Wastewater question

[Torrence Evans]

Hey, I’ve recently purchased a home in Georgia and I’m currently finishing the bathroom in the basement. I️ have all water lines tied in and all drains tied in and toilet set. No leaks it was my first time ever even trying to plumb so I was extremely happy. The happiness came to an abrupt halt when I flushed the toilet and all the water backed up into the toilet. These were all capped off new stub outs so the chance of clog are minimal I would assume. I ended up having to suck the water out with my shop vac the next day, water level never went down. Same with the sink. The main drainage line goes out the front of the house right under the basement ceiling so I was told that I would need a pump to push the waste up to the main line. After hours and hours of internet searching I found videos where they submerged the waste pump in a gravel pit, the thing is, underneath the stairs there is a pit with gravel and a 2 in pvc stubbed up out of it, and above the pit there is a 2 in pipe stubbed down off the main drain line all right behind where the bathroom is. My question is, could there already be a pump in the pit? If not where is the stub up coming from? And I’m almost certain that drain pipe stubbing down is for main line access . I will accompany this post with pics. Thanks

 

[Reach4]

A toilet needs to go into the sewage system. If the city sewer or septic system is low enough, you can use a gravity system to move things along.

It sounds as if your sewer line is higher than your basement floor, in which case you will need a sealed septic pit with a grinder pump in it. That pump pushes the sewage up and into the sewer system. The sealed pit needs 2 inch vent to the roof, although some places permit a 1.5 inch vent. This cannot be an AAV. You will probably need a professional for this if you want it done in a timely manner. If you DIY, you will need to do a lot of study, and you will be digging into the concrete for the new pit.

There are alternative systems where the grinder pump for a toilet is not placed below the floor. These can be right at the toilet. They are less elegant looking than under-floor plumbing, but they don't need excavation. They don't support floor drains. They also need vents.

Your thing under the stairs appears to be a sump (water reservoir) for seepage and ground water. That would contain a pump that is commonly called a sump pump. That does not normally have a vent pipe, but instead it has a non-sealed cover. The water is usually pumped to a place that is not the sewage system, but there are a few places where this water is allowed into the sewer system. There are a lot of systems that are illegally pumped into the sewer system, overloading the system during rains. This overloading can cause sewer backups. There are sometimes government programs to help pay for moving the flow from a sump to a yard pop-up instead of feeding the sanitary sewer. Sometimes you can run your sump pump to the storm sewer system.

Your pressurized water pipes running under the stairs are sure not in a nice location. They would have been much better to have been routed up to make that space accessible for the sump and maybe even some storage. I can maybe understand the drain line being where it is. With just that, you could step over.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[TAHOE]

As Reach stated, it sounds like you have a septic system since your outlet sewage pipe is so high on the wall. You will have to have a pit or tank with a pump to pump it up.
You need to check with local regulations, it maybe illegal to use a pit for your application and you will have to go with a pre-made tank/system. I was going to do this in my old house, but we ended up moving before basement was remodeled. Check into Saniflo as they make different size units that will accompany a toilet, sinks and showers. Some can be mounted inside a wall, other sit next to toilet and even some sit under toilet.... really makes you feel like you are on a throne . Figure at least an other $1000 for the unit and a toilet that works with the system.

 

[Terry]

Out of a working sump with pump, you will have two pipes. One is the discharge, a 2" hopefully going to a 4" line with grade and a second pipe that is a vent. For water to be pumped out, it needs an air return. You can't suck water out of a closed container.

None of what I'm seeing is vented. All of the fixtures will siphon when used, accumulating sewer gas in the home. There needs to be two vents, one for the sump pump and one for the plumbing.

Tahoe mentioned an above ground pumping system, and that would be easier to work with than a pit under stairs with no access for repair and replacement. Even if there was a pump there now, how would it be powered without electricity. Do you have tiny mice running in circles in a cage spinning the pump?

What is the pipe doing that comes from above in the second picture? Is that meant to be a vent that isn't being used? Or is that meant as the discharge?