Second Floor Laundry Floor Drain Pitch

[mannos]

Is there a code or required pitch for the floor to the drain? I have a second story laundry, with a floor drain, and the floor was either laid flat or pitched away from the drain. My builder claims it is flat and that is "customary" for laundry rooms.

We had a flood, and as you can imagine, water flowed out of the laundry room, and not to the drain, hence causing several thousands of dollars in damage to the main floor and basement.

Builder denies responsibility as you probably guessed.

Home was new construction completed in May 2015. Home is located in Macomb Township Michigan.

 

[hj]

Upper levels usually have a FLAT plywood floor and therefore it is almost impossible to "pitch" the floor. You are usual because on the upper level few laundry rooms even have floor drains. What caused the flood?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[mannos]

Thanks for the quick reply...

Wife caused the flood, left sink faucet on with drain plugged.

I figured, even with a FLAT plywood floor, the ceramic tile flooring would have been "pitched" as needed. What's the point of a drain if the floor is not pitched toward it?

I assumed, like an idiot, when I asked for a floor drain that the builder, plumber, and tile installer knew what the purpose was of the floor drain and make the necessary adjustments to their work so it actually provide value.

 

[hj]

o "pitch the floor" to the drain, you would have had to make a 'step up" at the door way, which would have become a trip hazard, especially with the thickness of the floor which would have been necessary to prevent cracking. They could have installed a "dam" across the doorway and around the room so the water would have to go to the drain "eventually", but I do not think you would have liked that either. I would have installed the drain the same way, because I do NOT "pitch the floor". That is the tile person's job. I assume you have trusses, so the builder could NOT have installed a "depressed" subfloor so the tiler could have room to create a slopped floor surface.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

I figured, even with a FLAT plywood floor, the ceramic tile flooring would have been "pitched" as needed. What's the point of a drain if the floor is not pitched toward it?

A lot of work and materials are required to build a proper tiled and WATERPROOFED wet room. That includes ceramic baseboards to prevent water to leak into the walls and studs. One does not simply drop down tiles on varied thickness of mortar by eyeballing it. There is a lot of precision in proper floor framing, as well as the proper type of drain made for the wet room.

If you did not specify for such a floor at the time of construction, your mistake was to assume you were going to get one. Unless the builder was specifically obliged to build one by CONTRACT, I believe you are at COMPLETE fault here for negligence per your story of the wife.

You asked for a (cosmetic) floor drain, and you got one. The path of least resistance for waterflow is indeed the damage you experienced. It may be possible the builder did not bring up the topic of a proper floor in fear you may not have wanted to pay for it. Everyone wants things for free these days.

Wet rooms and barrier-free showers have a very OBVIOUS and distinct slope "pitch", the horizontal grade is visually obvious by eye and touch.

Your choices are to either restore your home from the damages you caused, allowing the incident to repeat, or gut out the ENTIRE room to construct a proper wet room.

There are plenty of Youtube videos that show you all the materials needed and procedre to construct the room you require, e.g. Schluter-Systems Kerdi Drain.

 

[mannos]

You asked for a (cosmetic) floor drain, and you got one.

I asked for a floor drain to minimize damage when a flood occurs. I am not a home builder, nor a tile installer, nor a plumber, I am a homeowner who knew at some point there would be a flood. I did not ask for a (cosmetic) floor drain, who would? I paid for a floor drain thinking it would cover the majority of the flood water. I would have been ok if that part of the solution worked, and some of the water leaked through the floor or baseboards since I never specified or requested a fully waterproof room.

Everyone wants things for free these days.

To imply I wanted something for free is way off base, I paid for the floor drain, and requested it in addition to the price of the home. You missed the point and clearly want to make assumptions about my circumstances. You can also assume I am at COMPLETE fault, but a builder, plumber, tile installer, and any other tradesman, who takes pride in what they do should know better, in my opinion. If the builder said, "I will install this drain, but the floor will not have a pitch and will do very little for you in the event of a flood" and I still chose that as an option to mitigate a flood scenario, then I would be at COMPLETE fault.

Can you give me one reason, besides to mitigate a flood, that a homeowner would request a floor drain in a second story laundry room? Make sure the reason you suggest actually provides value, since I PAID for this floor drain.

I think I have more than your two suggested options... and I am sure there are some others on this site who could actually suggest something a little more reasonable than entirely gutting it out. I guess when you are not paying for the repairs or reconstruction, it is easy to state the obvious choices one has.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

A plumber will install a floor drain wherever the drawings specify. Constructing a waterproof floor/room is completely above and beyond any common residential construction, unless it is specifically called out for. Building a room as such will easily triple the cost per sqft compared to that of a standard room.

 

[Kreemoweet]

Is there a code? There are many, many, codes. Theoretically, as many as there are different jurisdictions. I do not know what
OP's local code says, but the UPC I have at hand only requires floors to be sloped to the drain where drainage is "regular" or "frequent".
Clearly, though, the contractor gets negative points for not making the situation clear.

 

[hj]

quote; something a little more reasonable than entirely gutting it out

Think abut it. There are only TWO ways to make your floor drain work the way you want it to.
1. Raise the floor around the drain, which will create a "step/tripping point" at the doorway, or
2. Lower the drain below the level of the surrounding area, which requires that the ENTIRE floor in the room be below the level of the joists, which are supporting the rest of the building, to create a 'well' to direct the water to the drain.
EITHER of these options require, "entirely gutting it out", and a major reconstruction afterwards, AND it would not have been much easier, or cheaper, if it had been done during construction. PLUS, if your upper level is on trusses, it might have been impossible to lower the floor in that area.

 

[Reach4]

A lot of upper story laundry rooms get washing machine drain pans. I suspect that may have saved you, although that would probably not have helped a lot with a burst washing machine hose.

I wonder if a linear shower drain lined up between beams could be retrofit now with some major floor work.

I'll bet that some effective solution would have been found originally if the architect had considered this.

 

[hj]

washer drain pan would not have helped ANY because she overfilled the laundry sink.

 

[Reach4]

Good point. A cheap water alarm might have helped if somebody was home and the battery was still good. http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/

 

[xprtplumber]

I just installed a 2nd floor laundry drain on monday as a condition of sale for a new construction. The purchaser refused to buy the home without a laundry drain installed. So the builder hired us to cut out the brand new drywall and drill a hole in the ceramic flooring for the drain installation.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

I just installed a 2nd floor laundry drain on monday as a condition of sale for a new construction. The purchaser refused to buy the home without a laundry drain installed. So the builder hired us to cut out the brand new drywall and drill a hole in the ceramic flooring for the drain installation.

There is a big difference between a laundry drain and a floor drain. A floor drain on an upper floor in with standard flat flooring construction is pretty much worthless.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

I paid for a floor drain thinking it would cover the majority of the flood water.

And there is the mistake. You thought and assumed.

If you feel you may have been duped, you should be seeking local legal service. No amount of input from an internet forum will make your builder come back to give you compensation and free work.

I am sure there are some others on this site who could actually suggest something a little more reasonable than entirely gutting it out.

How do you expect to build a PROPER wet room with what is there now? Tile over existing tiles? You won't find a single contractor that will do that, unless you forced them to do it off the record, without paperwork nor sale receipts.

I guess when you are not paying for the repairs or reconstruction, it is easy to state the obvious choices one has.

Does this mean when you where asking for free advice from strangers, you were expecting only answers that you liked?

I think I speak for and condone everyone here that participates to provide unobligated answers on their own time.