[cwashington]

Ok I recently purchased a condo and have begun remodeling the bathroom which is on the second floor. I am not very experienced with any of this and was hoping someone could tell me if what I have done so far sounds good.
First Question:
For the new bathroom I needed to move the toilet over 1'. The original piping came out perpendicular from the wall and then up to the toilet. Since I needed the toilet over 1' and I have no access to the pipe once it enters the wall (it is a condo so piping goes into neighbors property) I simply cut the existing pipe, added a 90 degree lateral turn and then came up to the toilet. Will there be any problems with that?
Second Question:
I took out the bathtub to put in a tile shower. The problem is that the drain for the tub was up against the wall (and once again the pipe goes straight into the neighbors wall so I have no access to it after that) and I need the new drain in the middle of the shower. So I cut the existing pipe and extended it about 20" so it would be in the middle on the shower. I kept the u pipe that catches the drain and then goes back up and down again (excuse my terminology) directly under the new drain but I was worried about the additional 20" of lateral pipe I added. Is that going to be a problem?
Thanks for your help!

[labman]

The 90 you added could be a place for clogs to develop. If you didn't use a longer radius DVW elbow, you might do better to cut it out and put one in. The extra 20'' on the drain shouldn't be a problem.

If some guy named Tom shows up after the hurricane and says something different, listen to him.

[speedball1]

First Question:
For the new bathroom I needed to move the toilet over 1'. The original piping came out perpendicular from the wall and then up to the toilet. Since I needed the toilet over 1' and I have no access to the pipe once it enters the wall (it is a condo so piping goes into neighbors property) I simply cut the existing pipe, added a 90 degree lateral turn and then came up to the toilet. Will there be any problems with that?

I like straight lines where drainage's involved, but if that's the only connection option I should think the velocity of the flush will carry the discharge around the bend. If it don't you'll find out soon enough.

Second Question:
I took out the bathtub to put in a tile shower. The problem is that the drain for the tub was up against the wall (and once again the pipe goes straight into the neighbors wall so I have no access to it after that) and I need the new drain in the middle of the shower. So I cut the existing pipe and extended it about 20" so it would be in the middle on the shower. I kept the u pipe that catches the drain and then goes back up and down again (excuse my terminology) directly under the new drain but I was worried about the additional 20" of lateral pipe I added. Is that going to be a problem?

End drains are common and acceptable in tiled showers. How ever, what may not do is create a "S" trap which is what you'll be doing if you leave the trap where it is and come off the drain with a elbo, a 20" pipe and another elbo to connect to the trap.
I would leave the trap alone and make my drain on the end but if you're dead set on having it in the center you must bust up the cement and position the trap under where you wish the drain to set. Good luck, tom

[cwashington]

Thanks guys your posts were very helpful. As for the shower I have some room to work with between the wooden beams so there shouldn't be a problem putting the trapdirectly below the drain. As for the toilet I don't think there is anyway to avoid the turns however I think it may be better to take out the two 90 degree turns and put in three 45 degree turns making one big swoop up the toilet. Do you think that would be any improvement or should I just stick with what I have already? Thanks once again for your input.

[speedball1]

"I think it may be better to take out the two 90 degree turns and put in three 45 degree turns making one big swoop up the the toilet."

In place of the 45's why not just go with a long sweep ellbo? Tom

[hkohn]

I am adding a bathroom with shower and toilet in my basement. The floor is 4" thick concrete. There is an existing 4" drain under the floor about 3' from the toilet and shower proposed drain hookup. What's the best way to open the floor, so that I can add PVC plumbing to connect to the existing drain pipe under the floor?

[massplumber2008]

Hkohn... welcome. You entered a thread (a bunch of posts) from 2005??

I will answer your question as best I can... but for the future... you should not enter the middle of another person's thread... can really start confusing things for original poster and all the people working with that person ;) Just so you know!

As for your answer now... well, you could get a few different answers to your question from different people.

You could use an electric jack hammer... if 4 inch floor, probably best to use this... once you get a small hole started, begin to clean out hole as you go... thereby undermining the concrete as you go and should break out nicely.

You could use an electric chipping hammer... but it sounds like your concrete is thick enough that a chipping hammer will take you forever to use... same principal applies here as for larger jackhemmer... after you get hole started, remove debris as you go so that you are undermining the concrete a bit... will chip away easier that way.

You could use a gas cutoff saw... BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT... people have damn near died using these in basements... so please do not listen to anyone that tells you this is OK to use in the basement

You could use a diamond wet saw... but very expensive and not practical for homeowner use.. if you could even find one to rent.

Last resort... maybe floor isn't actually 4" thick and can use a sledgehammer...BUT... I also would not recommend that unless you like working REAL hard!

So, finally, go with renting a large electric jack hammer....will take a few minutes to get a hole started, but once you do..and then clean as you go...the rest should break off in pretty good chuncks!!

So there... there is my opinion anyway. Good luck with your project and if you need any help on the plumbing or electrical you come on back and ket us know. Take care.