not a pro, but...

At 1/4 inch per foot, 12 inches or rise gives you 48 feet of run. Of course not being there makes it impossible to say for sure. Are you measuring from bellow the slab, or above?

You may not have to worry about inspections or even permits. That's fine. However it is really really important to follow the codes at the state (county?) level for several reasons including keeping you and your family safe, protection from lawsuits, trouble free operation, resale value, etc. What about the electrical and heating/cooling? Those can get you into trouble real quick. Hopefully, you'll at least hire a pro for those.

The greywater idea is probably doable. Google "texas greywater code" for more info on that. One idea is to arrange things so that it would be easy (or at least possible) to divert the greywater into the septic in the future in cast you want/need to.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Grandma Lewis]

Not a pro, but...



I will be using a licensed electrician HVAC and a plumber to make the final connections but I can run the pipes, wires etc and at least save that labor. I just can't afford an engineer or architect to design it. So no worries about frying myself. I have cheap labor for framing and won't be running duct work.

I can't run the gray water to the septic because the septic is up hill from the back wall of the "cottage" and I know the septic wasn't installed properly when it was put in for my mom's double wide in 2000.

I got the measurement of 12 inches by looking at the visible slab and the difference from one end of the garage to the other. the north end of the garage has about 15 inches of visible slab and the South end has about 3 inches of visible slab.
At 1/4 inch per foot, 12 inches or rise gives you 48 feet of run. Of course not being there makes it impossible to say for sure. Are you measuring from bellow the slab, or above?

You may not have to worry about inspections or even permits. That's fine. However it is really really important to follow the codes at the state (county?) level for several reasons including keeping you and your family safe, protection from lawsuits, trouble free operation, resale value, etc. What about the electrical and heating/cooling? Those can get you into trouble real quick. Hopefully, you'll at least hire a pro for those.

The greywater idea is probably doable. Google "texas greywater code" for more info on that. One idea is to arrange things so that it would be easy (or at least possible) to divert the greywater into the septic in the future in cast you want/need to.

 

[Jadnashua]

Grey water can still carry pathogens, so be careful where and how you use it. You'll want to use traps and vents on all of the drains.

MOst garage floors are sloped towards the doorway, and that can be an issue as you try to build walls. If you'll never use it for a garage again, you can flatten it. It probably was not built with either a moisture barrier or insulation underneath it, so if you can afford a loss of height, you may want to put a subfloor down with insulation underneath. Exactly how you do that must be done carefully so you don't end up with excessive moisture and rot.

Even if your local area does not have an inspector and permits are not required, the state's code still applies. Now, you may never get caught up in anything unless there is an accident or a health problem...then, if things weren't done properly, you've opened yourself up to all sorts of liability.