Tell me about putting a toilet in the basement

[thewop]

Our basement is unfinished at the moment, but will be fully finished eventually blah blah blah.  It will most likely be a bathroom/laundry room combo.  We know we have to tear up a portion of  the concrete to access the plumbing.  It would be next to where the washer is now.  My dad did this a few years ago, but talking to my dad is....painfully awkward, so I figured I'd ask here first.  LOL.  Is there anything crazy we should know about?  This is simply an idea I have.  No hard plans to do anything.  It would simply be easier for my H and I in the morning if there was a toilet somewhere else in the house because he doesn't know about time management in the morning. 

[FoxInFiji]

Yes you'll have to tear open the floor if there is no sanitary toilet drain their now. It's impossible to tell how your current set up is (unless there is a cleanout nearby) exactly without tearing it up so you won't be able to know if you can tie into the laundry drain line until the floor is opened up. Depending on where the toilet and sink (assuming you're going to add one for a powder room set up) goes the tear out might be minimal.

The other option is pricey and noisy but they make toilets that have a built in pump in a box behind the toilet to pump the waste to a drain. You don't have to tear into the concrete for that but it's not an ideal set up as it takes more regular maintenance.

[thewop]

Yeah, we would tear up the concrete for sure and do whatever we need to do, no weird pump in a box thing. When finished it would be a 3/4 with a shower, sink, and toilet. Not sure if that changes anything else.

[electricmayhem]

We put a toilet in our basement when we finished it, but the plumbing was already laid in the floor and our builder left a hole in the concrete so it could be accessed. I would definitely do it if you only have one bathroom now.

[FoxInFiji]

No just more would need to be torn up for the shower and sink. Do you remember Mike from At Home Alterations from the nest? They've been working on the basement remodel for a while and they added a bathroom to their basement near the laundry room. Here's some posts that specifically talk about that:

www.athomealterations.com/2011/09/plumbers.html
www.athomealterations.com/2011/09/who-knew-it-would-be-so-much-work.html
www.athomealterations.com/2011/09/no-longer-a-pit-of-dirt.html

[thewop]

Ooo, great info! Thanks!

[grey56]

We have an up pump and it sucks. I would rather have no bathroom than that.

[perkyderky]

Feb 7, 2013 6:44:45 GMT -5 grey56 said:

We have an up pump and it sucks. I would rather have no bathroom than that.

Sorry to hijack a little, but Grey, can you please expand?  Our basement, where we want to install a third bathroom is below the sewer line, so we were under the impression that we'd HAVE to get a toilet with the pump.  What is so bad about it?

[grey56]

Feb 7, 2013 14:09:41 GMT -5 perkyderky said:

Feb 7, 2013 6:44:45 GMT -5 grey56 said:

We have an up pump and it sucks. I would rather have no bathroom than that.

Sorry to hijack a little, but Grey, can you please expand?  Our basement, where we want to install a third bathroom is below the sewer line, so we were under the impression that we'd HAVE to get a toilet with the pump.  What is so bad about it?

It's noisy.  It takes more than one flush sometimes.  It does its up-pump-ing WHILE you're on the pot, which scares the bejesus out of you.  Ours is also connected to the sink so it does its up-pump-ing when you're washing your hands too. 

Maybe the previous owners went cheap cheap cheap, but it looks like a bathroom in a camp for scouts. 

[thewop]

Hmm...is the pump for septic? I've never heard of needing a pump if we're digging up the floor to connect to city sewer/water. Needless to say I will NOT cheap out on anything. I plan on living there for years, so while it won't be the worlds fanciest second bathroom, it won't be the lowest grade.

[perkyderky]

Thank you for your expertise!