Toilet to a Horizontal Stack

[Brook]

I live in a bungalow (aka ranch) over a crawlspace where we find all the plumbing. It was built back in 1960 in what then was a rural area, where the building inspection was done over a beer at a bar! Many things about it that might suggest a renovation would end up requiring a complete rewire and a replumb!

We have a septic tank that the original builder put in very high (about 3" below grade in a deepfreeze climate) The exit to the tank (6" ABS) from the house is about 16" (centred) below the floor joists. The main stack runs about 12" below the floor joists.

There is a toilet located immediately above the septic tank pipe. The pipe from the toilet comes out from the flange to the just above the top of the tank pipe and loops around in a fairly tight U turn down into a Y at the end of the tank pipe (the other side being a cleanout). This doesn't seem quite right. Is this actually acceptable? Or is there another way to do it?

To run it to the horizontal stack, would mean out in the direction opposite stack flow and loop back into the horizontal stack.

Or do I have to move the toilet ? (I'm doing a bathroom remodel so now's the time if I have to!)

 

[Tom Sawyer]

There's no such thing as a horizontal stack.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

We do not have enough information to tell if there is another way of doing it, but almost anything might be better than what you have. I have never seen a residential septic tank with a 6" pipe to it.

 

[Brook]

No such thing huh? Clearly a matter of terminology ...

Yes, my gut says a stack is vertical by definition. So what would you like to call the main 4" drain pipe that all the fittings drain into that in a normal house would be vertical as a "stack", but in mine, due to the high septic tank and low sitting building, runs with a very slight slope to the septic tank pipe but for all practical purposes would be called Horizontal.

The house to tank pipe is certainly larger than the 4" horizontal stack.

Decision made to move the toilet so the path of the waste pipe goes into new wye in the horizontal stack ... with many fittings joining the stack in this area, it's messy, and I fear that the inspector may reject what he sees! Then I have an expensive job ahead cleaning it all up.

 

[Reach4]

Is this something like you are describing? Where does the other plumbing join? Maybe you could make a better sketch.

 

[Brook]

Try this ... I'm no picture drawer! And I can't get a photo!