Hi,

We plan to re-do our bathroom before too long. Most of the sink that we are looking at are pedistal types.

Our current sink has a cabinet to support it, and the sink drain goes into the floor - not into the wall, like any other Ive seen.

Do plumbers routinely change from one type of drain spot to another? Is it doable? I suppose the better question is, can it be done cheaply?

I assume that if you cut open the floor and wall, it couldbe re-routed... but re-routing pipes doesnt always make for good results, id assume.

Any insight???

Thanks!

JMH

it depends on how you define cheaply...lol

yes pipes are moved all the time.

the results depend on who you get to do the work.

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

You either have a very old house or it was plumbed by an Australian plumber, because "S" traps have been illegal for at least 60 years in the U.S.A. It can and should be moved to the wall, but it will not be inexpensive.

On a remodel, the inspector will almost surely require that the S-trap be eliminated. If there is a basement or crawl space below, then this is all possible, but relocating the drain and vent may involve a lot of labor and opening the wall.

It is an old house - so Im sure it is original. There are rooms below and a finished attic above, so hopefully it can be fixed by opening the wall and floor from the bathroom, and not from below...

Thanks for the advice!

JMH

To introduce a vent to the existing set up see below illustration. To install a pedestal basin, the drain, (and probably the water lines), would need to be relocated anyway, the big question is whether or not there's an existing vent to connect to in the wall, my guess would be that there isn't.

[img.photobucket.com]

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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Sorry, wrong words used - Im looking at something liek this:
[www.americanstandard-us.com]

so the drain could go into the floor... but they make it with an optional heavy glass shelf, that we would like to have, and of course then we'd have to move the drain pipe location.

Based upon your most useful picture, I dont see the issue with adding the vent and whatnot - we'd just need to get some good sheetrocking done. Doesnt seem like the end of the world though... I hope!

Thanks!

JMH

That's a great looking lavatory basin.

On that one though, the pipes would need to stub out of the wall, (drain & water), to look the best that it can, IMO.

NOTE: If you need to relocate your water lines and your basin is on an outside wall, keep in mind freeze protection.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Normally, when that setup was original it was a lead pipe system, and if it was converted to steel, they kept the same configuration.

The drain COULD go into the floor for almost any sink configuration. The key thing, though, is that it is not supposed to go into the floor, except if you want to gamble and use the AAV that the previous poster indicated.

But if I get a plumber to adapt to the pipe and add length so it drains through the wall... the original pipe goes through the floor in the original configuration. So has much really changed except the placement of the last couple feet? Or is that the point?

What is the gamble with the vent like posted by the previous author? So long as it is located high enough above the drain on the sink, I dont see how it could be a real problem - what am I missing?

Thanks!

JMH

It's probably safe to say that many of us Plumbers do not like AAV's, I'm not speaking for anyone else but I'd rather run an atmospheric vent line any day, whatever it takes.

Besides the fact that AAV's can malfunction and cause a draining issue, it wouldn't look good under a lav like that, in a vanity cabinet possibly but not a pedestal style basin or wall hung model with exposed piping.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

The point is that when the pipe is moved into the wall it will also have a vertical vent line installed, either going out the roof or connecting to another vent line somewhere. An AAV can prevent the sink from draining if there is a problem in the drain system somewhere else, which would not happen with a conventional vent. I do not know how many functioning drains have been snaked because the plumber did not check to see if there was an AAV and if so if that sink was the real problem.

Also AAV's cannot hide in a wall and many times are the source of a terrible stankin odor!

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is it wisconsin or michigan or somewhere up there that allow a p-trap below the floor and a 60" drop from the sink to the trap?
it must work OK as some state has seen fit to allow this configuration.

It was wisconsin.

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thanks for all the info.. I didnt realize that the AAV couldnt be hid inside a wall...

I am a more educated consumer now, so when the pros come, I have some idea what Im talking about... thanks!!!

JMH

now dont get those guys wrong.

the aav's can be installed in the wall as long as you have access to them for maintanence and or replacing

- - - - - - -

PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

AAV's are not an option in massachusetts. they are verbotten.(i think that means forbidden?)

Nothing wrong with banning AAV's.
We haven't had them here until NYS recently adopted language from the ever so lenient IPC.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.