Re-routing soil stack and fuse box questions...

[AdFromEssex]

Hello everyone,

Firstly apologies if this is posted in the wrong forum section!

I have a single storey extension to a bungalow over an old WC, which sat just outside the boundary of the original building. The toilet has been removed (it was opposite the bathroom and therefore a second toilet that never got used) and the soil stack is capped off.

- Can I bore a hole in the original wall and route the soil stack through it so it runs up to the attic (for an attic en-suite)? Will I need to install a lintel over this bore hole?

- How close to a fuse box can a waste pipe be? If this borehole can be undertaken my soil stack would run up beside the fuse box;
Do the Regs allow this?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Adam

 

[pinenot]

I personally would be more inclined to remove all trace of the original stack and fit an internal soil stack vent. If you do go down the core hole route -

1. no you don't need a lintel
2. I have never heard of a building reg specifying how far a fuse box should be from a soil pipe! but others may know better.

Re the last point just make sure no stack joints or inspection hatches are in such a position that they could interface with the fuse box should something go wrong, bear in mind that the stack is not pressurized as in say, a water pipe is...pinenot

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Ideally you dont want any bends in the 'wet' section of a stack, would be better if you either run the stack up vertically externally to where the new WC would branch in, or reposition the drain so it comes into the building then go straight up internally. Stacks require a long radius bend at the base to prevent compression building up in the pipework when the WC is flushed.

To do as you propose (if i'm visualising it correctly) would require two 90 deg bends at the bottom to turn the pipe through the wall, and turn it again to meet the drain. Could cause a noise issue when the contents of the pan hit the base of the bend, and secondly a possible blockage point. If you do pursue this idea i'd fit an access bend on the external, in case it's ever needed!

 

[AdFromEssex]

Thank you both for your advice.

I'll upload a photo when I can to show the current and proposed layout in case there's another way I can go about it.

Cheers!

 

[AdFromEssex]

Ideally you dont want any bends in the 'wet' section of a stack, would be better if you either run the stack up vertically externally to where the new WC would branch in, or reposition the drain so it comes into the building then go straight up internally. Stacks require a long radius bend at the base to prevent compression building up in the pipework when the WC is flushed.

To do as you propose (if i'm visualising it correctly) would require two 90 deg bends at the bottom to turn the pipe through the wall, and turn it again to meet the drain. Could cause a noise issue when the contents of the pan hit the base of the bend, and secondly a possible blockage point. If you do pursue this idea i'd fit an access bend on the external, in case it's ever needed!

This is a photo of the old unused waste pipe (apologies for photo being sideways). It sits about a foot and a half from the wall.
The wall is the former external rear wall of the bungalow before it was extended. There is a void behind this wall which is where I'd like to ideally run the waste pipe, which would lead directly up to the proposed en-suite.

I'm intending to place a kitchen island where that toilet was. If I could run the waste pipe through the wall I'd hide the piping within cupboard space.


View media item 59011

What are your thoughts? Will the floor need to come up so the long radius pipe can be located nearer the wall to enable the piping to be box-sectioned against the wall? Or can some gentle-sloping bends be installed to allow the piping to meander through the wall and allow it to pass up it in the void behind?

Cheers!
Adam

 

[pinenot]

Is that pipe plastic or painted cast iron, also where does the down pipe it's attached to run in relationship to the grand plan and what is it made of??

 

[AdFromEssex]

Is that pipe plastic or painted cast iron, also where does the down pipe it's attached to run in relationship to the grand plan and what is it made of??

Pinenot,

The pipe is plastic. I believe it runs in the direction the head is pointed towards but I'm yet to check with a rod or something similar.

I'll check and post up here.

Cheers, Adam.

 

[pinenot]

The reason I ask is that if you can check where it goes and at the point of turn down, a. cut pipe or b. turn the 90o bend to the direction you require for the new toilet run and make good the wall in the proposed kitchen. I assume you have a different route for the kitchen drainage?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Looks like the old pan connector still in situ. Needs to be removed and a connection made directly to the drain, how depends on what drain is made of and ease of access to it.

 

[JohnD]

View media item 59011
which way is up?

 

[AdFromEssex]

The reason I ask is that if you can check where it goes and at the point of turn down,
a. cut pipe or
b. turn the 90o bend to the direction you require for the new toilet run and make good the wall in the proposed kitchen.
I assume you have a different route for the kitchen drainage?

The kitchen drain is to the right of that picture, I haven't checked to see if that gives anything away direction-wise, so I'll do that.

Looks like the old pan connector still in situ. Needs to be removed and a connection made directly to the drain, how depends on what drain is made of and ease of access to it.

I took the bung off today and stuck some old flex down there, it appears to chuck a 90• turn to the right, so in the picture that would mean it runs away from the wall towards the garden (which is towards the sink and also towards a seperate outdoor drainage vent).
The pan connector itself was slightly loose and I was able to twist it a few mm, but stopped short of actually taking it out of the floor in case I found I wasn't able to put it back on. So I'm not sure what the drain is made of..

 

[AdFromEssex]

The reason I ask is that if you can check where it goes and at the point of turn down, a. cut pipe or b. turn the 90o bend to the direction you require for the new toilet run and make good the wall in the proposed kitchen. I assume you have a different route for the kitchen drainage?

As you look at the picture, the kitchen drainage runs in the same direction the pipe is pointed to. It starts its fall under the sink and goes under the slab fairly early on.
So it could run and feed in to the waste pipe underground, if that's how it's normally done?

 

[AdFromEssex]

Ideally you dont want any bends in the 'wet' section of a stack, would be better if you either run the stack up vertically externally to where the new WC would branch in, or reposition the drain so it comes into the building then go straight up internally. Stacks require a long radius bend at the base to prevent compression building up in the pipework when the WC is flushed.

To do as you propose (if i'm visualising it correctly) would require two 90 deg bends at the bottom to turn the pipe through the wall, and turn it again to meet the drain. Could cause a noise issue when the contents of the pan hit the base of the bend, and secondly a possible blockage point. If you do pursue this idea i'd fit an access bend on the external, in case it's ever needed!

Can I replace the existing 90• bend with a 45• bend which goes through the wall, followed by a 45• bend on the other side of the wall that puts the stack back on a vertical run up to the attic, where the new toilet can branch in? With access plug in case of any future blockages.

Cheers

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

You can, it's not ideal and the regs frown upon it, but no reason why it wont work. Access point is a good idea, I assume the underground section is accessible from an external manhole?

 

[AdFromEssex]

You can, it's not ideal and the regs frown upon it, but no reason why it wont work. Access point is a good idea, I assume the underground section is accessible from an external manhole?

The area shown in the photo is a rear extension to a bungalow, concrete floor.
The soil pipe runs away to the rear but there's no manhole...!

Edit: externally or internally!