#150821 - 25/03/2003 20:41
Home repair advice..
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journeyman
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 94
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I've been thinking about building a bathroom in the basement of my house. Now I now there's enough room down there, but my question is: How would I go about draining the shower, sink, and toilet? Now the floor is made of concrete, so there's no option to go beneath. I'm just working on the preliminaries right now, and was just wondering if anyone else has done this before.
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#150822 - 25/03/2003 20:48
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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The drain is the hardest part of putting a bathroom into a basement. Depending on when your house was built, you might have an extra drain somewhere that was pre-placed for exactly this purpose, but if you don't, you'll have to find some way to connect to your existing drain. This may involve breaking up some of the concrete to gain access to it at a lower point than is available.
Plumbing sucks. 
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#150823 - 25/03/2003 21:04
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: cushman]
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journeyman
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 94
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The drain is the hardest part of putting a bathroom into a basement. Depending on when your house was built, you might have an extra drain somewhere that was pre-placed for exactly this purpose, but if you don't, you'll have to find some way to connect to your existing drain. This may involve breaking up some of the concrete to gain access to it at a lower point than is available.
This was what I was afraid of. Am I correct in assuming that I'd have to somehow have the drainage lower than the draining point of the toilet and the shower? Cause if so then that's going to be a problem. I know where the drainage pipe is, but it's higher than the floor in the basement.
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#150824 - 25/03/2003 21:08
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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You'll have to break up the concrete to install a drain. I'm pretty sure that there's no way around that.
You should also find out where your current drains go to. It's possible that they're above the level that your basement floor's at. If so, you'll have to install an enclosed sump and a sewage ejection pump. Sounds lovely, huh?
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Bitt Faulk
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#150825 - 25/03/2003 21:10
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I got behind in my response.
You might want to get a real plumber to handle this. You wouldn't want to make a small mistake and have raw sewage float over your basement floors.
However, Zoeller makes sewage pumps.
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Bitt Faulk
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#150826 - 25/03/2003 21:12
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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You wouldn't want to make a small mistake and have raw sewage float over your basement floors. Yeah, that would stink.
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#150828 - 25/03/2003 21:40
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/06/2000
Posts: 1682
Loc: Greenhills, Ohio
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I've having this done within the next month by a professional. I'm having a half bath put in my lower level (I have a bi-level) which does have concrete floors but luckily I have a crawl space underneath where they can get to the main stack easily enough. They are drilling a hole in the floor for the toilet and the sink I picked out doesn't have an overflow so should be easier to install. I was quoted $500 to $600 just for the piping which I thought was reasonable.
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Laura
MKI #017/90
whatever
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#150829 - 25/03/2003 22:28
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: tonyc]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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<groan>
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Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
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#150830 - 26/03/2003 02:34
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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enthusiast
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 230
Loc: Dudley, UK
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Don't you have access to this type of "poo mincing" technology - http://www.saniflo.com
Just plug all your waste outlets (toilet / shower / washbasin) into it and route the small bore pipe to your main sewer.
Cheers, Sim
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#150831 - 26/03/2003 03:03
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: simspos]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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This sort of system has been around for many years. It may not be this company and it may well have been improved, for that matter, it may have been a bad installation, but we had this installed in our cricket pavilion. We had to make a pact only to use it in emergencies - I noticed that most people changed from showering after the match, to waiting 'till thay got home after the pub!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#150832 - 26/03/2003 05:41
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: cushman]
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old hand
Registered: 20/07/1999
Posts: 1102
Loc: UK
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Plumbing sucks.
In a basement, if you get it wrong, plumbing blows, which is a much worse problem 
pca
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Experience is what you get just after it would have helped...
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#150834 - 26/03/2003 07:44
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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You can do it yourself. It's not really terribly difficult. It's just that you need to be remarkably careful.
For what it's worth, they did this exact thing (except I think just a toilet was involved -- maybe a sink, too) on ``Ask This Old House'' not too long ago at all. It was Program 119, if you can figure out how to get a copy of it.
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Bitt Faulk
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#150835 - 26/03/2003 08:19
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: wfaulk]
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journeyman
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 94
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For what it's worth, they did this exact thing (except I think just a toilet was involved -- maybe a sink, too) on ``Ask This Old House'' not too long ago at all. It was Program 119, if you can figure out how to get a copy of it.
Any idea how I can get a copy of this? I wonder if someone has it on their Replay..
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#150836 - 26/03/2003 09:03
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I don't have it. Project tapes of Ask This Old House are not yet available. We hope to have the videos soon, so please send your name, full address, and e-mail address to TOH_Videos@timeinc.com and we'll notify you when the videos become available.
