Newbie Question: Toilet Install

[Terry]

what the risks are of just leaving it there ?

Well, we could rubber stamp it.
But we're looking at a picture, and the first thing that jumps up is,
Whoah! Who in heck did it thataway?
Now, it may work, lots of things work, or it may not work so good.
I've never seen one done that way ever in over thirty years of plumbing and looking at plumbing.
So you gotta feel good about somethin here, you have a first there.

Let me say one thing about venting and plumbing though, toilets are getting quicker,
and with quicker,
venting and angles become more important, not less important.
With five gallons, that slowly drain from the bowl, very little happened ventwise or line wise.
With some of the newer ones, the bowl drains in 2 seconds.
You can see the water in other fixtures, like back to back toilets, where the water in the other bowl is pulled out and lowered.
To me, on any "new" plumbing I do, it's going to be much better than "code allows".
The world has changed, and to me it means we will need "better" plumbing in the future, not "worse".

 

[Jimbo]

I will guess that the san tee was used in order to be able to place the pipe where they wanted it. A combo, or a wye + 45 would require more vertical distance. I think you could live with it as is if this is a through drain line. If the pipe out of the left is a vent, that would be trouble. Since it appears to be a 4-4-4, it is probably a through drain.

It's a 3" santee
Terry

 

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[DerekW]

Dubious Honor: Winning the Bad Plumbing Lottery!

Terry/Jimbo/All,

Just back on-line after a day off...

Thanks for your last responses! (BTW, if you're tired of this thread and don't want to spend any more energy I understand!).

Well, when I first wrote my initial question I sure didn't realize I would win the prize of Terry's "most bizzare thing I HAVEN'T seen in my 30+ years"!!

Anyway, per the last round of comments...I am 90% sure this is a through drain line as Jimbo was speculating. There is a tub drain 3'-4' from where the toilet goes, and I can see that that drain feeds into the line the toilet is on. Also, I'm about 80% - 90% sure there is a sink/vanity drain that also feeds into the line upstream from the toilet.

I only mention this to try to respond to your questions and try to better clarify what's there. NOT because I am defending what is there (I didn't put the stupid thing in, remember!!)

I am willing to have the san tee changed out. But, I believe as one or two others have speculated, that using a combo would be too high (i.e., rise significantly above the sub-floor). Therefore, it seems that to change the san tee out for a combo that whole line would have to be torn out and a new line with a new slope put in. Correct or no?

I might be willing to do this if it was absolutely necessary (I ripped out a brass shower drain and copper pan last year...put in by the same rough-in plumber who installed the san tee...because there was no pre-slope under the pan and I learned that was a recipe for mold/mildew...see johnbridge.com).

That's why I feel like my best option going forward is to get a different licensed plumber over to look at everything, give him the feedback I have gotten from you good folks, let him survey the whole thing at eyeballs length, and then make a decision.

If you still have the energy , please let me know if I am missing anything or if you think there is a better action plan.

Thanks again.....you guys (gals?) are great!

Derek

 

[Mikey]

I am 90% sure this is a through drain line

Go for 100% -- pour some water down the other 2 fixtures and see if you see it running down the pipe.