The drain stack is in my basement and goes down under the floor. (all the other plumbing in the house goes into the drain stack at basement ceiling level.
I want to install a toilet (just a toilet) in the basement near the stack. The cleanout drain is right there too. How high off the floor do I need to build the toilet to drain it into the stack above the cleanout. I don't want a macerating toilet or a composting toilet or an upflush toilet- and I don't want to have to break up my concrete. I just want just something for the middle of the night to save me climbing stairs half asleep.oif its too completicated I'm considering a potty chair!! :)

Hey Lavender...

Need to know what kind of pipe you have there... PVC (white plastic), ABS (black plastic) or cast iron pipes (black metal pipes).

Are you handy with tools.. Cutting into the stack is quite involved... even more so if stack is cast iron!

Let me know... MARK

You should answer Mark's question. Since you don't want to break the floor or use a maserating toilet you will need to create a raised floor as I suspect you know. Your new drain connection will not be perfectly at floor level and the toilet drain should be at least 3" so I think floor joists that are either 2x6 or 2x8 will serve you. Do not under any circumstance cut into that stack until we all talk with you further. A cast iron stack could weight 500 lbs and up. It will need jacking to stop it from crashing on your head in the basement.

I'm pretty handy with tools, but I don't really want to cut into that heavy cast iron! That would scare the ins out of me.
I will definitely have to get some local help, I'm trying to get some good info to have under my belt before I try to hire some one to help me. Here are pics of the stack and the location. As you can see the stack was cut for a kitchen remodel and the black part is very hard, but I don't think its cast iron (seems too hard to be plastic, so I'm not sure... hope the pics help thanks

YUP! 4" Cast iron stack and 2" ABS plastic pipe/fittings going to the kitchen!

If you don't want to go with a macerator type toilet then you will need to get some help and have someone cut into the waste stack just below the 4"x2" wye that picks up the kitchen plastic piping.

Person should cut a 4" x 3" cast iron sanitary tee fitting and then install a 3" x2" sanitary tee for a mechanical vent to be installed (see pic... you must install this vent as a MINIMUM).

Then can pipe 3" into an elbow to a street flange which requires raising the floor quite a bit... OR could install a rear flush, floor mount toilet (expensive) which will require that the floor be built up less than if went with traditional toilet. You will need to Google rear flush, floor mount toilet for more info. On this toilet!

Fittings and toilet type would need to be on job to determine exactly how high to build the floor.

I would opt for the macerator here... ;)

Let me know what you think... ok?

MARK

Thanks- I suspected that would be the case... the vent you refer to- would it vent smells into the room air?
If I got a macerating toilet, it would still require the same vents and tees?

Remember that we are not telling you to cut that cast pipe, there is a ton of weight above you and it will need jacking by someone with plumbing skills.