Kent's basement bath redo

[kdev]

I've been lurking here for a couple of months now, and I'm finally ready to throw my hat in the ring. In my readings, I have been mighty impressed with your collective patience for do-it-yourselfers of all ilk. As such, I am prepared to provide all y'all with even more opportunities for you to take deep breaths and type slowly.

First off, I understand that some of you like pichers, so off we go.

This first pic is the entry way/escape hatch. Unfortunately, the door swings out of the bathroom currently. If the door were to swing into the bathroom, it would have interfered with the no-longer-existing corner shower unit. Now that I have blowed up the corner shower unit, it no longer needs to swing out. I might change it to swing in; I might not.

Note the tissues in the lower left corner of the photo. These are for when Mrs. Kent peeks in to see what has become of her previously fully functional basement bath.

[kdev]

Continuing the photo tour clockwise around the room, here we see the remnants of the old. neo-angle corner shower. This is where the new 2'x2' lav will be going. The supply lines and drain lines for the lav will be in the wall under the old shower head/shower valve. You can see the old shower drain sticking up out of the hole in the slab.

[kdev]

Continuing clockwise along the long wall of the bathroom will be the toilet and the wet wall of the shower. The toilet needs to be moved ~2' to make room for the new shower. The 2 pieces of blue tape show where the shower ends. The single piece of tape shows where the shower head will be centered.

[kdev]

This shows the far wall of the bathroom where the new shower is going. It'll be ~32"x~60".

[kdev]

Turning slight more clockwise we have the old lav location. Unfortunately, the award winning plumbing for the old lav had to be discarded.

[kdev]

Are you dizzy yet? I hope not, cause here comes the overhead shot of the piece de resistance of what I have to deal with before I can start putting the bathroom back together.

This shows the current under slab contents. The main sewer line of the house is entering the bathroom from the top of the photo. It takes a 90* turn to the left and it exits the foundation wall on the left side of the photo. Between the 90* turn and the foundation wall exit, it has been spliced into with the old lav drain + the old shower drain, and then with the toilet drain. The old lav drain has been mostly removed in this photo...just the black 2" ABS stub left over is seen here. The white perf drain tile is part of the radon mitigation system of the house I think.

[kdev]

First Question:

1. I need to break up more of the slab. So far, I have used a 10# sledge, which has worked well because I was busting up the patch job from when the previous home owner built this bathroom. Now I need to break up some of the original slab, and it is considerably more difficult than breaking up the patch job. I was going to buy an electric 1" SDS hammer drill to make the job easier. Is this the right power tool to use?

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-...mer-97743.html

[craigrrr]

That is the exact sds rotary hammer drill I have used and I bought a couple of chisles from HFT along with that

it does come with a pointed bit but you can also buy longer and larger for that drill

I have not had any problems with mine and it has done some demo, I was unsure of it handling old concrete but it broke it up like butter.
plus you have 30 days no question asked warranty if any thing happens to it.

good luck I am still in the process myself

[Houston Remodeler]

Chipping hammers are great little tools. They are way fun to use too. Really get the testosterone flowing. Soon you'll be eyeing the driveway and sidewalk for another excuse to use it. Resist the temptation.

This Hilti was one of the best purchases I ever made.

[kdev]

Thanks! I'll post next why I think I need to break up more of the slab, but I need to draw up some better DWV diagrams first.

[kdev]

Here is a DWV isometric drawing of the existing main waste line (red) and the new vent and waste lines I plan to install (everything in black).

A couple of notes:

A. My plan is to meet code by installing a Mainline Fullpoint Backwater Valve to prevent backflow for the shower, toilet and lavatory. The backwater valve is shown on the other side of the long shower wall. This puts the valve in the furnace room where it will be accessible for future maintenance.

B. The 3 fixtures are being wet vented (I think) by the lav vent + drain.

C. The top of the existing waste line is 19" down from the top of the slab. All of the drain slopes will be the standard 1/4"/foot except for a steeper slope on the section between the output of the backwater valve and the tie in to the existing main line.

D. I understand the plumbers out there might be less than thrilled with the idea of all those turns between fixtures (especially the lav) and the tie in with the existing line.

Any comments are certainly appreciated. I've never glued up a piece of ABS or PVC in my life, but I am considering staying at a Holiday Inn Express sometime in the near future.

(jgleason edit: Pic of the drawing you'll find in the pdf file)

[cx]

Kent, I think you best run that plan by your local code compliance office before you proceed.

I really don't think you can get by anywhere close to legally with the vent system you show there. And I'm not at all sure it'll even function adequately. I'm thinking for the WC for sure you're well beyond any legal wet-vent requirement.

But I'm not a plumber and have not stayed at a Holiday Inn Express for a very long time.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[hosh]

I don't have an answer for you but I would think you need a vent closer to the fixtures. Perhaps carrying the vent straight up from the 90 behind the wall leading to the backwater valve? Then running a vent across the wall to the lav and maybe even running another vent line down to the WC. I'm just tossing thoughts around and am not sure though. Always best to run it by a licensed plumber.

You may just be pointed to ask a licensed plumber but the good folks at the ridgid.com forum are helpful with plumbing questions.

Good luck!

[dhagin]

What CX said. I see simpler ways...

IF you were to increase the wet vent diameter considerably, it would work fine. How big?

I also don't see any clean outs, and you'll need a few with all those bends.

Talk to your local code folks first, then a qualified plumber if needed. I'd pick the backflow installers brain too.

[gooner59]

Ken,t i'am surprised your breaker did the job as it look wimpy in the pic, but great stuff it did
PAUL has the same breaker as me , i love Hilti tool's ,great quality and power
i have there Laser level, and Laser tape measure , only problem is it is very attractive kit for thieves