Your bathroom could have galvanized, cast iron or plastic drain lines and vents. If you have plastic, you’re lucky, because they’re easier to cut and join than metal pipes. Cast iron lines need to be “snapped” (cut) with a soil pipe cutter, which rents for $12 to $25 a day. Old threaded galvanized pipes that object to being unscrewed can be cut out with a reciprocating saw or hacksaw. If you have metal pipes, it’s best to replace them with plastic ones where they tie into the main stack. A knowledgeable plumbing clerk at the home center can help you select the correct adapters for the conversion.
Rerouting drain line plumbing is a huge job on bathrooms that are built on slabs. If your bathroom is built on concrete with the main stack directly behind the toilet as ours was, stick with a conventional, floor-mounted toilet so you won’t have to chop out the floor and rework the plumbing under the concrete.
Plumbing Rough-In
Follow Fig. B for the new drain/vent plan. The new shower drain is vented separately into the main stack (Photos 10, 12 and 13). Most bathrooms have the main stack positioned directly behind the toilet. The wall-mounted toilet shown here cannot be positioned directly behind the stack because there’s not room for the necessary elbows. If your stack is more than 12 in. to the side of the existing toilet, you can keep the same location for the wall-hung toilet. But if it’s directly behind it, you’ll need to swap the sink and toilet locations like we did.
Black plastic (ABS) drain lines were very common in the past, but now the most readily available drain line material is white plastic PVC pipe. Wherever ABS and PVC are joined, use rubber transition couplings instead of all-purpose cement (Photos 10 and 12).
For your bathroom to operate well, it’s critical to install vent and drain lines of the proper size and slope. Use a 2-in. line to drain the shower and 1-1/2 in. line to drain the sink. The vents for the sink and shower can be 1-1/2 in. pipes, but a toilet should be vented with at least 2-in. material. Make sure that the drain lines drop 1/4 in. for every foot of travel toward the main stack.
Copper or CPVC (plastic) lines that supply the bathroom with hot and cold water can be 1/2 in. diameter in most regions. House main lines will often be 3/4 in. Make the conversion before the new shutoff valves (Photo 7) with a reducer tee. The wall-hung toilet’s supply line must have a male adapter with a temporary galvanized cap. Check the instructions on the toilet to get the proper location. Routing water supply lines is different in every bathroom, so you’ll have to adapt runs to your situation. But run the plastic drain lines and vents before starting any supply work. It’s much easier to route water supply lines around drain lines than to route drains and vents around supply lines. The same thinking applies to electrical work: Wait until the water supply work is finished before wiring.
Preassemble the shower valve by soldering copper nipples and the shower supply pipe to male adapters and screwing them into the shower valve before fastening the valve to the blocking. That way you won’t damage the valve with heat from the soldering torch. Mount the valve 36 in. above the floor. You can mount the showerhead at any height, but plumbers typically mount them 6 ft. 6 in. above the floor.
Solder a female elbow onto the showerhead supply pipe. After mounting the showerhead pipe, screw a 6-in. x 1/2-in. steel nipple into the elbow. Wrap Teflon tape around the threads of all screwed-in connections to prevent leaks, which would go unnoticed inside the wall.
New Plumbing Routes
FIG. B PLUMBING DETAILS
Click image to enlarge.
SPECIAL NOTE: PLUMBING CODES IN MANY AREAS REQUIRE THE TOILET TO HAVE A SEPARATE 2-IN. VENT. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR PLANS WITH YOUR LOCAL PLUMBING INSPECTOR.
Next page : Prevent Fixture Hassles With Careful Planning
source : The Family Handyman Magazin
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- Glass Block Window Installation
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- Wall Framing
- Prevent Fixture Hassles With Careful Planning
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