draingarageplumbing
So I am planning to put an epoxy on my old garage floor, but before I do that, I want to get my drain taken care of. As you can see from the picture, its in pretty rough shape. How would I go about fixing this — other than cleaning it out as much as possible? Do I have to just live with finding a grate that will fit? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Your garage drain could go anywhere--it could be tied into your septic system or sewer connection, or it could go to a separate exterior drywell or leach field. It could even head into a sump pit to be pumped out by a sump pump. Its impossible to know without a whole lot more information about your specific circumstance.
As to how to unclog it, your best bet may be a high-pressure water jet snake.
These can be rented from tool rental outfits, or you could call in a professional. They tend to be better at removing sandy-type clogs than conventional drain snakes.
After watching your video, and looking at the photos, there seems to be quite a few assumptions being made, i.e. if the vent is actually a vent, what happens to the vent after it passes through the ceiling, how the toilet and bathtub are piped under the floor, and how they are actually vented.
In addition, there is also a few issues what would need to be addressed:
Codes vary from place to place, however due to these issues and the unknown assumptions, I don't think this installation would pass a plumbing inspection, defiantly not in my area.
If I was you and I wanted to meet code, I would further investigate the vent to confirm that there are no other fixtures draining into it. I would determine what the output flow the water softener is in order to determine what it's load to the drainage and venting system would be. I would investigate the arraignment of the below grade piping to confirm how they are piped and how they are vented (this can be done via video scoping the lines). Only after this was done could I determine if code could be met.
With that being said, you didn't ask if it met code, and I've seen far worse.
Every fixture requires a vent. Typically washrooms are installed so that the toilet, bathtub, and basin are all vented via the basin’s vent. This is called a wet vent as the basin’s drain line is sized to allow for both the drainage of its water as well as the passage of air required to vent both the toilet and the bathtub. In addition, the fixtures served by a wet vent need to be arranged so that the toilet is either the last fixture connected or is connected via a symmetrical double wye fitting:
Bathtub
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/
-----------\------\
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Toilet |
Basin
In your sketch, the bathtub is connected downstream of the toilet, which would be incorrect if the bathtub is being vented via the basin’s vent as described above. However, if the bathtub has its own individual vent then it’s not a issue.
How you pipe the new sink will depend on how the bathtub is being vented. Without knowing the arraignments and pipe sizes, I cannot give a definitive answer, but this should get you started:
If the bathtub has its own vent, and it is of sufficient size, you can simply connect the sink’s fixture arm to the vertical vent in the wall. If the bathtub is wet vented, you’ll need to connect to the main sanitary line downstream of the last fixture in the wet vent, and add a new vent from the new sink back to the existent vent stack:
/---—---—-- Sink (c/w vent piped back to vent stack, not shown)
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| Bathtub
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/ /
-----------\------\
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Toilet |
Basin
Best Answer
Start out by cleaning out the drain. You're going to have to pull that junk up and out and avoid shoving it down any further. Once it's unclogged, plug it with a rag to prevent more stuff from falling into it. Chisel out the remains of the drain grate and what appears to be the packing between the pipe and the outside ring. Get a few bottles of concrete degreaser and clean all the grease and oil up as the epoxy will never bond to an oily surface. Once all that's done, pick up a drain grate at any plumbing supply store.