Installing a shower base in the basement

"What is the best way of installing a self made shower base for the 4.0 inch drain? Because a trap is needed, how high must the base be built off the basement floor? I would like the shower base to be as close as possible to the floor but I perfer not to dig up the concrete floor."

Well Thad,
I hate to break this to you but there is no way that you're going to a 2" trap that installs on a 2" horizontal drain line to connect to a 4" vertical raiser. Your best bet, since the shower must be vented, is to break up the floor and connect the shower to the lavatory drain line so it will be wet vented. As for the 4" stub-up, I can think of no reson to bring a 4" pipe up to grade unless it's toy pick up a toilet. It's too big to pick up anything else and the fact t6hat it'sgot a vertical raiser prevents anything but a toilet to be installed on it. I would pick up a set if inside cutters, cut it below the floor line , cap it and cement over it. Good luck, Tom

"I hate to break this to you but there is no way that you're going to a 2" trap that installs on a 2" horizontal drain line to connect to a 4" vertical raiser. Your best bet, since the shower must be vented"

Thank you for your response but I do not understand want you wrote.

First, in the already installed sealed, sewage pump (which has a tank aready installed under the concrete floor) there is an existing pipe coming out of the unit that leads to the roof. What I am saying is that the whole system is aready vented. The whole sewage pump system already has three possible places to attach drains. One of these is in use now and the other two are capped. Are you saying that if I make one of the capped drains a shower drain, that I must somehow vent this separately?

Second, I don't think I made it clear as to the demensions of the capped pipe coming out of the concrete floor. The head of the pipe is 3.5 inches (not 4" like I said before) and as I look down the drain with a flashlight the actual pipe diameter is 2". This pipe sticks out of the floor 3.5" high. I know that this pipe runs down to the sewage pump's tank because when I run water down the pipe I can hear it splashing into the tank.

I do not know what you mean by a "4" vertical riser". As I said before the pipe diameter coming out of the concrete is 2". This pipe has a head on it that is 3.5" wide so that a 2" trap could be fit into it.

Thanks again Thad

Hi Thad,

"I do not know what you mean by a "4" vertical riser". As I said before the pipe diameter coming out of the concrete is 2". This pipe has a head on it that is 3.5" wide so that a 2" trap could be fit into it.?"

Thad, You discribed a 4" vertical pipe, (raiser) coming out of the floor. You then asked,"What is the best way of installing a self made shower base for the 4.0 inch drain?"


"the third is a drain pipe (rubber cover) about 4.0 inches in diameter and sticks 3 inches out of the concrete floor. It is the last one that we want to use as the drain to a shower.
The third pipe leads directly into the sewage pump tank that is located within the basement floor.
What is the best way of installing a self made shower base for the 4.0 inch drain?"
You went on to say, " As I said before the pipe diameter coming out of the concrete is 2". This pipe has a head on it that is 3.5" wide so that a 2" trap could be fit into it."

Go back as read what you posted earlier, the third is a drain pipe (rubber cover) about 4.0 inches in diameter and sticks 3 inches out of the concrete floor. It is the last one that we want to use as the drain to a shower."

Now that you have me completely confused would you care to go back and state your question again, bearing in mind that you can not connect a showers "P" trap to a pipe that's vertical
Yours in puzzlement, Tom

Unless, of course, you platform the shower such that the vertical pipe is actually outside the shower, connect the shower trap from underneath the platform to the riser with a short piece of horizontal pipe, and cap off the riser with an AAV (a.k.a. Cheater vent) - if it's legal in your area. Am I correct, Tom?

Moshie,
First it was a 4" pipe comimg out of the cement. Then it was 3 1/2" and now it's a 2" pipe with a 3 1/2" increaser
Moshie, You're correct but that's not how it was phrased, He said, "As I said before the pipe diameter coming out of the concrete is 2". This pipe has a head on it that is 3.5" wide so that a 2" trap could be fit into it."
Perhaps I'm reading him wrong, but when I run into a job that has as many contradictions in it as his question I get a little nervous. In order for us to give a clear answer we must have clear and concise questions. If we have to guess at the problem and drag the specifics out of the asker like pulling a abscessed tooth, ( we are jusr going through a toilet question like that) then
That just makes our job that much more difficult. Cheers, Tom

You bet! (By the way, did you see my latest responses to the toilet question?) I was just saying that it theoretically CAN be done (using an AAV), just quite different from the way he wanted to do it.

I am sorry that I can not explain this very well with words so I will try to send some pictures of the situation

Sewagepump1: This is a picture of the sewage pump system installed in my home.

Sewagepump2: This is a picture of the pump's base with the toilet(red cap that is floor level) opening and next is the pipe I have been trying to describe that is coming out of the concrete floor.

Sewagepump3: This is a close up of that pipe.

I want to make this into a drain for a shower base. Thanks again

Attached Images

   

OK Thad,

I wish you would had done this,(posted photos), to began with. The pipe that you wish to connect is the female hub of a piece of service weight( SV) 2" cast iron.
Moshie had the right idea. What you can do is lead in a 2" PVC drainage tee on a short piece of PVC pipe. On top of the tee you will install a AAV,(air admittence valve on a piece of PVC the raises it up over the shower floor drain . You are now free to figure out the elevation of the platform to accommodate the trap. Make sure the shower drain is within 5' of the trap and before you start make sure that you have enough head room with the shower enclosure setting on the platform. My apologies for all the confusion and if we can be of further help feel free to call on us. Regards, Tom

Thank you, Speedball1 for all the help.

I did not realize that AAV was needed because as you can see by the picture, the tank of the sewage system is vented. I would have thought that that venting was enough to allow the water to flow down the shower drain with no problems.

I do have some questions, just to make it clear to me as to what I am to do ...

1. The 2" SV pipe will have to be built into the wall or behind the bathroom wall ... Correct? I am thinking of making this wall a 2X6 thick wall to take care of all the pipes that it will contain.

2. One of my thoughts was to cut into the concrete around the cast iron pipe and dig down far enough so that the trap could be installed partially, or completely below the level of the floor. This would involve cutting the cast iron pipe and then connecting the trap and recementing around it. Does this sound feasible? Or is it more trouble than it is worth in your opinion? By the way, I could put in a base that was a foot high and still have 6' and a half feet for the shower.

3. The top of the female cast iron pipe is 2.25" off the concrete floor (I remeasured this), the T will add another 2", and the trap will add (about) 3", so the total height for the base will be about 8" or so. Does that sound reasonable?

4. I am making an assumption that when the AAV is added that no smell will come from the drainage system if all the seams are watertight, correct?


5. I plan to move the in use sink (not shown in the pictures) so that it will be on the opposite side of the bathroom in a work room. The work room will then have a sink. Would it be better to connect the drain to this sink to the AAVed shower drain (in some way) or just run a pvc pipe (this would be about an 8' run of pipe) from the original location of the now existing drain?

6. I have two pcv pipes (hot and cold water) that already run to the existing sink( sink to be moved to the workroom). With the new bathroom, these pipes would supply, the toilet, the shower, a vanity, and a workroom sink. Do you think that this is too much for just two (half inch) water pipes to handle?

About the pictures, I was getting pretty frustrated trying to explain in words what I wanted to do, so I had to learn how to put pictures on the web (I never did it before). Would it be ok if I roughed in the pipes so you could see if they are done correctly and you could tell me if I am doing it properly?

I still have a lot of questions as to how the base will be made. I think it will involve pressure treated wood, cement board and some type of filler to make the slope on the bottom of the shower, but I will wait until later for these.

Thanks again, you and Moshie for all the help
Thad