My house was built last summer with drains prepped in the basement for a bathroom; a toilet and sink drain were placed and the concrete was cut where a shower would be placed. What will I need to do to connect to a vent for the sink? How difficult is it to install the trap for the shower? Finally, if I connect a second sink for the bar to the drain for the bathroom sink, how should I connect the vent?
Some pipe and fittings, dope, and a good saw. Not very. With fittings. Plumbing is a code restricted process in most states, and for good reason. You should hire a licensed plumber. But if you insist on DIY there are many good books that describe basic plumbing principles and procedures. I see them in the big box stores. Your questions suggest that you do not have even a basic concept of plumbing principles. A recipe for disappointment. Get some basic knowledge and you will have all of your answers, including the ones you haven't asked yet!
Are you saying that someone went to the trouble of roughing in bathroom drains, but did not rough in the vents nor the trap for the shower?!?
When we built our home over two years ago, a basement bathroom was roughed in and all three (shower, sink, toilet) have their own vent. The trap for the shower is part of that rough-in.
It depends on how far that sink is from the connection to the vented drain. Basically, the drain pipe from a sink must slope down about a quarter of an inch per foot of run. The drain must be vented at a location that puts the vent connection no lower than half the diameter of the pipe lower than the height of the trap. That means, if it is 1.5" pipe, the vent connection must be no lower than 0.75" and with a 0.25" per foot slope, this is three feet.
If the connection is farther than this, you will have to run a vent that remains higher than the flood level of the bar sink until it drops to connect with the drain.
STEP #1: Talk to the town bldg dep't or whoever inspected the construction. See if there were plans for the basement rough-in. And ask what will be required of you to be in compliance.
Jim
For venting the sinks: after the trap on each sink, the drain pipe will run back horizontally, usually into the wall behind the sink. At that point it will turn down to connect to the waste system. Place a sanitary tee at the point it heads down. The down leg goes to the waste, the up leg is the vent. It must run vertically until it is 6" above the top of the sink. 42" above the floor is usually specified. Then it can turn horizontal to connect to the existing vent stack.
Here is a great forum for plumbing advice, read through the old posts, there are lots of questions answered and photos posted:
Dennis
If you want to drain the bar sink into the bathroom drain, if can only be a few feet away or you might have to vent it too.
They do make a venting piece that doesnt require you to vent it outside. (I forgot the name of the unit, but its real popular to use when installing a sink into an island in a kitchen.)
Only catch about that piece is that you need to have access to it because the rubber flapper needs to be changed every few years for proper use.
One word of caution. If you get the permit, by procedure or law, all permit info is passed to the Tax Assessor. Any improvements will be duly noted by the taxing authority and your taxes will probably go up as a direct result. I made the mistake of getting a building permit for some temporary roof repairs and I have been paying higher taxes as a result of that permit.
The flip side: Buyers get more savvy every day. One of my neighbors has been upgrading his house without permits for years. Retired, went to sell, and some dick-head went to the Town Hall and discovered that the plans on record did not match the house for sale. Our town has a by-law that requires work without a permit to be inspected at double the cost and then incur charges for back assessments. Informed the broker, who must disclose what she knows, and was able to beat him down on the price. It was basically extortion. Be very careful.
I responded to the wrong thread. Was supposed to be for the electrical permit thread below this one. Damned keyboard!
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