Hello, 1st time post. Not a professional plumber by any means, but have a general knowledge of plumbing.
I am currently at the end of remodeling 2 bathrooms and having a contractor do all the work.
I apologize if my terminology or descriptions are a bit off.. I can try to clarify as needed.
There are 3 bathrooms in the house. House is an L shaped ranch, 1 bathroom (call it guest 2 - not being redone) near one end of the L and the other 2 (Guest 1 and Master) near the opposite end of the L. Unfinished basement so all subfloor plumbing is basically visible from the basement.
Main waste line runs from Guest 2, makes a 90 degree turn and heads toward the other two bathrooms (other side of the L). Secondary waste line (maybe not the correct term) services the Master and Guest 1 and joins the Main waste line which then exits the house.
Issue with Guest 1:
The Guest 1 bathroom has single sink, toilet and shower.
My contractor had the shower drain P trapped directly into the end of the waste line (no vent on shower drain - there is a vent further down the waste line) (attached picture). About a foot or less away from the end of the waste line the toilet waste pipe (which I believe the guest 1 sink also ties into) enters the secondary waste line via sanitary tee (can be seen in the picture). The guest shower does not get used often (maybe once a week, sometimes less). Noticed a sewage smell in the guest bathroom.. it was emanating from the shower drain. Appeared to be dirty water in the drain.. does not appear the trap lost it's water seal at all. Do not believe there is any blockage in the waste line and also had the septic pumped recently (beginning of November). I notice a good bit of movement in the water in the shower drain trap when flushing the toilet. (did not seem to pull water from the shower drain, more so pushing the water as it just appears to rise in the shower drain, then settle back) I believed some of the waste water was getting into the trap. Flushed the trap out with a bucket of water. About a week and 1/2 after no use of the guest shower, but some use of the toilet, noticed brown water again, some debris and what appeared to be some toilet paper (not positive, if it was TP, should have pulled it out before I cleared the drain again, but I believe the shower drain trap water should have been clear and free of debris either way). Might be a venting issue, not sure. Had spoken with my contractor about it and I thought it would be best to run the shower drain differently. My thought was to run the shower drain line parallel to the secondary waste line, then drop it into the main waste line further along. Possibly adding an AAV along the shower drain if needed, or tie it into the last vent in the waste line (vent is just before it exits the house, can be seen in the last picture.. Master bath tub drain with AAV is tied into it). Contractor thought that would work and agreed and said he would take a look and change the plumbing. He said he completed the plumbing and I come home a couple f days later to see he has just turned the P trap into an S trap.
As I understood it, S traps are not to code (haven't been for some time) and should not be used due to possibility of syphoning the water out of the trap, breaking the water seal. Looking for some advice how to best drain this shower as I don't want to leave an S trap there (yes, it may never be a problem, but the fact that I am paying someone a good deal of money to have it done correctly, I shouldn't have to ever worry about it).
I can take more pictures tomorrow night and show the S trap that has been newly installed.
Any suggestions, help, advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
Paul
I am currently at the end of remodeling 2 bathrooms and having a contractor do all the work.
I apologize if my terminology or descriptions are a bit off.. I can try to clarify as needed.
There are 3 bathrooms in the house. House is an L shaped ranch, 1 bathroom (call it guest 2 - not being redone) near one end of the L and the other 2 (Guest 1 and Master) near the opposite end of the L. Unfinished basement so all subfloor plumbing is basically visible from the basement.
Main waste line runs from Guest 2, makes a 90 degree turn and heads toward the other two bathrooms (other side of the L). Secondary waste line (maybe not the correct term) services the Master and Guest 1 and joins the Main waste line which then exits the house.
Issue with Guest 1:
The Guest 1 bathroom has single sink, toilet and shower.
My contractor had the shower drain P trapped directly into the end of the waste line (no vent on shower drain - there is a vent further down the waste line) (attached picture). About a foot or less away from the end of the waste line the toilet waste pipe (which I believe the guest 1 sink also ties into) enters the secondary waste line via sanitary tee (can be seen in the picture). The guest shower does not get used often (maybe once a week, sometimes less). Noticed a sewage smell in the guest bathroom.. it was emanating from the shower drain. Appeared to be dirty water in the drain.. does not appear the trap lost it's water seal at all. Do not believe there is any blockage in the waste line and also had the septic pumped recently (beginning of November). I notice a good bit of movement in the water in the shower drain trap when flushing the toilet. (did not seem to pull water from the shower drain, more so pushing the water as it just appears to rise in the shower drain, then settle back) I believed some of the waste water was getting into the trap. Flushed the trap out with a bucket of water. About a week and 1/2 after no use of the guest shower, but some use of the toilet, noticed brown water again, some debris and what appeared to be some toilet paper (not positive, if it was TP, should have pulled it out before I cleared the drain again, but I believe the shower drain trap water should have been clear and free of debris either way). Might be a venting issue, not sure. Had spoken with my contractor about it and I thought it would be best to run the shower drain differently. My thought was to run the shower drain line parallel to the secondary waste line, then drop it into the main waste line further along. Possibly adding an AAV along the shower drain if needed, or tie it into the last vent in the waste line (vent is just before it exits the house, can be seen in the last picture.. Master bath tub drain with AAV is tied into it). Contractor thought that would work and agreed and said he would take a look and change the plumbing. He said he completed the plumbing and I come home a couple f days later to see he has just turned the P trap into an S trap.
As I understood it, S traps are not to code (haven't been for some time) and should not be used due to possibility of syphoning the water out of the trap, breaking the water seal. Looking for some advice how to best drain this shower as I don't want to leave an S trap there (yes, it may never be a problem, but the fact that I am paying someone a good deal of money to have it done correctly, I shouldn't have to ever worry about it).
I can take more pictures tomorrow night and show the S trap that has been newly installed.
Any suggestions, help, advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
Paul