# Placing the trap in a tight space



## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Hello all, I am in the final stages of finishing out my basement and have ran into quite a problem, at least I think so.

All of the plumbing for the bathroom was stubbed in when the house was built, all I have to do is tie into the existing stubbed and capped vent and tap into existing PEX tubing for water supply.

Here is the problem, the hole in the floor where the bathtub drain is located is 13 in by 13 in and the stub pipe is to the extreme right of that hole. The stub in vent pipe is in the ceiling (of course) to the left of the bathroom wall. This normally would not present a problem, except that the tub drain will fall only 1 1/2 in from the far edge of the existing hole in the concrete.

I can't figure out how I am going get the "P" trap in that little bit of space, much less the vent. I have the pipe configuration laid out I just don't see the room available without breaking more concrete.

Hopefully the crude diagram will help.

Thanks
Jason


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> Hopefully the crude diagram will help.


Nope it doesn't.
This is clear as mud.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

13x13 should be enough room. Use an elbow to connect the pipe to the trap. Do you have another vertical pipe in that wall to connect to the vent in the ceiling? How about a couple of pictures?


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Sorry, I did all of that drawing and writing as I was going to bed last night. The hole is plenty big enough, the issue I have is that the distance from the wall to the drain pipe is only 10 inches. The distance from the the wall to the drain hole in the tub is also 10". If I were to drop in strait down with no trap or vent it would fit perfectly. The horizontal distance added by the trap and post-trap vent shifts the drain pipe left 6" or so and thus misaligned to the tub drain hole. There is only about 4" or so of the pipe exposed from under the concrete, I could cut that back but then I am still off by 2 or 3" on tub drain alignment.

Photos to come soon, technical difficulties are prevailing today.


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

*Finally a picture*

Here is the setup I figured out. The only questions that remain are: 1. Is the "P" trap okay to go the way I have it? 2. Is it okay to have the vent come in from the side, like I have it?


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm not sure why you are trying to install a vent. It is usually done during the underground piping. But if you must vent it like that, roll the tee up above the center line of the drain (45 degree angle)
The trap can be twisted anyway you want.


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Eplumber, 

Thank you very much for the advice. As to why I am venting, the short answer is that I don't know. I just want to stay compliant with general code (we don't have a code here in the boonies of Kansas). I was under the impression that each "fixture" had to have a vent south of the trap. On the adjacent wall there is a piece of 2" PVC sticking up for the sink drain but the only vent pipe I can find is one that is capped off under the floor/ceiling joists. This has led me to the conclusion, although perhaps wrongly, that nothing for these fixtures is vented.


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Oh, and again thanks.

Jason


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

You are correct that every fixture needs a vent. That can be achieved with wet vents, common vents or individual vents. Since you don't have a vent near the tub I'm assuming your code allows horizontal wet venting and I'm not familiar enough(not allowed in my area) with horizontal wet vents to say if it will work in your case. There is no harm venting the way you propose though.
After looking at your picture again, can you roll the tee on its back and eliminate the 90's? Just a thought


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Eplumber,

Thanks again for the help. We don't have any local code compliance requirements here, but I really want to stay with standard code. I tried rolling the "T" up but based on the depth of the drain line and then getting it back to the wall and up to the vent pipe, it came up out of the opening in the floor, which wouldn't work because the tub sits over it. If I understand correctly, I just need to have it past the centerline (which now makes perfect sense based on the way "you know what" travels). Also, after I ensure that everything is lined up and square and so forth I was planning on using expanding spray foam to fill in the hole around the lines. Would this be appropriate?

Thanks

Jason


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

I would set and plumb the tub so its complete. Run some flow tests to check for leaks and such. Then fill the hole with dirt, gravel or whatever to within a couple inches of the top. Cap the last couple inches with concrete or mortar mix.
Search the forums here for info on setting tubs. There's some good ideas :thumbsup:


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## Jason.Dungan (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks again, you guys are great. I don't think I will have a problem setting the tub, but this vent has been giving me a hard time. Thanks for the tip on filling the hole.

I came up with a "Y" vent solution I think will work better.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Jason


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

That looks nice. I would replace the short pattern 90 with a DWV 90 though. It's flow pattern is made for your application. Less chance it would plug up in the future


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## plummen (Jan 10, 2010)

I would guess when they laid out the ground work the fixtures were laid out to be wet vented through the lav and then tied into the future vent dropped from ceiling above.
what are you using that san-cross for?


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Not trying to hijack the thread....but why white PVC vs black ABS?


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Different areas have different codes---pvc is it here --no abs---Cost is similar so it's a matter of choice if both are approved.


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