Plumbing
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A gas line had to be re-routed because it dropped below the future ceiling level. A couple water lines also had to be moved to allow for the new larger beam. |
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This big drain junction was a lot of work. It originally jutted completely out of the wall (what were they thinking?). This would have required boxing it in from floor to ceiling - which wasn't very appealing. Ron tore the whole thing out and rebuilt it so that only the very top is exposed. That was later framed in with a nice triangular box. Oooh that smelled... |
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The future toilet drain. |
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And, direct from an X-Files episode, a strange beast peers up from the toilet drain! Nah, it's just Ron asking Val to hand him down (yes, through the hole) some plumbing parts. |
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What's this? Looks like a urinal drain to me... |
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Don't forget that building code requires a ventilation fan in a bathroom without a window. |
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Future wet-bar drain and supply. Note the protection plate so that in the future Ron doesn't drive a sheetrock screw thru the pipe, flooding the room, and ruining his day. |
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Complete view of wet-bar area showing the icemaker supply line. |
Plumbing a basement is interesting.
First, is the problem with vent pipes. All plumbing systems must have them for the drains to work properly. They must extend through the top of the roof - which can be tough to get to from a basement - unless you don't mind a pipe going up the side of your house.
Ron had to get the original house plans from the county for the engineer to design the beam. With these he was able to find a small 3" wide, triangular, "chase" that lead from the basement ceiling through two floors to the attic. It took some work, but he and his dad were able to fish a line down the hole and eventually get a 20' vent pipe all the way through.
The second difficulty with a basement plumbing job is the drain system. Luckily this house has a crawl space under it. Ron was able to shimmy back to the darkest corner where all the creepy crawlies live. It's only 15" from the ground to the bottom of the floor joists so there was little room to move. Because of this he had to do all his measuring and cutting before hand then drag the pipes back with him. Not fun!