# Pole Barn bathroom rough in



## jdcs1978 (Jan 30, 2017)

I have been a homeowner for many years and love DIY. I have made many plumbing repairs and other maintenance and repairs around the house. I recently purchased another home and acreage in northern Michigan. 

I recently built an insulated post frame building 30x74. For my next project I am planning a bathroom in the barn. Concrete has not been poured and its time to rough in the plumbing. I am confident with my ability but I have questions.
The barn is approximately 150' from the well where I plan to connect the supply to the barn. The supply line will be buried 48". The barn is elevated about 5-10' higher than grade where the well pit is.

Not sure of the pressure from the well but in the bathtub of the house I fill a 5 gal. bucket in about a minute, and I know the well was installed in about 1970 so I am sure the galvanized piping supplying the house must have some restriction. There is an air/bladder tank in the well pit which I believe is 44 gals. There is an air pressure written on top of the tank of 28# along with the date of tank installation (5/2006).

Questions:
What material to use for supply line. PEX....etc
What size supply line
The supply line will enter the barn 48" below grade, will supply line need to be in a sleeve beneath the concrete.
The bathroom will be on the opposite side of wall where line enters bldg 30' away. Should the line remain 48" below the floor then 90 up to come thru the floor or should it slope up.

Next is to rough in the drains and toilet. I am familiar with spacing of the toilet shower sink. But I still have a few questions.

Pipe sizes:
Toilet 4"?
shower 2"?
Floor drain "?
Sink 1-1/2"?
vent stack "?

I have attached an illustration of the drain/vent system I plan to use.

How far below the floor should I make the T connections for the shower and and toilet? Or does it matter?


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## clarenceboddick (Nov 30, 2016)

PVC for cold supply from muni/well. 3/4" Sch 40 should be fine. Do you live in a freeze zone? Sleeve under or through the slab? I'd use a 1 1/4" PVC pipe for a sleeve to have some room for movement.

For the drains/vent, I'd use foam core DWV PVC. 4", 2", 2-3" depending on what you plan to flush down the floor drain. 1 1/2"-2" depending if your gonna be using the sink in an industrial application vs washing your hands. I'd go 3", but check your local codes of course. As long as you keep a minimum of 1/8" per foot for grade/slope, you should be fine for the drains. Don't have a big drop with the toilet, as you don't want the solids to stick to the pipe. Best to have a gentle slope as much as possible so the solids stay with the liquid while traveling down the pipe.


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

I would go with black poly pipe for the water line, at that distance 1" should be minimum, I might go with 1.25". Black poly is available in long rolls so there would be no joints to ever fail. This pipe is incredibly tough and not brittle like pvc. Connections are made to the poly by driving in a brass barb fitting that is then clamped with two 100% stainless steel hose clamps at each end. 

Poly is about all you would find in the ground around here for water lines, especially in an application like this. Large water mains will usually be PVC but smaller branch lines are almost always either copper or poly. Private well setups almost always use poly. I would keep it buried at depth all the way to where you exit up through the slab. No sleeve needed underground but I would install a short sleeve where it exits through the slab.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

The question wasn't ask but from my well I ran 2 lines, one to the house and one for outdoor use. That second line is real convenient when the house needs plumbing work and water is still available on the property. 

I recommend a sleeve for any line under the concrete and I wouldn't stop at the first convenient location at the building line but sleeve the supply all to the way to point of use.

I would also make provisions for winterizing if necessary. There would be a stop and waste valve to drain the supply to the building if necessary and an air access point to make certain it was empty. 

If heating and cooling of an office area, under slab duct work is the best thing since sliced bread.


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## jdcs1978 (Jan 30, 2017)

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the replies and advice and help, this is a great forum.


I like the idea of the black poly, I hadn't really thought about it but it makes sense. I have used black poly for underground sprinkler systems but never gave it much thought for this project. In my past experience with it I never paid attention to what PSI rating I used. There are several different from 100 to 300 psi, which should I use. I also know that black poly can be a bit difficult to work with when inserting fittings, Ive had to heat it up a bit when changing out sprinkler heads. I will keep it at 48" underground the whole run up to where it will come up thru the slab then bring it up from that point. Is the poly flexible enough to complete a "sweeping" 90 up to and thru slab or do i need an elbow to bring it up.


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## jdcs1978 (Jan 30, 2017)

SeniorSitizen said:


> The question wasn't ask but from my well I ran 2 lines, one to the house and one for outdoor use. That second line is real convenient when the house needs plumbing work and water is still available on the property.
> 
> I recommend a sleeve for any line under the concrete and I wouldn't stop at the first convenient location at the building line but sleeve the supply all to the way to point of use.
> 
> ...


Yes I need to consider winterizing. I was thinking about adding a gate valve or similar at the connection point in the well pit and all I would need to do is shut the pump off and open that valve and the water should evacuate at that point just thru gravity but I'm hesitant to drain the water into the pit. I think I can evacuate enough water by just opening a spigot in the bathroom and turning off the power to the pump. I believe the bladder should push enough water out to the point where any remaining water will only be in the pipe below the freeze line. I think that makes sense.


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