Ensuite W/C options.

[Kevin]

As I am approching the completion of the extension I have been working on for far too long, I have started to think a little more about using some of the extra space which I now have in one of the bedrooms. It had long been in the back of my mind that we might put an en-suite shower/wc in. My original thought was that I would run the soil pipe parellel to the first floor joists between ceiling and floor, out through the wall and then across the back of the house to connect to the existing stack.

Last night I had one of those moments when you suddenly realise that it wont work the way you have been thinking about from the start. The reason is that at the point where it should pass through the wall, there is a great big lintel carrying the wall where the opening into the new conservatory is. I seriously doubt that there is sufficent space between the floor & ceiling to permit the soil pipe to pass over the lintel and still achieve any kind of fall across the length of the pipe. I can't really drop the pipe beneath the lintel as it would then be visible from beneath and boxing it in would look quite ugly. Running it above the floor wont really work either without adversly affecting the proposed layout of the room. I am beginning to wonder whether we will have to do without the ensuite W/C.

At the moment the only thing I think that might work is if I can get a smaller bore soil pipe which will pass over the top of the lintel. My builders merchant does a 3" soil pipe but I'm not sure whether this is permitted for a W/C, whether you can get all the required fittings if it were (e.g. pan connectors) or even if this is small enough. The only other way I think would be to use a macerator toilet but I have no experience of these and I don't even know what size waste pipe it would need. Any opinions on these will be greatly appreciated, as will any other ideas you may have.

Thanks.

Kevin.

[mike]

We did something similar a couple of years ago.

Building regs said (but dont rely on my memory) then that 3" was okay for a single WC of a particular type (Siphonic??). I'm not sure if you could run the shower waste through this as well!

We did put a 4" pipe through a joist but reinforced it with steel plates. You may be able to do something similar.

Mike

[kmillar]

Have you thought about using a macerator instead? Then you'd only need a 32mm or 40mm pipe.

[The Natural Philosopher]

And a lifetime supply of paper bags to put over yor head everytime you announce yet another blockage in it on uk.d-i-y

[Mike]

What is it with this group and Saniflo ? There are tens of thousands of these around all working fine. Occasionally one goes wrong because of misuse but even this can be avoided using the Sanibest.

[kdband]

thousands of

Just got tape measure out and I think that there is around a 4 inch gap between the top of the lintel and the bottom of the floorboards. Even if I could use a 3inch soil pipe I can only manage around a 1 in 160 fall. I think this means a macerator is my only option unless I do without entirely. Had a look on the saniflo web-site and cannot find anything called "Sanibest" I was thinking of the "Sanislim" as this will allow me to send the shower and basin waste out through the same pipe. Any opinions on this ? Anything anyone else can tell me about them, e.g. are they easy to install ? Are they noisy ? Do you need to use particular waste pipe and fittings ?

[John Rumm]

Like:

[Rob Morley]

Why not build a raised floor and hide all the plumbing under it?

[kdband]

Hmmm. Obvious as it is that option hadn't occurred to me. Not sure how practical that might be. The room affected is actually a childs bedroom, the en-suite is actually for the adjoining bedroom. We were planning on putting one of those tall sleeper beds in there and I'm not sure whether the effective reduced height of the ceiling may scupper that idea. Has no-one else anything good to say about macerators ? What is so bad about them ?

[Mary Fisher]

If they're properly fitted they're fine. My neighbour with enough problems for the whole street had one fitted (professionally) for her disabled husband and when he moved to a home Spouse was asked to remove the plumbing. Piping from the macerator had been leaking between floors and it was not a pleasant task.

Mary

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

The toilet bowl is capable of accepting larger and more tight things than te macerator is capable of reducing.

In short, they jam and clog and break.

So far anecdotal experience lists

vampire teabags tooth brushes disposable razors too much bog roll of the wrong sort

as all being capable of putting them out of action and causing expesnive repairs to be necessary

If its just a basin and bog, put the bog on a pedestal and trunk in teh soil pipe against a wall - handy shelf for coffe cups etc.

If shower and bath - you have a problem. Baths can be raised and, to an extent, so can showers, but not so much.

Do NOT on ANY acount run a bog and a shower or bath through the same macerator, unless you enjoy having turds swilling around your feet.

If at all posible do as I suggest - raise the bog bath and shower,and run separte pipes. You may alos need an air admittance valve on teh bog soild pipe. The esimplest way to do all this is to punch a hole through the outer wall as low as youi can gop and adacent to an internal wall that can handle the bog bath and shower along it, and build a box ot false wall for the drains. You may find the bath can sit partially over it as well and use less space that way.

If the room itself is not adjacent to an outside wall, you have no option really but to run the pipework through another room and box in there. You will want to do that anyway to somewhat deaden the sound of turds rushing to meet their Maker. Or Whatever.

[kdband]

Hmmm. I'm beginning to see the point. This W/C will be ensuite to the master bedroom so will only be used by myself and my wife. I know I can resist the temptation to put anything other than pre-digested material or toilet paper down it but I'm not sure about her. As for running a shower and basin through the macerator, that is not an essential requirement it just seemed to make sense rather than doubling up the pipework. Your eloquent description of the drawbacks of this have put me off this idea. Incidentally there are no plans (or space for that matter) to put in a bath. Without going into detail, the boxing in of pipes against the wall had occured to me but are a non-starter in this case. I think my only options are macerator, raise the floor or do without.

Thanks to all for advise so far.