DWV test without a test tee

[Noah Sheppard]

Hi all, I have a question about DWV testing. I'm converting a tub/shower combo to just a shower and in the process upgrading the drain from 1.5" to 2". I filed for permits and the township wants a rough plumbing inspection which, as I understand it, means a test. Per code, since the plumbing is PVC, this has to be a 10' of head water test, not air.

This plumbing work is all in an addition the previous owner made to my house. All the waste fixtures in the addition (lav, toilet, shower) ultimately come to a single 3" pipe (call it the "addition pipe") that travels through the crawlspace and joins the main waste pipe of the rest of the house (an old cast iron pipe with a small PVC section spliced in where the addition pipe joins).

The DWV system in the addition does not have a test tee anywhere to make it easy to isolate the addition plumbing from the rest of the house and just test it. There is a cleanout cap at the end of the 3" addition pipe. The shower drain joins into another 3" pipe (call it the "side pipe") also carrying the lav waste, and then that 3" pipe joins the addition pipe that goes back to the main. The distance between the cleanout cap and where the side pipe joins the addition pipe is about 6 feet. The vent stack is off the side pipe, also.

I would really, really like to avoid having to test the entire house as that would require pulling up two toilets so I could plug the flanges. I would also like to avoid having to file yet another permit with the township and pay another fee just to add a test tee to the system. I can see two options, but I'm wondering whether they seem feasible:

1. Obtain a long test plug like you normally use in a cleanout tee, plus an extension hose and some extra chain, and push the plug down the 3" pipe through the cleanout so that the two ribbed zones on the long test plug straddle the opening in the sanitee where the side pipe joins. The idea would be to seal both sides of the sanitee so water can't go down toward the sewer, nor back out the (now open) cleanout at the end of the addition pipe.
2. Open up where the spliced PVC section is in the main cast iron pipe, then plug both ends of that PVC section. The spliced PVC is joined to the cast iron using those rubber sleeves with metal collars so it should not be hard to remove.

Do one of these seem like they would work, or am I missing some better solution?

Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

I filed for permits and the township wants a rough plumbing inspection which, as I understand it, means a test.

Did the township say they require a test?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Plumber69]

Hi all, I have a question about dwv testing. I'm converting a tub/shower combo to just a shower and in the process upgrading the drain from 1.5" to 2". I filed for permits and the township wants a rough plumbing inspection which, as I understand it, means a test. Per code, since the plumbing is PVC, this has to be a 10' of head water test, not air.

This plumbing work is all in an addition the previous owner made to my house. All the waste fixtures in the addition (lav, toilet, shower) ultimately come to a single 3" pipe (call it the "addition pipe") that travels through the crawlspace and joins the main waste pipe of the rest of the house (an old cast iron pipe with a small PVC section spliced in where the addition pipe joins).

The dwv system in the addition does not have a test tee anywhere to make it easy to isolate the addition plumbing from the rest of the house and just test it. There is a cleanout cap at the end of the 3" addition pipe. The shower drain joins into another 3" pipe (call it the "side pipe") also carrying the lav waste, and then that 3" pipe joins the addition pipe that goes back to the main. The distance between the cleanout cap and where the side pipe joins the addition pipe is about 6 feet. The vent stack is off the side pipe, also.

I would really, really like to avoid having to test the entire house as that would require pulling up two toilets so I could plug the flanges. I would also like to avoid having to file yet another permit with the township and pay another fee just to add a test tee to the system. I can see two options, but I'm wondering whether they seem feasible:

1. Obtain a long test plug like you normally use in a cleanout tee, plus an extension hose and some extra chain, and push the plug down the 3" pipe through the cleanout so that the two ribbed zones on the long test plug straddle the opening in the sanitee where the side pipe joins. The idea would be to seal both sides of the sanitee so water can't go down toward the sewer, nor back out the (now open) cleanout at the end of the addition pipe.
2. Open up where the spliced PVC section is in the main cast iron pipe, then plug both ends of that PVC section. The spliced PVC is joined to the cast iron using those rubber sleeves with metal collars so it should not be hard to remove.

Do one of these seem like they would work, or am I missing some better solution?

Thanks!

You shouldn't have to do a test for just that.

 

[Noah Sheppard]

Did the township say they require a test?

No, they didn't explicitly say they wanted one. I'll call the township and ask.

 

[Kreemoweet]

#1 would be the standard procedure - appropriate test balls can be had at most rental yards. I've never heard of DWV work
such as yours not requiring a water test, but I suppose such laxness could exist in some jurisdictions.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

The inspector would be asking a lot to require a pressure test on a tub to shower conversion. If he really wanted it, i would cut in the test tee on only that line and be done with it. We still do 5 psi air tests here, even though the PVC manufacturers state not to.