pirogueguy
Nov 29, 2007, 02:06 PM
Hi,
I've perused the various question and answers for washing machine stand pipes overflowing, adjacent sinks filling up etc. I've found a number of good solutions, however, I would like to get some opinions / suggestions for my particular instance.
Background Summary
- 30+ year old single story house, brick, w/ concrete slab
- 2" cast stubbed with 1 1/2" copper is the majority of the plumbing
- 1 1/2" washing machine drain stack ~34" tall
- recent minor remodel of the washer dryer area (and hence the problems now!)
- fierce, head-strong, weekend warrior, DIY type w/ LOTS of PVC experience and some copper fitting/sweating experience -- (I've got NOTHING when it comes to cast!)
Problem Summary
We've owned this house for approx. 15 years, our original washing machine (older, lower gpm pump, etc) did not cause any REAL issue. Now, 3-5 years ago, along comes the new washer... Now, at the time, this was not an issue either. We had two deep tub style sinks adjacent to the washing machine that would fill about halfway with washing machine waste water when the washer would empty. The water would drain out fairly quickly afterwards and was not a real problem.
My wife and I have recently decided to re-do our laundry room and have now changed the dynamics of the whole drain situation! We took the two deep sinks out, and replaced them with a single shallow 24X24 sink (my wife's wishes... <drone> MUST PLEASE WIFE... :D ). Now, since we've changed the drain height of the sink (and of course the volume associated with the removal of the two deep tub style sinks), now we started having consistent overflows from the washing machine drain stack. I've put one solution to use that I found on the AskMe site, and I'm using a 'fernco' type coupler between my drain stack and the washing machine drain line. This at least keeps the overflows from occurring. Now, since the volume of the washing machine is still too much, I get about 2-3 inches of water that backs up into our new shallow sink. Otherwise, everything is great!
Also, just for clarification, I actually own a mechanical roto rooter and have 'roto-rooted' the line on a couple of occasions. I never find any blockage.
Question begins here...
I would like to re-do this so that:
1. I don't experience overflows on the stand pipe
and
2. So I don't get water backing up into my laundry sink
Now, with this being said, I really don't relish the idea of busting concrete, and/or re-doing
the entire drain to the outer wall (and then tying into my existing drain-line some 50+ feet
away).
I've attached a couple of pics (see attachments) of the existing plumbing, and would like to see if anyone has any suggestions.
For starters, it appears to me that the stack / air vent is not set up properly. I can help but wonder if part of my issue is not getting enough air into the line to allow the water to drain out... Shouldn't the air vent tie directly into washing machine drain line with a sanitary-T? Also, would there be any issue in using a larger line in the wall space (say 3") in order to allow the washing machine volume to drain? I've even considered using multiple 3" pvc pipes set vertically next to each other to allow for the washing machine overflow (see image 'proposed' in attachment).
Any thoughts or recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated. If I've left something out, please let me know and I'll fill in any blanks!
Thanks!
I've perused the various question and answers for washing machine stand pipes overflowing, adjacent sinks filling up etc. I've found a number of good solutions, however, I would like to get some opinions / suggestions for my particular instance.
Background Summary
- 30+ year old single story house, brick, w/ concrete slab
- 2" cast stubbed with 1 1/2" copper is the majority of the plumbing
- 1 1/2" washing machine drain stack ~34" tall
- recent minor remodel of the washer dryer area (and hence the problems now!)
- fierce, head-strong, weekend warrior, DIY type w/ LOTS of PVC experience and some copper fitting/sweating experience -- (I've got NOTHING when it comes to cast!)
Problem Summary
We've owned this house for approx. 15 years, our original washing machine (older, lower gpm pump, etc) did not cause any REAL issue. Now, 3-5 years ago, along comes the new washer... Now, at the time, this was not an issue either. We had two deep tub style sinks adjacent to the washing machine that would fill about halfway with washing machine waste water when the washer would empty. The water would drain out fairly quickly afterwards and was not a real problem.
My wife and I have recently decided to re-do our laundry room and have now changed the dynamics of the whole drain situation! We took the two deep sinks out, and replaced them with a single shallow 24X24 sink (my wife's wishes... <drone> MUST PLEASE WIFE... :D ). Now, since we've changed the drain height of the sink (and of course the volume associated with the removal of the two deep tub style sinks), now we started having consistent overflows from the washing machine drain stack. I've put one solution to use that I found on the AskMe site, and I'm using a 'fernco' type coupler between my drain stack and the washing machine drain line. This at least keeps the overflows from occurring. Now, since the volume of the washing machine is still too much, I get about 2-3 inches of water that backs up into our new shallow sink. Otherwise, everything is great!
Also, just for clarification, I actually own a mechanical roto rooter and have 'roto-rooted' the line on a couple of occasions. I never find any blockage.
Question begins here...
I would like to re-do this so that:
1. I don't experience overflows on the stand pipe
and
2. So I don't get water backing up into my laundry sink
Now, with this being said, I really don't relish the idea of busting concrete, and/or re-doing
the entire drain to the outer wall (and then tying into my existing drain-line some 50+ feet
away).
I've attached a couple of pics (see attachments) of the existing plumbing, and would like to see if anyone has any suggestions.
For starters, it appears to me that the stack / air vent is not set up properly. I can help but wonder if part of my issue is not getting enough air into the line to allow the water to drain out... Shouldn't the air vent tie directly into washing machine drain line with a sanitary-T? Also, would there be any issue in using a larger line in the wall space (say 3") in order to allow the washing machine volume to drain? I've even considered using multiple 3" pvc pipes set vertically next to each other to allow for the washing machine overflow (see image 'proposed' in attachment).
Any thoughts or recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated. If I've left something out, please let me know and I'll fill in any blanks!
Thanks!