Running Plumbing Through Floor Instead Of Outside Wall

Sometimes the wall is insulated but not the rim joist between floors and you get freezing there.

Running plumbing through floor instead of outside wall.

Use a carpenter s level to mark the studs for drilling holes. You need to make sure that you use black plastic that is 1 1 2 inch in size. Vent the waste and drain lines when you are installing the piping in a vertical direction. Drill holes cut pipes and connect them in a dry run using drain fittings.

Pipes that are encased in concrete for in floor heating for example are ok because the concrete holds them in place. In most cases the lines will come through the floor. Similar to the chase is the soffit. Instead of running from floor to ceiling a soffit runs across the top of a wall.

And pipes running straight through wood studs and joists are fine too just protect the pipe in areas where it bends as it passes through. The holes must follow a straight line across the floor and must ascend or descend so the pipe will be sloped 1 4 inch per foot. Inside pipes can be run vertically to accommodate new plumbing. If your pipes are going in a lateral direction make notches in the studs instead of drilling holes in them.

If you are plumbing a vanity consider coming up through the floor rather than in the wall. We re all taught not to run plumbing in exterior walls. Step 7 vent the waste lines. When you need plumbing in exterior walls.

Running drainpipe through joists calls for meticulous work. Or just a little breeze of cold air such as a crack in a crawlspace or top of a basement wall is just enough to freeze a couple of inches of pipe. When running the pipes through the studs first be sure to drill the holes in the center so that when it s time to hang the wall board the screws or nails don t reach the pipes and damage the pipes. When running pipes from a slab to an attic use an inside wall.

This allows plumbing to run from the basement to the attic. While homeowners may fret over running plumbing lines through the ceiling it is a common practice used to minimize damage during the re plumb and to keep labor costs lower. If joists are 16 inches on center and pipes run across them at a right angle holes should differ in height by about 3 8 inch. This needs to extend through to the roof.

I live and work in the cold boston area. When remodeling bathrooms we always plan to install all plumbing lines inside interior walls and avoid running plumbing in exterior walls due to the reality of the pipes freezing. In some cases the lines will have to be run across the wall studs. Placing water pipes in outside walls greatly increases the risk of frozen and burst pipes in cold climates.