3 piece rough-in

hey guys,

I requested a 3 piece rough-in shower in my basement. I contacted my builder and they told me that it does not have provision for the tub, just the shower,toilet and faucet. Is it still possible to put a tub there? Also, can I connect a pipe from this rough-in to go to the wet bar I'm planning to build?

Thanks,

Neil

well to be very fank and up front with you there is not enough information to answer this question . You have not stated the dimensions of your bath room as to wether or not a tub would even fit .second if there is room for a tub how close is it to the shower . is the shower recessed or is it raised with a pan liner.third what stage of construction is it in ?framing /insulation/ drywall.if the house is still in framing and the criteria about the shower and tub meet it can be done by cutting into the foundation and tying into the shower supply and drain .this is a costly change do do once the foundation is poured.

Hi Neal, Yes you can put all those fixtures in your basement provided you have the space. They can drain into a sump with a special pump which will be connected with the main drain of the house by a 1-1/4" line. If the toilet is used the pump will need to have a stainless steel impeller and it must be piped in solid to the main drain. The sealed sump will also need a seperate 2" vent pipe through the roof. Check with a plumbing store for a set that requires raising the bath off the floor by using 2"x6" joists (use only treated wood in contact with the concrete). The 2"X6" space gives you a sump of sorts, without diging into the basement floor and it pumps out through a 3/4" line. Also check with the local plumbing inspector to find out what is legal and most workable. The state will require you to hire a Master Plumber to do the work or you can obtain a Home-owner's permit to do it yourself. Caution, look out for brown-eyed trout when doing this work!
Glenn

The standard rough opening for a tub is 60" wide x 30". Doesn't that have to be on the same level as the toilet to use the same sump? What about check valves? Should there be one between the tub and the toilet? AND,, Is your sump already under the concrete? I noticed that this is new construction, does he need a platform?

Tom in KY, I ain't no plumber, but I can build anything you can plumb.Heh-heh.

Im wondering why everyone is referring to a "sump"? Or, has he posted before and you already know his circumstances?

Most drains are located below the concrete of the basement, and can be tapped into, instead of going into a sump. Even a shallow drain, you should be able to bust into the concrete, and put in the plumbing and attach it into the drain line, with out too much trouble...

When you cut into the concrete of the basement for the drain line for the tub, you can also cut a trench for the wet bar. Though, you will have to pay extra for this, if the contractors do this, or you can wait and do this yourself, depending if you want to do anything else after the house is built. The Contractors can "always" add extra, but, its gonna cost you big time, as its not in the plans, and will have to be put in there, and anything extra you do, should have been thought out before you started the entire project... (But, as you go along, its SO easy to realize that you may need "this or that" in the long run, and its just a "little thing"...yea right! You want... You pay !)....


Is he going into a septic system? Is his basement that subterranian that he is below a drain line?

My wife is wanting a shower in the house, and wanting me to get rid of this old claw, cast iron tub...I told her NEVER! I will take it downstairs and plumb it in, before I get rid of my tub! There isnt anything like a good soak in a deep cast iron tub, insted of a shower, in my opinion, especially for those who have lower back pains... So, it may come down to that, moving the tub in the basement, after I move her washer and dryer up stairs, so my "skullery maid" doesnt have to go up and down the stairs all day, carrying a load of clothes...

Just my two cents worth...


Jesse

Typical basements are 5 to 7 ft below the surface of the ground. Drains will not flow up-hill. A sump is where the waste collects before being pumped out. If the situation is such that the home is built on a hill-side where the sewer connection is below the floor level of the basement, then there is no need for a sump or a pump. The replies included the sump because there is not enough information to accurately visualize what he has. Experience tells us that many basements have a sump and the sewer/septic connection is above the basement floor level, not always. Popping the lines under a basement floor is risky to say the least. What if you break a line that's on the up-hill side of a pump? Or, what if you break a line that drains an upstairs line and it starts bubbling into the basement? I'd never recommend that someone just start chipping into the floor and tap any drain line that he can find.

Be careful, find out what's going on under there before you mess with it.

I dont know, every home I ever saw in "this" City is gravity fed to a manhole, either in the street, alley, or even a yard or in the woods. I was figuring that maybe if your out in the booneys, you may have septic systems...

Course, most "sumps" are usually (in my neck of the woods), ground water that has infiltrated into the basement of homes and they put a collection system in, around the inside perimeter of the house foundation to collect the water that would be coming up inside the basement walls, or in the basement floor, and running it to a sump, then pumping it out to the outside, away from the foundation, to a low spot.

Now, I have heard of a place near me, (another town), where they did put sump pumps in houses because it was actually cheaper to run a sump, then to plumb every house to the manholes (new subdivision), so they sumped small pipes 2" instead of putting in 4" laterals to the manholes... Beats me how it could be cheaper, but, the City went and did it, for a number of houses...

I dont disclaim anyones theory, or what people do, because I am really amazed at times at what people will do, just to cut corners, and sometimes because they just dont know what they are doing in the first place...

But, I find this board interesting and informative...Keep up the good work!

Just my two cents worth

Jesse

It is called a sewage ejector pump
Square Eye I know you are not a plumber.
But the other guy needs to stop running off and get some facts straight.To many other posts have mis-information.
Just my Two cents worth.

My apologies if you think I am "running off at the mouth". I am familiar with a lot of terms and notions in Waste Water...

As I hold a Class III Ohio Waste Water Plant Operators license.

I, for a better term, am learning a lot, from this board, as to different parts of the Country and how thier process are carried out. Its just in my part, Ohio, we make sure that the houses are subject to different regulations, and compliances. That the laterals are above, where they dump into the manhole.

As I said, I am familiar with a town close to us that has a subdivision that has sump pumps, because of cost effectiveness, (But every time they have a power outage, they have to send a man to reset all the sump pumps, because they are wired to poles outside and the main breaker and trip are outside the homes also... I'm facinated that people do such things, intentionally.

I dont want to give "misinformation" out to anyone, just learn about difffernt parts of the Country and how they manage to do things for thier location. I have learned that they have "above ground" septic systems in some part of the Country, mounds for leach fields, which in my schooling, have never heard of, but, it was an adventure in learning.

Please do not take my approach as arrogant or misinforming people, I am here simply to learn and maybe pass on things that I know of...

My apology if you are offended by my intrusion...

Just my two cents..

Jesse

No need to apologize, I understand where you are just trying to help and learn.
The terms in different parts of the country are sometimes misleading. To call something a sump pump means to evacuate water, the non sewage type. A sewage ejector pump is only for waste and the two should never be interchangable.
I am not trying to beat anyone down or tell them they are long winded, However when we answer these questions lets try to get the most information we can so we give the best answer.There is no race to answer questions so sometimes it's best to research something a bit before answering.
Everything else was right on information wise, I just wanted to clear up the sump VS sewage ejector pump lingo.

InspectorD
Insert foot in mouth here....