drain for 2nd floor laundry? (washer, water heater, insulated, ceramic)

[cmeibe]

Is it necessary to have a drain for the washer when the laudry room is on the 2nd floor? our home is new construction and the builder has stopped installing them because "studies" have shown that a drain pan is enough.
Im wondering is this true or are they just trying to cut cost in this down market.

[BagongBuhay]

Maybe I'm confused but the water has to drain somewhere. I am in new construction and I have a drain pipe where the hose is attached to my washer which is on the second floor. I have a catch basin under the washer just to catch overflow (out of the washer door) and some leak that might accidentally happen. It is not a substitute for a drain pipe. Maybe your builder just misstated and did not really mean that. Might want to ask them exactly what drain they are not going to install!

[Driller1]

In Michigan all wash water HAS to go in a sewer or septic. If your builder disagrees, talk to your heath department.

[hcgCali]

Maybe he meant he wasn't attaching a (second) drainpipe to the drainpan. But he should have it connected to a drainline, because if something goes wrong and a full load of water dumps, the pan won't contain it, even if "studies" show it seldom happens. It seems the drainpan could be connected to drain through the same drain line as the washer. I don't have a washer upstairs, but I have a second water heater that services the 2 upstairs bathrooms, and it has a drainpan under it which is connected to a drainline. Common sense, ya know?

[faithfulFrank]

Bibit is right.

Code here at least in NY states that the laundry drain has to have a trap, and must be 2". If it is on a second floor, it must also have a drain pan or at least a drain sloped in the laundry room.

Frank D.

[cmeibe]

sorry for the confusion. there is a drain for the wash water that is located on the wall where the hoses attach. I wanted to know if there needs to be another drain on the floor, in case there is a leak or accident with the washer?

[Barking Spider]

Yes a 2nd floor laundry room should have a catch pan under the washer, WITH a drain pipe to take any overflow away from the 2nd floor.

[Cattknap]

We are looking at a home to possibly buy that has a 2nd floor laundry. Under the washer is a ceramic tile tub (square with sides that look to be about 4 inches high - the tub extends about 6 inches around the washer). There is a drain in the bottom of the tub under the washer - this is what the original poster was talking about not the normal drain pipe that empties water from the washer during wash cycles.

[Cattknap]

Sorry that should have read "the tub extends about 6 inches beyond the peremeter of the washer."

[KristyLiz]

We've had two homes with 2nd floor laundry rooms (both new construction) and BOTH times we've had leakes - Yes, there NEEDS to be a drain, otherwise you can have serious problems if an entire washer full of water ends up on your floor - a catch pan will not hold it!

In our second house, the pipes were not properly insulated and froze, so when the washer drained, it all backed up and went everywhere - thankfully we had the drain, so our upstairs was spared.