plumbing code
 

I went and looked at a shower last week and this is what i found:

the shower is upstairs.
its a walk in shower roughly 5x9.
the toilet is inside the shower at the other end away from the water.

He later informed me (after i looked at it and left already) that he has already had water come through the ceiling into his living room down stairs. so i didnt look at the living room while i was there.

I have many questions about this - i have never actually seen a toilet inside a shower before. Just to get started I am having trouble finding the plumbing codes for that area on the internet. He lives on a lake in Nekoosa WI.

Does anyone know a website i can look it up on quik.
Thanks

I would Kerdi it, but what are your plans? Single mudbed, find out what the joist size is and if you can shorten them in the shower area to keep the mud lower. Kerdifix around the closet flange maybe?

im not sure yet. I have to give him my price tom. and go from there. he originally just wanted to tear up the shower pan tile but now i told him that if he has water leaking already that hes pretty much sol and there is no cheap way to fix it.

Rick - is this common... have you seen a few showers like these where the toilet is inside the shower?

You usually have to purchase copies of codes. I don't think you'll find them online. Best thing to do is call the authority for the area in question. :)

Rick-The question was about codes...

Your best bet is to contact the local inspector for Local requirerments. Sounds to me that the whole bath area is or needs to be waterproofed.I'm not sure how the code reads in WI. but I do know they had some rules that, I have never heard of anywhere else dealing with the pans and upturnes at corners.
If its leaking already and your tring to avoid a complete tear out ,you need to start adding water slowly until you figure out where or whats leaking. Check the drain and Jonny Ring area first!

Welcome, Gavin. :)

What Eric Said.

Unless that shower area is compliant with "accessible" requirements, it's gonna hafta pass a flood test indicating that it's waterproof for at least two inches above the drain, seems to me.

If your terlit drain is within that two vertical inches, that ain't gonna work.

But if all the dimensions and other requirements meet the ADA standards for a wet room kinda installation, you can likely get by with the toilet being where it is as far as your code compliance people are concerned. Still hafta make a waterproof shower pan, though and not have it leaking through the floor.

Also agree with JB that the very best approach is always to contact the local code compliance jurisdiction and talk with whomever is actually gonna hafta sign off on whatever you build in there.

If it's already out of compliance, you're still likely gonna own it if you start working on it even just to repair the leak.

My opinion; worth price charged.

Thanks. ill call them wed. Then give the owner the wonderfull news:D

Did the owner design this shower with his RV in mind?

Being on a rural lake, might there also be some other unusual plumbing requirements? Best to check with the local officials to find out EXACTLY what they require.
How do they keep the paper dry?
Shaughnn

well i guess he told me today, that when they built the house (which i forgot to ask how old it is again:bang:) that was what the plumbers and whoever else told him...would be the best location given the circumstances...which i dont know those either. phone conversation got cut off.

And today he told me that he had someone come in a while back to look at that leak(livingroom) and they fixed the drywall and he said they couldnt find where thte water was coming from lol but it hasnt done it again... I dont know i got a little confused and he really doesnt know how to explain things so well - which is fine and understandable but challenging to understand when you dont get much time to talk like today.

I feel like I am just opening a big can of worms and im pretty sure im just going to not do any work for him. im not skilled pros like all you here:tup1: hopefully soon tho:yipee:

It is code January and February. :D
Gavin what lake? Petenwell?

Obviously MMike don't really live there. It's code ever month 'cept parts late July and early August. :D

Sometimes it's code then too. :D

Is that part of the Wisconsin accent? :scratch:

Gavin there's no way that can pass an inspection if it's really "in" the shower. To count as an accessible shower, the toilet would have to be outside the the shower area & not within the primary slope.
Codes are a little different everywhere, but all of them require you to use fixtures according to the manufacturer's instructions. The toilet flange is one of those. Trying to jerry-rig a waterproof connection between the liner & that flange would be a clear violation, and probably the cause of the leak.
Also, even the softest codes require no penetrations in the liner inside the shower less than an inch above the dam, and if that toilet flange is not a clamping drain at the bottom of a slope, then it's a penetration.

To fix it, I would tell him you have to make the shower smaller in some way that puts the toilet outside the shower slope & keeps overspray from getting there (glass block or stub wall?), or move the toilet outside the existing shower. Either way needs a whole new mud bed of course. :)

Welcome back, Tom. :)