Basement Bathroom

With more homeowners looking for ways to add value to their homes, many plan to remodel their unfinished basements—and adding an extra bathroom is usually central to those plans. A new basement bathroom is a lot easier for the homeowner to visualize, however, than for a plumber to install. Plumbing a basement bathroom can be time consuming and expensive, but for an experienced plumber it’s also straightforward. Here are a few of the potential problem areas, along with tips from Franke Mechanical on how to do the job well.

Location
Gravity usually isn’t on your side when building a basement bathroom. In many cases, you’ll need an ejector in order to transport waste away from the bathroom. However, sometimes the sewage lines will be far enough below the floor to allow you to plumb the bathroom without an ejector. (This is also dependent on local building codes, of course.) You can gauge the position of a sewage line by using a locator; also, make sure the drainage lines are at least four inches in diameter for toilet and shower lines.
Excavate
If the underground sewage line won’t work, you’ll need to excavate in order to dig the pit for the ejector. The good news here is that concrete basement floors aren’t very thick. You can cut through them with an electric jackhammer or saw. Before you make any cuts however, make sure you are equipped to handle the concrete dust.
Pipe
When it comes to installing pipe, different municipalities have different preferences for material. But for Gage, there’s no question: PVC is best.
Cast-iron pipe has pores just like a person does, and over time acid will eat the bottom right out of the pipe bottom.
Backfill
Next comes backfilling the area you have excavated. It may sound intuitive to fill the gaps with the same dirt you pulled out in the first place, but that’s the wrong move.

Instead use gravel, which allows groundwater room to seep without putting pressure on the floor. We suggest adding a sump pump (if there’s not already one in the basement) for the same reason: the sump pump can protect the home from flooding and also can prevent cracks from developing in the concrete patching.
“The sump pump takes in groundwater and helps keep the water table lower,” says Franke Mechanical.
Plumbing a basement bathroom can be a big job, but it’s not complicated once you understand its unique challenges.