My winter project

[jdmcat]

Been planning on installing a bathroom in my basement since I bought my house over 6 years ago. I decided to just go ahead do it this winter. I have never tried to tackle a home improvement project this involved before, but I enjoy working on my house, so it should be interesting.

The first 2 pics are after tearing the drywall out. It was a walk in closet for the bedroom and access to the upstairs plumbing. The third and fourth show the old plumbing.

[jdmcat]

Here is my floor plan

[Ben's Landscape]

Looks like it should go well. Good luck with it.

[White Gardens]

How are you discharging the waste from the bathroom ??

Do you have a lift pump in the basement for that purpose ???

[2brothersyardcare]

what kind of tile?

[eatonpcat]

Here is my floor plan


I don't have a better solution, but it looks like you'll have plumbing in almost every wall. Looks like a fun project, good luck. I hate doing plumbing work

[MarkintheGarden]

Good luck with the project, and let us know how it goes.
This is the same exact project that I should be doing this winter.

[jdmcat]

How are you discharging the waste from the bathroom ??

Do you have a lift pump in the basement for that purpose ???

if you look at the first pic, you can see the 4" stack going under the slab, I am going to break up the concrete and tie into it below the slab. Lucky for me I *shouldn't* need a waste pump, that will save me about $800 or more!

[jdmcat]

what kind of tile?

Ceramic

I don't have a better solution, but it looks like you'll have plumbing in almost every wall. Looks like a fun project, good luck. I hate doing plumbing work

Yeah, I have gone over and over how I could make this happen and this is the best solution I could come up with. As you can see in the pics I have the challenge of working around the existing plumbing and heating ducts...

Good luck with the project, and let us know how it goes.
This is the same exact project that I should be doing this winter.

You bet! I will be posting pics as I make progress, this weekend I will be replacing all the old galvanized water pipes with PEX tucked up between the floor joists leaving more headroom for this 6 footer...

[Lawn Freak]

Looks good, keep us posted

[flatlander42]

one thing to consider....I think the door should swing out. With a small bathroom like that it may make a world of difference. I do like how you planned ahead.

[South Florida Lawns]

one thing to consider....I think the door should swing out. With a small bathroom like that it may make a world of difference. I do like how you planned ahead.

I like the doors that slide into the wall. But if you have all those pipes in the wall I don't think it will work.

[jdmcat]

one thing to consider....I think the door should swing out.

the problem is the door would swing out into a narrow hallway.

I do like how you planned ahead.

planning ahead is the best way to ensure you have a positive outcome

I like the doors that slide into the wall. But if you have all those pipes in the wall I don't think it will work.

I considered a pocket door, but the largest I could fit would be 24 inches, I am a big dude so I don't want anything smaller than 28.

[jdmcat]

A couple more pics, re-routed the electrical wires and removed the old wall studs. In the pictures is the new PEX pipe that I am going to re-plumb the whole house with this weekend.

[jdmcat]

Hit a little bump in the road last night. As I was cutting out the old galvanized supply lines I realized that the rigidity of those pipes was all that was holding my upstairs bathtub and shower valve in place, so I had to cut a hole in the wall to mount the valve up solid so I could connect the flexible PEX lines. Originally I was just going to connect the PEX to the galv that stuck through the ceiling in the basement, but I think its better to replace as much of the galv crap as possible. Also there is a pic of the end of one of the old galv pipes after I removed the angle stop valve for the sink, the amount of scale clogged up in there is why I decided to replace all the house plumbing.

Oh, and these were taken with my camera phone so sorry if the quality isn't the best...

[jdmcat]

Got the valve mounted up solid and new plumbing attached. I decided that since I already had to tear the wall open I'm going to take the opportunity to install a real shower head in here to replace the old one that was connected to a hose running out the side of the tub spout.

[br549oicu8]

Looks like you're doing a good job, and I am an Inspector!
No kidding!!!
Keep up the good work and test your lines before coevering up.

[flatlander42]

Plaster and lath....ewwwwww. Other than that it looks like it's commin along! Just remember, any progress is good progress!

[jdmcat]

Plaster and lath....ewwwwww.

Just one of the many joys of owning a home built in the 1920s.

[jdmcat]

Upstairs bathroom is put back together. Just needs a little caulk in the corners, which I of course forgot to grab all three times I was in Home Depot today... :hammerhead: Got all the new plumbing hooked up, turned on and NO LEAKS!! I love it when stuff works the first time. Anyway with the upstairs back in order I can continue on with my original project.

[eatonpcat]

which I of course forgot to grab all three times I was in Home Depot today...

Ain't that the truth, always spend more time going back and forth to the store than I do actually working. Work looks good so far, too bad you had to fix the other bathroom, but you're probably better off now.

[jdmcat]

Work looks good so far, too bad you had to fix the other bathroom, but you're probably better off now.

My house was used as a rental before I bought it, so part of every home improvement project I have done so far has been fixing some half a$$ job someone else did before me. It has become the norm for me. All are good learning experiences though, and I know it's getting done right.

[jdmcat]

Well I went to home depot today and picked up some plumbing supplies and my fixtures. I got a fancy new tall seat height elongated toilet for tall, fat people like me and decided to install it upstairs and put the old toilet downstairs. When I removed the old toilet I realized that the old flange was corroding away, so I went back to hd to get the push in type abs flange with a rubber compression gasket. OF COURSE they were all out!!! I ended up just buying a a glue on flange and some more abs pipe and an elbow.

Got home and cut off the old cast iron pipe from downstairs which took about 1 hour and half a dozen sawzall blades, who knew that stuff was so hard!?! I started cutting the plastic pipe to fit and noticed that the subfloor around the toilet is rotten and I can't screw anything down to it. AAAAARGH!!!

So I went out to my shop and cut a scrap piece of pine 5/4" x 6" I had leftover from some shelves I built and screwed it (very carefully) over the existing hole from below. Then I cut a hole in the pine, figured I use some long screws to attach the flange and basically sandwich the rotten floor in between the two. I lined everything up and glued the pipes together, went out to the shop to grab some 3" screws, and found that I don't have any!!

So, I got back in my car to head back to hd, luckily before I left I thought I should measure to see how long of screws I need... 4". So went to hd, got the screws, put it all together and installed the new toilet, turned the water back on and flushed a few times to make sure everything was in order and no leaks! Well, there was one leak but it was because I hadn't tightened the transitional coupling enough, but all is better now.

As far as the rotten sub floor, when the new bathroom is complete I am going to do a complete remodel of the upstairs bathroom and I will address the problem then...

[DuallyVette]

With home improvements...one thing always leades to another.

[jdmcat]

With home improvements...one thing always leades to another.

and another, and another, and another....... so I have come to learn.