Ask Me Help Desk - Shower,toilet and sink drains rough in bathroom

I have the rough ins done on a concrete basement floor for a toilet,shower and sink and wanted to ask/confirm before starting the work.

Toilet drain and supply water.
A 4" lead pipe sticks out about 10" off the concrete floor, concrete is all around. Is this OK to cut the lead pipe and leave about 1" off the floor, place a flat 4"Flange over it, hammer/fold the lead over the flange , install the wax ring and then the toilet?
As far as the supply water is it OK to just tee off from a 1/2" water pipe or do I need to run a lin e from the 3/4" pipe?

Shower drain:
I have a 2" PVC pipe sticking out in the middle of a hollow 5" pipe. The drain is located 12" from both sides of the cornered wall. I take it this drain was set for a tub and not a shower?
I am planning on laying a ceramic floor for the shower and my question is do I need to fill up the hollow 5"?
ALso on the warter supplies, is it Ok to tee off from the same 1/2" pipe for the cold and from the other 1/2" pipe for the hot water or do I need to tee off from the 3/4" pipe.
One thing to note is that I can see that the 1/2" pipe do run to my first floor, don't know if this would cause a problem with the pressure.

Sink drain, I have a 2" pipe sticking out from the wall, will I need to install a P Trap once I install my sink.

Thanks

Yes your sink will need a trap and likely step the drain line down to 1 1/2" . Whoever gave you a 2" drain was oversizing for some reason but you can glue a reducing male connector to that PVC. Your floor drain is for a shower and you can fill in the space between the hole in the floor and the drain once you have confirmed this is a trapped drain, dump water down in it and check with a flashlight. I am not going to talk about your toilet drain because I'm not sure its really lead. I don't picture the same plumber who did the shower drain would use a lead toilet drain. Check to be sure this isn't a iron pipe and come back.

ballengerb1,

Thanks for the reply.

I double checked the size of the drain for the sink and guess what, you are right it is
1-1/2" :) . this time I unscrewed the end and measured it instead of measuring the actual pipe. He did screw in a 2"to 1/1/2" male as you indicated.

I did not get how I check if my shower drain is a trapped drain, do I pour water in the empty hole around the actual drain pipe or do I unscrew the cap off of the 2"pipe and pour water in. In both cases once I pour the water,what happens next, sorry for this dum question, but do I expect the water to go down the drain or should it remain stagnant on the top?

Now for the toilet drain, I hit it sligthly with a hammer and it dented a little, I assume it is lead.
I can tell the matériel is soft, so we can remove the option for iron, and pvc as I would have broken the PVC with the hammer. Is it not a good selection for the plumber to have installed a lead pipe?

Also , given that my basement ceiling is not finished, I can also see the bottom side of the toilet in the first floor where a lead pipe is connected to a PVC pipe.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that on the other side of the wall where the shower drain is, I would also have a kitchen sink. Can I ran water line to both the shower and the kitchen sink from the same pipes, like a tee, and hook up the shower drain to the kitchen sink drain?

Sorry too many questions.I am good with electric and wood work but when it comes to plumbing, I am a real newbie.
Thanks for the help.

I took a look at Bryan's "how to build a shower pan" and had a question.
I understand the reason for the liner and the pitch(1/4" or 1/8" every 1') but can't understand the reason for building a slope first and then install the liner and then slope again, can someone care to explain.
I am trying to understand the reason for having the liner sandwiched over 2 layers of mortar when the floor is already concrete.

You want the liner to have a slope so if it collects water it can drain. If you liner went in first it would lay flat and possible hold water. For the trap pour your water inside the black ABS drain pipe and then look down with a flashlight. You should see the warter surface a few inches down the pipe if its trapped. It is very, very likely trapped but checking never hurts. I have to beg out ofn the lead pipe, I have never worked with lead but a few of the plumbers have me by a few years and they should be around to step in.

Thanks ballengerb1 for the answers, I will start work and report back.
One last thing on the water lines, I just saw that my main water line started at 1", then 4 feet after to a 3/4" and then to 1/2" which runs to the 2 floors above the basement.

Question: Do I just tee off the 1/2" copper pipe or do I go to the 1" and run my water lines to my bathroom(toilet,shower and sink). Don't want to make a mistake here and your advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Quote:

Toilet drain and supply water.
A 4" lead pipe sticks out about 10" off the concrete floor, concrete is all around. Is this OK to cut the lead pipe and leave about 1" off the floor, place a flat 4"Flange over it, hammer/fold the lead over the flange , install the wax ring and then the toilet? As far as the supply water is it OK to just tee off from a 1/2" water pipe or do I need to run a lin e from the 3/4" pipe?

Not the way we used to do it back in the 40's. You will, very carefull
Flare the lead pipe around the opening. Now place a closet flange over the flare and screw it to the floor. ( If it's a tile floor use 1/4" plastic inserts.) Position the closet bolts in the flange and set the toilet in the usual way.
If there's anything else on that 1/2" branch I would take the toilet branch off a 3/4" main. Otherwise someone taking a shower will become very angry,( not to say parboiled) when you flush.

Quote:

Shower drain:
I have a 2" PVC pipe sticking out in the middle of a hollow 5" pipe. The drain is located 12" from both sides of the cornered wall. I take it this drain was set for a tub and not a shower?
I am planning on laying a ceramic floor for the shower and my question is do I need to fill up the hollow 5"?

Yes! You will be panning for a shower and the surface the pan sets on must be flat and solid

Quote:

ALso on the warter supplies, is it Ok to tee off from the same 1/2" pipe for the cold and from the other 1/2" pipe for the hot water or do I need to tee off from the 3/4" pipe.
One thing to note is that I can see that the 1/2" pipe do run to my first floor, don't know if this would cause a problem with the pressure.

Again, this would depend on how many fixtures you already have on that 1/2" line. Our code says no more then three fixtures off a 1/2" branch. A rule of tthumb to follow is with showers to supply the branch off a 3/4" main to prevent unpleasant surprises.

Quote:

Sink drain, I have a 2" pipe sticking out from the wall, will I need to install a P Trap once I install my sink.

Absolutely!

Quote:

I can't understand the reason for building a slope first and then install the liner and then slope again, can someone care to explain.
I am trying to understand the reason for having the liner sandwiched over 2 layers of mortar when the floor is already concrete.

I can't understand it either. A flange type shower drain,(see image) will install first on the cement floor after you fill the hole. The top part will come up and the shower pan comes next. Be very careful when mudding the shower not to plug up the weep holes located on the flange.
I'm not trying to hijack Bobs thread, just add a little something to it. Good luck, Tom

Bob and Tom, I am impressed by your knowledge and your willingness to share all that you know to help the rest of us, and on top of that for free.
Much appreciated and respected.

I think I now have all the info I need to start my project but I will take a rain check if and I am sure will run into issues with my installations but you are setting me on the right path.
Thanks again.

If you run into problems one or both of us is usually around. Good luck, Bob

Hi again,
Getting into the actual pipe soldering and had a question.
I noticed that the sink (bathroom, kitchen) in upstairs room have a pipe that runs along the cold and hot pipe an capped about 2' under the sinks.
Reading some more, I think this is what they call air chambers. Do I need to have air chambers in my basement sink,shower and toilet and kitchen sink or can I get without?

Thanks

Those are air chambers to help prevent water hammer. Once consiedred mandatory but not contraindicated since they eventually fill with air and fail. This will make a good read for you. Water Hammer | Builders Websource®
PS Tom and I both offer a double your money back guarantee for 90 days. Goo luck, Bob