Plumbing Prob!!!

[MonsterC]

Any plumbers here?Buyin a Home and the only problem is that there is no Drain in the Garage for the Washer.I can get hot and cold lines but there is NO drain.Also the houses drains dont run anywhere near the garage.So im curious if its possible and a guesstimate on cost to run one from the garage thru the wall or floor and over into the Main Drain near the sidewalk about 8' away?And would it need a permit or something?If anyone here knows or has a friend that might know a rough cost and be able to do it,Let me know!!! Thanks!!!

[M_DEZ]

I'll ask my uncle how much it would be since he's a plumber.

[Phischy]

A plumber can do it, but it'll be expensive. You will not have to get a permit BUT think about it. You'll have to start the drain from the washer, then bring it through a wall, then outside the wall, into the ground , then to trench it all the way to the side walk to attach it to the main sewer line. That is a lot of work considering you're not going to be affecting hte slab of your property and to get under the sidewalk to attach it to the sewer line....

Best thing to do would be to hire several licensed plumbers and to ask for estimates.

[corb66]

I do not believe you would have to go all the way to the side walk just to your main line that is hopefully running past your garage to the main line. I will not be cheap my guess is 400-600. I have a friend who is a plumber that could do it but he is building his own house right now so is not doing sides jobs.

[suver569]

If you have no line in the garage, you have to tap in the mainline, which is normally straight out from your kitchen sink, towards the street. There's a chance it cuts over, and taps into bathrooms and such, but there's an easy way to find out.

Take 2 pieces of bare copper wire about 28" long, 10 guage, bend about a 4" piece over at a 90 degree angle, and have about a 24" on the other side. Hold onto the 4" piece, and poke them straigh out in front of you, holding them a few inches apart. Turn your water on full blast, and let the water build up. You can plug the sink, fill it up, then let it all go at once.
Simply hold the 2 pieces of copper wire out in front of you, and hold the wires close to the ground, and they will cross inwards when your over the water running in the sewer lines.

It sounds stupid, but it works.

Oh, but when you find it, measure out how far the drain is from where you want your washer drain. Figure you'll have to sawcut, breakout the concrete, at least an 8" wide ditch, dig the dirt out at a slight slope for drainage towards the main line, and patchback and finish of the new concrete. Also figure in all the pvc pipe and fittings you'll need to get it to the main line, also break out and tap into the mainline with a "T" is fairly easy, but the main is usually cast, so you'll have to cut through it and adapt it to the PVC "T" with a few pvc-cast fittings.

Your talking several grand easily. I dont think a demo crew would even think twice about a grand easily for a 10' section of cutting and breakout of concrete.

I actually could get a better estimate from my friends at WSC. they can price that up for ya if you have measurements.

[MonsterC]

if someone could tel me where it was id dig the drench and have it ready.And would try and get the whole thru the concrete base or the stucco wall.So it wuld just need the plumbing laid out and "T it into the main.Which im pretty sure it is cast.If anyone can give a rough guesstimate.Thanks All!!!

[nalbar]

its actually quite a simple thing to do. whether the 'main' is cast or plastic is irrelevent because of modern rubber couplings.

the main expense is the ditch, the rest is VERY basic, and is not different than plumbing a tank drain (besides the vent, dont forget you need to vent the pipe through the roof, unless you use a 'oneway' vent.


its all quite easy, anybody can do it.



nalbar

[MonsterC]

Im really thinkin of doin it myself the more I think about it.My dad and I have build many engines,and replaced double doors and vinyl windows and remodeled bathrooms. So I think we can do it.I just dont want to dig and dig and dig trying to find the line.If I know for SURE it in that area id be all for it.I know about ventin it thru the celing,ut whats the oneway vent????Thanks for the replies everyone!!!! Am I able to do it or does it have to be a certified plumber????

P.S. Anyone sell or know someone that sells Carpet too!!!:D

[nalbar]

the reason a vent needs to go through the roof is so sewer smells go outside. a 'oneway' allows air in (to allow air in the drains) but no air out (keeping smells in). they are used where vents cant go to roof (under a stair, for instance) so the pipe just stops in the wall. they are also sometimes used on roof vents where the smell happens to go inside a window.
http://www.toolbase.org/tertiaryT.asp?TrackID=&CategoryID=1402&DocumentID=2127

sometimes you can find the main by looking for the clean outs. usually there is one right outside the house where the pipe leaves. if you have a crawl space under your house you can crawl under there and see the main. normally they are in a pretty logical place. sometimes you can even see where they tore apart the street to hook up to the 'true' main (assuming they have not paved your street since). worst comes to worst you can hire a 'pipe locator' company to find it. it costs about 100 bucks.

the ditch is almost always the hardest part.

and no, you dont need a plumber, and yes, you can do it yourself.

nalbar