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RandyB · Apr 17, 2008, 07:35 AM

Prior owner had a 1/2 bath roughed-in basement. There i.e. no rough-in box around where the shower drain enters the cement floor. The cement butts up against the 2" pipe. There is in-floor heating so I'm hestitant to get the jack hammer going to tell.

Would it be likely that a P/U trap, as supposedly needed, was installed behind the cement floor? Would that be usual practice? I have no info on who the builder was or whether. I doubt it was done by union contractor.
Thanks
Randy

ballengerb1 · Apr 17, 2008, 08:46 AM

That would be a 3/4 bath, not a 1/2 bath and its highly likely there is a trap under the cement. Pour a gallon of water into the 2" pipe and look with a flashlight. If you see standing water, it is trapped. Keep water in this trap or plug the drain with a rag to keep sewer gas out of the home. If the trap water were to evaporate you'd have a smelly basement.

RandyB · Apr 17, 2008, 08:53 AM

Thanks for the suggestion to use H2O. Like da! Was going to cut off the cap and try the fishtape/wire method.

ballengerb1 · Apr 17, 2008, 08:56 AM

Glad to hear its capped, I assume its PVC but how high up off the floor does the pipe and cap run? Also, they probably did not run any heating near this drain since it was planned when the floor was poured.

RandyB · Apr 17, 2008, 09:36 AM

Yes it is PVC. They plumbed the toilet about 4ft away with a vanity rough-in next to it. But it all in a corner (toilet drain is 12" from one wall with what appears as a vent there and 12" from the stubbed vanity drain/vent wall at right angles. The only possible toilet I can use then is a special corner tank.

I trying to figure out how I could have that roughed-in drain to serve a re-positioned shower and a vanity.
Suggestions?
Thanks for for fast responses.

ballengerb1 · Apr 17, 2008, 09:45 AM

Your toilet rough in should be 12" off the back wall and 15" from any side walls. When you frame becarefull to maintain that full 12" to the center of the drain pipe so you will be able to use a standar 12" toilet, they do make 10" just not as easy to find. They do make corner tanks, even less plentiful. Any chance of a diagram or picture. We have a few plumbers here who are great with rough ins. If you were to use your current toilet drain for anything else you would not be able to install the toilet elsewhere without breaking up the floor, or did I misunderstand your intentions?

RandyB · Apr 17, 2008, 10:46 AM

I've attached a drawing of the current and desired layout.
Moving the existing drains/vents are not an option due to already in place in the cment floor.
Not exactly to scale but should give the idea.
Thanks

speedball1 · Apr 17, 2008, 12:15 PM

There i.e. no rough-in box around where the shower drain enters the cement floor. The cement butts up against the 2" pipe.

There shouldn't be a square hole in the floor for a shower, just for bathtubs. You DO have a trap down there.
You were doing great until you wanted to perform major surgery on a job that's already in place. And to make this more difficult you have heating pipes in the cement floor. Adding to all that you have just made this a impossible task when you said,

Moving the existing drains/vents are not an option due to already in place in the cment floor.

Now I have a question for you. Just how do you plan on draining the shower and vanity if you can't pipe to them?
As you describe it your project can not be installed. Sorry, Tom

RandyB · Apr 17, 2008, 12:36 PM

I guess I wasn't clear.
Because the position of the "shower" drain pipe makes for illogical layour of the bathroom and how it would be used and fit with the rest of the house I was hoping somehow to re-purpose the existing 2" drain pipe (currently for the "future shower").

The idea was with no/minimal excavation around the pipe, attach a T or Y to that pipe and run one leg to a re-positioned shower base (probably need to put on raised platform) and the other leg to a re-positioned vanity sink.