I got in touch with the previous owner of my house and he had some photos of the construction. The one below shows the basement plumbing rough in.

My question for the experts is: is this to code in Virginia?

My concern is venting for the tub. I know that vertical pipe with the pressure gage is for the lav (will extend up and join a vent above) the WC is to the right of that, and the tub drain connection is to the right of that, more in the foreground (there is a small piece of pipe laying near the tub drain). The 3" drain stack is also visible (it runs vertically where the jacket is hung on the wall.) The main drain pipe connects with another vertical drain about where the photographer is standing.

How is the tub vented?

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff192/435studio/roughin.jpg

Hi 435:

From what I can see... the tub IS NOT vented...so this doesn't meet code reuirements anywhere.

The plumber should have run a 2" vent as drawn into your photo below.

Remember that if there was a permit pulled on the job the plumber could have added it later... ;) If he was on the same page with me then the vent would be in the same wall as the sink. The plumber also could have run a vent after the fact by running the vent up behind the tub area. If you have an access panel for the tub waste I would open it and see if you can see a vent...

Let me know if you have more questions...

MARK

Thanks Mass:
I don't think a vent was added. This is still just roughed in so no fixtures are in place. The only thing visible out of the slab are the vertical lav pipe, the WC and the dap out for the tub. The 3" vertical pipe is the drain line for the master bath above. Short of breaking up concrete from the tub the wall, what should I do? I found this link to venting examples as an appendix to the Virginia Residential Code.

https://www2.iccsafe.org/states/Virginia/Residential/Res-Frameset.html

Could you take a look and make a suggestion? I appreciate your help!!

This post is a good example of how important it is to take progress photos of your plumbing system before you pour slab...

435:

Since this is not finished yet...

You may be able to attach a sanitary tee fitting at the tub and run a vent up from there to connect with the sink vent in the ceiling... see pictures below.

You can pick up vent in the horizontal or on the vertical...

Let me know what you think here...

MARK

OK I think I follow you. The vent is downstream from the tub trap, correct? I will have a wall that will be unfinished on the other side of the drain end of the tub, which is the direction of the drain line. If I demo some concrete in that direction, can I connect the vent line there between the tub drain and the 3" main, and then connect that vent above with lav vent?

Yes, the vent is installed downstream of the trap (see pictures). Not a bad idea to put in between waste stack and tub ptrap... but if pipe is deep enough you could also do it as piped in the second picture...

The vent would run up in the wall with the tub/shower valve in it and then connect to sink vent, etc...

Let me know if you understand...

I think I've got it. I'm still several weeks away from this part of the project.

Sorry I'm not able to rate your answers (need to spread it around) but you are most helpful and patient. Thank you very much!!

Glad to help...

Pop back as you start the project... keep me posted :)

Mark: Update!!
I dropped by the County Office Building to talk to a building inspector about another aspect of my basement project (dealing with insulation) I took along the photo I included above to verify that he would accept your suggestion for venting the tub. His response: no need to add a vent, the current setup was OK as is. Yikes!!
Is there any way I can test the current set up to determine the "quality" of the draining. i.e. determine how slowly/quickly the tub will drain? Despite what the inspector would pass and what the code requires, I want to make sure that the tub will drain without causing any other problems. All suggestions welcome!!

Virginia code says that you can use one wet vent to vent a bathroom group.. so he is right there, but the tub drain should be connected to the 3" toilet drain line... NOT the 3" drain line from the master bath above..?

When water from the master bathroom above rushes past the unvented tub it could potentially SIPHON the tub trap which could allow sewer gasses into the home. Did the inspector know that the 3" pipe was from the master bathroom above? Was this guy a building inspector or a plumbing inspector... hmmm..?

So, drain time is not the major issue... I'm sure tub will drain fine... siphoning of the trap IS the major issue... ;)

Anyway, I would at least add a mechanical vent to the tub if I were you (behind an access panel in closet).

Let's see what a couple of the other guys think (give them time to chime in)...

MARK

Thanks, I'll be interested to hear what other experts think. Yes, I pointed out that the large vertical pipe in the photo was from the MB above. Apparently, in this area these individuals are "Residential Combination Inspectors" (their title from the county website) so they handle everything, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, framing, etc. I want to do this right, but I also want to crack as little concrete as necessary... Thanks again for helping out with this!!

Well... I wonder what he will say if you ask him about the master bathroom passing by the unvented tub.. what happens then?

Hope someone else pops in and see this... ;)

MARK

I'm planning on taking your advice adding a vent between the tub trap and the connection to the drain line. I'm not confident that another "Combination Inspector" who comes to the site for the actual inspection would pass it without a vent.

The more I look at venting aspect of this project, I am wondering if using AAVs might not be the best way to go. Routing a vent to connect with an existing vent above is going to take some doing. Any thoughts on using AAVs?

I looked at the code (I hope you guys learn this through experience instead of having to figure out what some of this means... ) AAVs are allowed, they have to meet specs, they can't be enclosed and have to be installed according to the instructions. This would make it a lot easier, since this bathroom will be used very little...

You covered all the bases regarding AAVS...

These are great as long as accessible... ;)

Keep me updated... glad to chat anytime.

MARK