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I am in the early stages of finishing my basement. Along with that, I have a very small bathroom upstairs and would love to get a little extra space in there. It may not seem like much, but if I were able to reduce the size of the heavy iron vent pipe, I could move a portion of the wall back 8 inches or so.
In the basement the cast iron is absolutely huge. Would love to be able to replace it w/ pvc.
Im guessing they used this years ago but now pvc is okay, as I havent seen too many other homes with a huge cast iron pipe for sewage.
How hard a job is this? Is there any way to reduce the size of the vent pipe as well, make it pvc, so I can get some extra space in the bathroom? As I said, it doesnt seem like much, but those extra inches would do wonders.
That is one of those "little" jobs that ends up costing a fortune. First, was that house design one that had an option for a second floor? That looks like it could be the reason for the large riser - a bathroom above. Second, moving a toilet flange means verifying that you won't be cutting into any structural members. The same goes for the sink. Third, I would want to pop open a small hole in that wall and verify that there wasn't a support column hidden in it going to that large beam.
Removing that cast iron is a two man job. I'm pretty comfortable with stuff, but that and resetting the flange and sink plumbing is something I would contract out. It is a rough job that will only be done once, and the gain from the learning experience is nil. (You do realize the walls will have to have the sheetrock removed and replaced? Chances of finding a match for the existing tile are slim.) Dunno where you are located, but by the time you are through doing the job properly I would be thinking you could drop at least $3K to $4K. Low estimate would be $1500 if you did everything yourself except the pipe changeover and the tides and moon signs were in your favor.
First it appears that your basement foundation has an entire row of draining block at the base. I do not think it is possible to do a tradition finished basement with this style foundation. You will need to use a system of internal drain tiles behind the finished walls to direct seeping water to a sump. This will negatively effect the cost and size of the finished space...
It will be a needless expense to remove the cast iron.
While technically it is probably acceptable code to neck down from the 8" line to a smaller vent line the transition will have to be above the level where water sits in the traps and that would not really buy you any real space unless you did some kind of variable width wall framing which is time consuming and ugly. If use PVC for the actual drain you need to use the same "inside diameter" lines unless you want human waste backing up in all the wrong places. Although PVC (or ABS if it meets local code...) is a wee bit narrower and a tiny bit slicker inside you cannot change the layout in any meaningful way. Spending thousand of dollars to gain an inch is not smart...
Dang. Nothing is ever easy or cheap. I dont think there was every any plans to add a second story, and ive looked behind that wall in the bathroom and there only seems to be the vent pipe going up. Strangely enough, the vent pipe behind the wall and in the attic, seems slightly smaller than the large pipe in the basement, though Id have to measure it to know for sure.
The portion on the bottom of the basement floor against the wall is part of a drain system I had put in. Thats just the way they did it. Honestly, I havent had water coming out the walls above that and am not too concerned about it. I have more of a high water table and the system put in deals with that nicely. So I really dont plan on hesitating putting xps board against the walls and finishing them.
Perhaps I can just cut a portion of the wall in the bathroom (all but behind the toilet) and must move that back. That will at least move the sink back 8 inches and give a little bit more room in there.
I guess what Im hearing is that unless im bleeding money and can afford contractors to do all the work, then its not worth it. And Im certainly not in a position to shell out thousands for this job if I cant do it myself. At this point Ill just forget it and at the very least, I can add a toilet, shower, and sink to the basement so Ill atleast have two bathrooms, even if theyre both small.
For more room you might just be able to find a lav. that doesn't extend out into the room as much. The existing one seems to be what hogs the space. If the house was 1940s/early 1950s I suspect it originally had a wall hung sink that was only a foot deep or so. The fix would be a LOT cheaper and faster, and could look pretty nice. That existing sink is just an inexpensive utilitarian unit.
Personally, I would replace the sink with a space saver one and call it a day. Once you rip that bathroom apart, you are looking at making sure you meed current codes.
I've given in to reason and will no longer be thinking of taking out the bathroom wall. I'll take the good suggestions of replacing the sink with a space saver.
Though I would still like to do away with the cast iron in the basement. I figured if I have all the materials needed, it shouldn't be too hard a job. Two or three man job due to heaviness of the iron but other than that, how difficult can it be?
Though I would still like to do away with the cast iron in the basement.
Two or three man job due to heaviness of the iron but other than that, how difficult can it be?
The basement only end of the job (where all is exposed) is simpler. But it still doesn't gain you
much to just replace that perfectly fine and far superior cast iron with noiser PVC.
If you could trench to get the outlet pipe BELOW the finished floor... perhaps so.
At that point you could add a full bath and other fixtures down there too and
use that to incorporate the other drain and vent pipe changes in an overall plan.
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