Any Plumbers on the site who can answer this?

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demon34071

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i am planning the plumbing for a new 2nd floor bathroom into an existing 4" drain in the basement. Due to space limitations in the walls / closets in the house I am planning to run the drain accordingly.

From the basement the 4" drain pipe will run vertically through the 1st floor closet above the existing drain line. It will make a 90 degree turn (using 2 45's) at the top of the 1st floor closet to turn the 4" drain 90 degrees into the 2nd floor joist space. It will then run roughly 10-12 ft in the joist space terminating at the toilet. The toilet will be at the very end of the 4" run with a shower taping into the same 4" line 5ft before the toilet. I am planning on putting a 4" end line between the shower and the toilet to vent both the toilet and shower on the same 4" vent.

Can this be done or do I need a secondary 4" vent to the roof line where the drain makes the 90 degree turn into the 2nd floor joist space? I can't see why I would, but then again I'm not a plumber either.
 
I think you will need some kind of a trap under the shower or you'll have waste odor venting up into the shower,other than that it looks like it should work. (but I'm no plumber either,just did a lot on my own house)
 
My*65*Dart said:
I think you will need some kind of a trap under the shower or you'll have waste odor venting up into the shower,other than that it looks like it should work. (but I'm no plumber either,just did a lot on my own house)
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That is the plan for the shower, but was way too tough for me to draw.

I'm not worried about the little details as much as I am about the question I posted since it will determine if I need to find a new route in the house somewhere.
 
A 4 inch vent will work fine for this. Just keep fall at an eigth inch per foot. You dont want the water running away without the waste. That will cause clogs. If the rest of the house is on a seperate vent you could reduce the upstairs vent to two inch and the drain line could be a 3 inch line from where you branch off downstairs. 4 inch for one bowl and shower is extreme overkill. 3 inch will handle 3 bowls fine. One bowl and shower i,d run 3 inch in my own house.
 
daredevil said:
A 4 inch vent will work fine for this. Just keep fall at an eigth inch per foot. You dont want the water running away without the waste. That will cause clogs. If the rest of the house is on a seperate vent you could reduce the upstairs vent to two inch and the drain line could be a 3 inch line from where you branch off downstairs. 4 inch for one bowl and shower is extreme overkill. 3 inch will handle 3 bowls fine. One bowl and shower i,d run 3 inch in my own house.
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The only reason I am putting this in at 4" is because I I thought that was what was needed for a toilet. 3" line would definitely be easier for me to get everything where I need it to be.

Can I put the following all on a 3" line:
(2) Toilets
(2) Showers
(2) Sinks
(Just in case I build my dream garage with 3 bedrooms and a bath above it, I can still tie in to this same drain)

Thanks for the info!!
 
3" is fine for a toilet. Indeed, too big a pipe can cause clogs because the waste isn't flushed thru as well and builds up on the sides. If you can put the shower and sinks upstream of the toilet, that would help avoid clogs. Not sure about 2 toilets on one 3" line. It should be fine even if both were flushed at the same time, but you must go by code.

Some inspectors are picky about the exact fittings you use for the turns. In Atlanta, on a 90 deg vertical drop, they claimed you must use a "combination Y", which is more like two 45 deg turns in one piece. That was after I had already plumbed my sister's house with regular 90 deg's and there was nothing like that in the code. They also claimed you must run a 3/4" hot water line to the kitchen sink, which wastes energy and water. I am sure they were just hassling us, because I asked for the supervisor and he said everything the exact opposite of the first guy, but both agreed the plumbing was wrong until one of their buddies did it. I had no such problems w/ the city inspector on my own house. And just to show they weren't the only jerks, the city electrical inspectors refused to sign-off on people wiring their own house, even though state law allowed that. I had to hire an electrician, though I did the work myself per NEC code. I'm an engineer and don't appreciate being f'ed by monkeys.

In most localities, you will need to stub off all fixtures with knockouts and have a rubber plug to seal the bottom drain (install a cleanout for that), so you can fill all the pipes w/ water and have it pouring out the roof vent when the inspector comes. Good he didn't look in my crawlspace since I saw a few drips thru the PVC joints, but no leaks in usage.
 
Yup, in NJ inspectors want to see the drains filled all the way to the vent on roof, and see that the level doesn't creep over 15-30 minutes.
 
2009 international residential code allows up to 5 baths on a 3 inch line. I run 4 bath groups on a 3 inch line daily
 
Daredevil -- Thanks for the info.. no I am not required to get it inspected.

Due to street flooding caused by a major township drainage issue that they refuse to fix since it is a multiple township issue they have provided me and 12 of my neighbors on our street (we're the last street in the township on the border of the next township) wavers for 3 years to do upgrades with out needing permits provided the upgrades do not change the envelope of the structure. The upgrades are to revolve around abandoning our basements and either adding second floors or renovating our attic spaces. I am renovating an attic space (which in my case was almost a full 2nd floor)

So since I don't need it inspected I can do 100% myself. Carpentry work and electrical I have been doing for years. Plumbing wise i have only done basic stuff like tying into and existing drain, never relocated one till now. So I just wanted to double check my plan before I started.

Thanks for the info, it was much appreciated!
 
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