Partial Remodel of old Bathroom

[rowdy235]

Hey All!

First off just wanted to thank everybody for their contributions. I have learned more from this site than anywhere else, on the internet or in person.

I have recently acquired an older (1954 construction) home in need of a little updating, and I am hoping next weekend to update a few things in the bathroom.

The first order of business will be the toilet. The one in there is.... well past its prime for lack of a better word. I've replaced toilets before but I am a little concerned about this one due to the age of the home. From what I can tell most of the drain lines are cast iron. The toilet seems "normal" to me, similar size to any modern toilet, but it is strange that it flushes "forward" (eg the water goes toward you instead of away when flushing). Basically my question here is if you guys think I will run into anything unexpected (some weird fitting is my fear).

Next I will be putting in a new vanity/sink combo. The water connections are fine (house was repiped a few years ago) but the drain has me a little confused. Wishing I would have grabbed a picture, but basically the sink goes down and has a normal P-trap. Where the trap exits (horizontal), there is a 90, followed by another 90 (going horizontal again but the opposite way), which feeds into a waste tee. On the top side of the waste tee is a plug (presumably for cleanout) and the bottom goes down into the floor, where I can see the top of a rubber fitting with clamps (maybe to connect to the cast iron drain pipe?)

My question here is twofold. I will be buying a smaller vanity (since room is scarce as is), does anybody see an issue with extending the horizontal piece of the drain in order to compensate for the different location of the drain (diff size vanity = sink drain in diff location)? And, as I am thinking this arrangement is likely not code, will I run into any violations by replacing the vanity/sink? I am not thinking so but wanted to see what the pro's think.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Jadnashua]

Even an older toilet will likely have a 'normal' toilet flange. Sometimes, they aren't centered at 12" from the finished wall (ignore the baseboard, if there is any). If it is 12", you have a huge set of options. Less common would be 10" or 14", but it's not unusual for the measurement to be off a little. It depends on how much off it is, whether any particular toilet will fit.

FWIW, cast iron is still the premium drain material...quiet, and long lasting. Plastic pipe tends to be noisy.

The key thing on the vanity drain is whether it is properly vented. Depending on the diameter of the drain line, the allowable trap arm (the horizontal section after the outlet of the trap) varies. On a 2" line, that's 60" before it can go down, shorter on a 1.5" line. Older homes may have an S-trap, and if you're redoing things, would have to bring it up to code. Before the drain line can go down, it must be vented.

So, a picture would help figure out what you have under the vanity.

On the toilet, often, the bolts holding it to the flange are centered on it...so, you can measure from those to the wall to determine the rough-in value. That may not be exact, and you may not be able to tell exactly until you remove the toilet.

 

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[rowdy235]

Thanks for the quick response!

I am hopeful on the toilet but I will measure just to be safe next time I am home (I work out of town)

Now that I see some pictures online I do think the vanity currently has a "S" trap. From what I've read I should replace with a P-Trap feeding into a sanitary tee with an "air admittance vent" on the top and the bottom leading to the existing drain, with a couple 45s as needed to hit the drain sound doable?

Also, since I'll be replacing everything above the rubber union, would PVC be the material of choice?

 

[Jadnashua]

PVC is certainly the easiest material to use and will work fine IF you configure it properly. Note, not all locations allow an AAV, but it should work better than the S-trap. The rubber connector is supposed to be a banded one, not an all-rubber one with just clamps on each end. That's so it can keep the ends of the pipe aligned. Required above ground.

 

[rowdy235]

I am pretty sure my locale (Linn County, OR) allows AAVs. I was involved with new construction about 5-6 years ago and they used an AAV in an island sink. This same house also has one in the laundry room. Of note, this house has no vents running through the roof.

As typical with most of my projects, just keep adding more lol. Would a coupling like this suffice? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fernco-1-1-2-in-x-2-01-in-dia-Flexible-PVC-Coupling-Fittings/1000075351

Would it be advisable to anchor the upper portion of the drain pipe (eg where the AAV goes), and if so how?

 

[Jadnashua]

That banded coupler is code compliant, so , yes, it will work fine. Often, you don't really need to actually anchor the upper portion of the drain pipe where the AAV goes.

 

[rowdy235]

Alright, here are a couple pictures under the vanity. Definitely an s trap, but doesnt look too hard to modify to p trap with aav.

The toilet has 4 bolts, and the rear bolts are about 11.5" from the wall. I am hoping that when I pull it up it will be a regular flange and that a 12" rough in will work okay.

 

[rowdy235]

Well spent some time working on the bathroom today

Decided to just leave the vanity for now. I am planning a full remodel of the bathroom for next year sometime, so for now the current configuration will work.

I did pull the old toilet and as expected the flange was just a standard flange. What was weird is that the bolts were down through the subfloor for the old toilet, and a good bit wider than the flange. Although the flange did have provisions for bolts, one side of it was damaged so the bolt would not hold. As a result, I had to get a "flange repair kit" from ace hardware which did an okay job. I would have preferred something a little better but my options were limited.

Picked up a new toilet and installed, also as expected the 11.5" rough in was not an issue, in fact I still have about 3/8 behind the tank. It sits up a little higher now than I would like I presume due to the repair flange (may also be a result of having multiple different floors surrounding it), but it is solid at least. However, as murphy never sleeps, right as I was getting ready to leave today I noticed some water leaking from the tank. Didn't have time to worry about it since I was literally leaving for work, so I turned off the water and drained the tank. At least this is a short week. I am hoping its just a simple fix- like the bolts not tight enough. The bolts supplied had rubber heads and plastic "nuts" for the bottom- difficult to say the least.

On a positive note I did get a new bathroom fan installed and towel rack hung so I can say I accomplished something today.

Thanks all for the help. Will post some pics when possible. PS old toilet was HEAVY!