I have a condo which was built in the 80's and the floor truss joists are sagging and need to be reinforced. The worst area is in my kitchen, which falls directly below two bathrooms in the unit above. In the kitchen however, there is a major duct running through the joists perpendicular so there really is no alternative except to add 5"x5" Tube Steel members parallel to the joists along the underside of the deck. Unfortunately with two bathrooms directly above they've added both wood flooring AND ceramic tile over the years so now the worst failing area is right in the middle of my kitchen and one particular joist is literally about to snap and fail. There is a shower drain on one side of the worst joist, (they notched the top flange of the truss on the right side about 1"), AND on the opposite side there's a toilet stack where they notched the OTHER side of the top flange about an inch and a half. Needless to say I have to find a way to really support that truss and it's not as simple as reinforcing this joist. We need to add something alongside and find a way to fit it in around the plumbing. The shower drain comes down into a p-trap and currently crosses back through open web of the the joist and ties into the other toilet stack. If it weren't for this single shower drain we have a perfect slot to slide in a tube steel support right under the demising wall for the bathroom. I am hoping to re-route this shower drain and basically turn it 90 degrees and tie it into the 3" main which runs perpendicular over the right end of the side wall of the kitchen where the end of the new steel beam will end. (Think of it as a horizontal backwards "C" shape in plan view routing around the end of the beam). Please let me know if what I'm proposing looks correct, and also where it would be best to tie in the vent. (Or do I even need the vent given how short the trap arm will be?)
Need to relocate shower drain for new steel beam - Wet or Dry Vent Requirements?
- Thread starter Brgbldr
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John Gayewski
In the Trades
The problem is your vent. It needs be and stay vertical until it is 42" above the floor.
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John Gayewski
In the Trades
If you want to keep your new tie in location you can roll it up to make room for the trap, but you'll need to have the drain line vented vertically. Is there a wall above that you could slide a new vent inside of?
Venting of the shower can be within five feet of the trap.
After the vent, the line can 45 downward to other lines.
After the vent, the line can 45 downward to other lines.
Since the unit above is another person's condo there's no way for me to go into that unit and start putting vents into their walls as John asked. The distance from the shower (actually it's a bathtub) drain over to the main line I want to tie into is only 22" so technically I could probably get away without a vent, but since I need to hold the p-trap higher I'd have too steep of a drop and would therefore have a siphon if I installed it without a vent and dropped down into the upper half of the pipe. With that said, technically I'll be in violation it sounds like with the horizontal vent I'm thinking of, but it seems to be very low risk and about the only solution I can come up with. With that said, is it better for me to put the vent right before I turn down into the main line (somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees vertical), or to run the vent over and have it located right after the p-trap? Would it be better if I ran an oversized 3" pipe over to closer to the p-trap?
Unfortunately, I can't go into the unit above and route a higher vent through their walls.
John Gayewski
In the Trades
There is the option of a combination drain and vent system. Your not set up for it though. For a combination drain and vent system the trap and drain pipe would be oversized. The problem is your main isn't oversized so the clear path for air to get to the trap doesn't exist while another fixture is being used.
Running the vent over that long run horizontally, like you have in the schematic, is that it can collect gunk over the years and basically be useless.
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