Routing of ensuite drains (shower and basin)

[mbga9pgf]

Hi all, need a bit of advice in routing of our drain from our ensuite to the foul drain, which is, per usual, on the other side of the house.

I have 2 options.

1) Sanishower pump through roof space. I personally am not a fan of this option, as I have heard they can be an absolute b*gger if they stop working. 200 quid plus for effectively a water pump is a bit steep also, not to mention having to install another circuit to my CU. I was hoping I had finished with the electrics!

2) 40mm routed round to the foul which is on the other side of the house. This is my preferred solution, although a very long run of 40mm would be far from ideal. I am also unsure of whether I can get 40mm tees in order for me to rod the drain if we get a blockage. This solution would also require running the pipework through the conservatory walls. crappy diagram below.

[GALLERY=media, 38388][/GALLERY] [net]

I know the gold plated solution would possibly be a new 110 foul drain, but it is going to be an absolute b*stard to install and would involve lots of faff, including digging up patio etc.


What would people suggest as the best solution?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Neither solution looks tempting but out of the 2 i'd go for the Saniflo option. That looks far too long a run, you'd have to upgrade to 50mm waste for a good part, and assuming its to be run externally then there is also the risk of it freezing in cold weather....

You can get tee's in 40 and 50mm, but do you really want that pipe running round the house, and also the aggro of breaking through the conservatory walls.

I assume there is no option to run the pipe through the house for at least part of that distance?

 

[mbga9pgf]

Unfortunately not. The clown that lived at the house before me started again from scratch and completely changed the layout of the upstairs, ripped out all the old stud walls and effectively moved the main bedroom from one side of the house to the other. Problem was, none of the floor joists ran in the right sense for the plumbing, meaning he installed (badly) a saniflo loo which also coped with the basin and shower. The thing was, it used to p*ss (quite literally) wastewater all over the floor on a regular basis when it had a tizzy, meaning I tipped it at the first opportunity, together with his wifes hideous taste in bathroom.

I have been thinking about it all afternoon and I might have to compromise with the saniflo sanishower. Short of installing a new foul round the back of the house with all the associated cost (and stress - I will be the one digging it in), I cant see another option, other than my suggestion of routing round the house.

Are Saniflos universally hated in the trade or are they an accepted means of plumbing? Or are they seen as a bit of a diyers bodge?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Saniflo's are a bit of a necessary evil sometimes. Whenever it is proposed to use such a device I was told 2 golden rules. Dont put anything through it that hasn't been through you, and always make sure there is at least one alternative W.C. on a 4" drain elsewhere in the property for when the wretched thing packs up!

Biggest problem with a macerator is when it does pack up, then you've an outlet pipe full of minced waste waiting to make a reappearance, and often the reason why its packed up is someone has tried to put something through it they shouldn't have.....

At least with a Sanishower there is no W.C. connected, as you said its basically a glorified pump, so less chance of a nasty surprise should it fail! In your situation it could be a suitable option compared with all that digging... (I still wouldnt trust leaving the shower running unattended for too long though!)

 

[Space cat]

Is there a crawl space underneath your ground floor? If so, how about going straight down then under the floor? The vertical drop should be 50mm so that it doesn't run full and suck the traps out - and I would put tees with access plugs at the bends top and bottom.

 

[mbga9pgf]

Is there a crawl space underneath your ground floor? If so, how about going straight down then under the floor? The vertical drop should be 50mm so that it doesn't run full and suck the traps out - and I would put tees with an access plugs at the bends top and bottom.

Unfortunately not. Either solid concrete or suspended floor ith no space for crawling! We have 8m X5m f solid oak flooring I dont fancy relaying too!