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bobd254 · Jul 4, 2006, 05:59 PM

Hi folks,
I would like to add a shower where the clothes washer is , in the attached pictures. There is a washer drain behind the washer on the outside wall, appears to be 1.5" pipe.
I have read about the Saniflo pumps that can pump up to a drain and use a 1" outflow .

The washing machine and the 1/2 bath are on a slab which ends at the wall behind the toilet and sink, from there, there is a crawlspace with the sewer line visible several feet behind the toilet, parallel to the outside wall for about 10'. I don't know if the washer drain goes down into the slab or goes to the right through the wall.
Any ideas on how I should go about this project?
Thanks,
Bob D

speedball1 · Jul 5, 2006, 05:51 AM

Originally Posted by bobd254

Hi folks,
I would like to add a shower where the clothes washer is , in the attached pictures. There is a washer drain behind the washer on the outside wall, appears to be 1.5" pipe.
I have read about the Saniflo pumps that can pump up to a drain and use a 1" outflow .

The washing machine and the 1/2 bath are on a slab which ends at the wall behind the toilet and sink, from there, there is a crawlspace with the sewer line visible several feet behind the toilet, parallel to the outside wall for about 10'. I don't know if the washer drain goes down into the slab or goes to the right through the wall.
Any ideas on how I should go about this project?
Thanks,
Bob D

Hi Bob,

I've made a little drawing of what you have behind your wall, (see image).
You will have to open up the wall and remove the washer trap and stand pipe and keep the vent. Figure the washer drain goes straight down into the slab so that will have to come uo and a fitting installed that will let you pipe over to where you wish to stub up to pick up the shower. At the same time the vent will have to be tied back in to the showers drain line just after the showers trap. This ought to keep you busy for a while. If you wish I can walk you through the installation but it will take all your plumbing skills and then some. Regards, Tom

bobd254 · Jul 5, 2006, 02:41 PM

Hi Tom,
Thanks for your explanation of what's behind the wall. I would like you to walk me through it ; but I forgot to add that I would like to move the washer over to the left of where it is now and somehow drain both the washer and the shower, I don't know if that is possible.
Thanks ,
Bob D.

speedball1 · Jul 6, 2006, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by bobd254

Hi Tom,
Thanks for your explaination of whats behind the wall. I would like you to walk me through it ; but I forgot to add that I would like to move the washer over to the left of where it is now and somehow drain both the washer and the shower, I don't know if that is possible.
Thanks ,
Bob D.

Not possible Bob,

You would have pick up the washer off the vent for the shower but the problem with that is that the washer discharges with so much force and volume that it would just come back up in the shower which is the lowest outlet.
You do realize that to install the washer a separate vent will be needed.
To install a shower in place of the washer will require the cement to come up and the washer tie in to the main drain reconfigured. What you are planning is major surgery. Do you have the plumbing skills to pull it off?
Regards, Tom

bobd254 · Jul 6, 2006, 09:08 AM

Hi Tom,
Well, I'm expecting it to be major surgery!
I guess the biggest problem would be the backwash up to a shower, so I may have to figure a way to route the shower (and I don't know how feasible any of these are):
1) ? Through a sump pump to a level of the washer standpipe and reconfigure the standpipe configuration to allow both to use the existion drain?
2) through a sump pump and route it back along the wall, into the crawl space and tie in to the main drains?
3) gravity drain and tie back to the drains in the crawl space ? Going outside the house ? And back in?
What I should have done was break up the concrete and go straight through the back of the existing bathroom , but I have just redone that half bath and don't want to go that route.

Thanks,
Bob D.

speedball1 · Jul 6, 2006, 11:25 AM

Hey Bob, 1) through a sump pump to a level of the washer standpipe and reconfigure the standpipe configuration to allow both to use the existion drain?
2) through a sump pump and route it back along the wall, into the crawl space and tie in to the main drains?

If you're talking about draining the shower into a sump and then pumping it
Out, that's not going to work either. You can't drain into a open pit and if you installed a holding tank then that would mean more vent pipes.

3) gravity drain and tie back to the drains in the crawl space ? Going outside the house ? And back in?
That's your best bet as I see it and both the shower and the washer would have to be vented. Good luck, Tom

bobd254 · Jul 6, 2006, 08:33 PM

Hey Tom,
I guess the gravity drain is the way to go.
I can see how to break up the concrete, run the drain out through the side of the house (somehow put a T in for the vent, and run a new vent up) , run along side the house about 4 feet , come back under the house and tie into the large castiron drain (keeping 1/4" drop per foot); I think I could do that , with a bunch of questions as I go!
First I'll have to measure the height of the drain (I think that where I would want to tie in it's about 18" below the level of the slab).
Thanks,
Bob D

speedball1 · Jul 7, 2006, 05:19 AM

Hi Bob,

Keep me in the loop as you progress and I'll kelp as much as I can.
Good luck, Tom