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clarnp49
Jan 5, 2006, 03:30 PM
I have a bathroom with the following showed drain lines in it (attached image), it can be a full bathroom in the basement. My problem is and I hope someone can help me is,

I don't know where the toilet drain goes because I just bought the house, the shower drain shown on the left drains really slow and looks to be filled with rusty pieces. I have removed the shower drain and hope that I can put a sink over the area and drain it to it from a trap in the sink.

I don't know what the other pipes are for but I assume that the one on the right front of the picture is the vent, there is another pipe coming out in the back right corner of the picture that I don't know what it is.

The biggest problem that I have is I have put a 25' electrical snake down the toilet drain and I can't find where it would come out the other side, 25' may not be long enough but the other problem is the main sewage for the house is 2' above this plumbing in the basement concrete floor.

Questions:
1. How do I find where the toilet will drain and if it goes into a holding tank and needs to be pumped out?
2. The shower drain, what can I do to make it drain faster or at all?

skiberger
Jan 5, 2006, 03:52 PM
You can have a plumber or a septic company who have camera snake. They can put it in the drain lines and tell you where they go and also check the condition of the pipes.
If you are on a septic system, this bathroom may drain as "gray water". That's water/sewage that doesn't drain into the main sewer line but drains to surface or elsewhere. This is somewhat common if the house is older and in a rural area. It's a no-no in most areas, but a lot of people do it.

speedball1
Jan 5, 2006, 03:58 PM
You need more help then we can give you. If there isn't a holding tank and grinder pump installed in your basement, and it doesn't look like there is) you're looking at major surgery and quite a bit of expense. You can not connect a trapped sink and drain into the shower unless you pipe direct to the shower. The shower already has a trap under the cement and you may not double trap a fixture. You're going to hafta get someone in to track your drainage and tell you what you have. The thing I don't understand is why would anyone rough in a bathroom group two feet under the sewer line and then leave the stubups open for debris and trash to fill them up.
Are you on a city sewer or a septic system? Regards Tom

clarnp49
Jan 5, 2006, 04:35 PM
Public Sewer

I think the shower was going to Gray Water anyway because of the slow draining.
Would you know where I can find a camera snake that's not from a plumber, just to have one?

Thanks for the help.

letmetellu
Jan 5, 2006, 08:52 PM
I have a camera for sell it is complete with 100 foot of cable and monitor. Asking price is $2800. It has been used but has been treated terderly because of the cost, it is something a guy does not want to replace very often.

clarnp49
Jan 6, 2006, 06:23 AM
Thanks for all the insite on this problem, will save me a lot of screwing around, will just fill the toilet trap with concrete and cut and cap the other pipes and finish the floor and tear down the walls.