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Bitt Faulk
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#150837 - 26/03/2003 09:25
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
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Put the drains under the concrete. YES, this sounds drastic and terribly difficult to do, but it is not.. A $35 rental of an electric power chisel for a few hours, with a fan in the window (blowing OUT, not in), and there it is.
Lots of how-to books describe the whole process, as do several episodes of "Home Time" (videos available).
Cheers
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#150838 - 26/03/2003 18:22
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: mlord]
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journeyman
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 94
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Put the drains under the concrete. YES, this sounds drastic and terribly difficult to do, but it is not.. A $35 rental of an electric power chisel for a few hours, with a fan in the window (blowing OUT, not in), and there it is.
Lots of how-to books describe the whole process, as do several episodes of "Home Time" (videos available).
Ok, but the sewage pipe would be higher than the drains, so a sewage pump is still needed, right?
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#150839 - 26/03/2003 18:45
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Yes. If you can't find a copy of that AskTOH episode, I feel I need to point out that they ran normal PVC pipe to a sealed tub-like thing a little bigger than a WetVac. I assume that they are sold expressly for this purpose. The sewage pump was set in the bottom of it with the electrical cord running through a seal in the lid. The pump cuts on when the sump fills to a certain point. I forget exactly how the piping was run from the sump to the drain.
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Bitt Faulk
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#150840 - 26/03/2003 18:54
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Ah! Check it out: A whole sewage pump kit, and it has an install document in PDF right there on the web site. (Or Word Doc. It's the same thing, right?  )
Edited by wfaulk (26/03/2003 19:01)
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Bitt Faulk
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#150841 - 26/03/2003 19:03
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: wfaulk]
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journeyman
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 94
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Ah! Check it out: A whole sewage pump kit, and it has an install document in PDF right there on the web site. (Or Word Doc. It's the same thing, right? )
Sweet, you sir are a personal hero of mine..
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#150842 - 26/03/2003 19:18
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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And the coolest part is that you get to rent a jackhammer and plow through all that concrete! Neat!
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Bitt Faulk
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#150843 - 26/03/2003 20:20
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: Banacek]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
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>Ok, but the sewage pipe would be higher than the drains, so a sewage pump is still needed, right?
Probably not. Unless you live in a REALLY strange place, or perhaps have a septic tank system rather than "town sewer connection", then the septic pipe is probably below floor level somewhere in your basement. So the idea would be to slope a drain pipe (under the floor) from the new bathroom to connect to that. 1/4" per foot slope; no more, no less.
But definitely get a plumber. At least to look at it and tell you what to do, and where to do it (videotape is your Friend). Or if cheap enough, to do it all for you.
Cheers
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#150844 - 26/03/2003 20:23
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Good point. Unless you can actually see where it's exiting the house, don't assume that it's above floor level.
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Bitt Faulk
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#150845 - 26/03/2003 20:33
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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rent a jackhammer and plow through all that concrete!
Depending on the house, that may not be the best way to do it. Speaking from experience, here...
When I was involved in a similar project, we, uh... discovered... the main sewer pipe going under the concrete. It was a ceramic pipe. We had to replace a pretty good chunk of it after we shattered it with the hammer. In the end, we built a 4" platform for the toilet to sit on.
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#150846 - 27/03/2003 03:15
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: canuckInOR]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 21/07/1999
Posts: 1765
Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australi...
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rent a jackhammer and plow through all that concrete!
If you really want to be sure of the cut in the concrete, get a concrete saw and cut a channel for your pipes. Makes getting the concrete out much neater. The LAST thing you want is to bang around with a jack hammer.
I can't believe we're talking about poo pumpers. not that there's anything wrong with that.
_________________________
--
Murray
I What part of 'no' don't you understand?
Is it the 'N', or the 'Zero'?
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#150847 - 27/03/2003 04:34
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: muzza]
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enthusiast
Registered: 28/03/2002
Posts: 230
Loc: Dudley, UK
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I can't believe we're talking about poo pumpers
...but don't all conversations eventually converge to poo?
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#150848 - 27/03/2003 04:50
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: simspos]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 21/07/1999
Posts: 1765
Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australi...
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I think there's a high liklihood on this bbs
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--
Murray
I What part of 'no' don't you understand?
Is it the 'N', or the 'Zero'?
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#150849 - 28/03/2003 03:42
Re: Home repair advice..
[Re: simspos]
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member
Registered: 22/12/2001
Posts: 189
Loc: UK
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The saniflo units are quite good, my parent's house has had one fitted for about 12 years now. Maintenance is a bitch tho, luckily my father doesnt have a sense of smell 
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