Hi,

I'm remodeling my master bathroom, and I pulled all the necessary permits and everything (sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of that!), so now I have to get all the typical inspections. What I'm not sure about is what's really supposed to be done ahead of which inspections, and if it's any different for a remodel than for new construction. I plan to call and try to talk to the inspector, but I'd prefer to learn what's normal in advance so I can talk to him from an informed position.

So, what is supposed to be done before a typical rough plumbing inspection? Obviously, the supply and dwv lines are hooked up. But should the bathtub be installed? I can't hook up the bath drain without it, I don't think (or can I?). Should bath and shower drains be hooked up? Or can I just have a stub of ABS there? What should be done with the supplies? Are they just brought to near the right location and capped off? Or should the valves and stuff be all hooked up before the rough inspection? Is the shower pan supposed to be done and demonstrated to hold water?

Are things usually any different for a one-room remodel than for a whole new house? I mean, will I be expected to have the dwv lines inspected under test? How could I fill the system with water, since the drain lines are hooked into a whole house that isn't part of this permit?

Any information on this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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I'm just a regular guy learning how to plumb.

Each inspector is different, call and ask him what he wants. But generally the tubs must be set, traps connected, faucets mounted, shower pans must be filled with water. I use the Watco 901 tub waste, they come with a test kit so they can be installed, the trap connected, and the tub filled with water and the drain air tested, all in one step. Your DWV needs to be tied in and a test tee installed just before the tie in so that a test ball can be used so that you can get a test on the DWV. Same with the water liness, just valve off right where you tie in and get an air test on them.

It depends on what was done. if there are underground/underfloor drain and water lines, they have to be pressure tested before covering them. Then after the above floor piping is completed it also has to be pressure tested. The tub and showers can be done at this time if you can cap their openings for a drain pressure test. At this stage, you should be ready for drywall, and then the final inspection is after everything is connected and operating.

you must have everything done and ready for sheetrock to be installed. as stated before install a clean out tee (test tee) where you tie into the existing dwv. many places will allow a water test on the water service but valves are a good idea

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

It sounds like it varies a bit, so I will definitely be calling the inspector, but generally it sounds like it should be ready for drywall. Does that include ready for the backer boards in the shower area?

The problem I have is that they told me to leave the pipes in the floors and walls uncovered for the inspection...but I would have to put the floors down in order to do the shower pan and tub and everything. It seems like one or the other has to give!

The bathtub can be set and the shower pan installed without doing the whole floor.

e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Well, yes. I guess I should clarify that, for my remodel, I didn't have to tear up the WHOLE floor. To do the shower pan, I would have to put back the section of subfloor that I did have to tear up. I suppose I could cut the sheet in half and only put half back for now, but that just seems wrong....

Call your inspector and ask what he wants done.

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Ok, so I finally got to talk to someone at the inspectors office today. They didn't actually let me talk to the inspector, but they put me on hold a couple of times to go ask some questions. Here's what I gathered from that conversation, and I only hope it still applies when the time comes for inspection:

--Tub can be installed or not, either way is fine;

--Same with shower pan;

--For "small remodel projects" like mine, they will allow a running-water test for the drains, where we basically just hook a hose up to it. No pressure test.

Now that the easy part is done, it's time to install the water lines and the DWV system so it meets Plumbing code.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

I believe I did install the DWV system so it meets plumbing code. Perhaps I'll try to post pictures sometime to get professional opinions. I even had to re-do some of the original work, because they had used sanitary tees on their backs to go from the horizontal drains to the vertical vent lines. I used combos instead, which I understand is up to code. Sound right?

that part does

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

As long as you did not change sanitary tees in vertical lines to combos you should be in good shape.

OK, I found a few pictures of my DWV work. I'm assuming there's probably something I did wrong, so please do let me know what it is . They aren't the greatest, so I'll do my best to describe what's going on....

First, here are the vent lines running up the wall: [picasaweb.google.com]. (Never mind the scary-looking wires hanging down--they aren't hot!) Note that this is a wall that I moved as part of the remodel. I was able to move the whole wall in-tact, so these are the same pipes that were in there to begin with. I simply cut at the top and bottom of the whole thing, then coupled back into the lines in the new position (you can see where I coupled in near the bottom of the picture). I temporarily put some drywall up on the other side of the wall, which is in our bedroom closet, in order to keep most construction dust from coming into the room. Anyway, the vent line on the left that goes all the way up is from the toilet drain line. The other two that tie into it are from the shower and the bathtub.

These next two pictures show the drain lines under the floor where I put in the combos to connect to the vent lines: [picasaweb.google.com] [picasaweb.google.com].

Here's how I tied the tub and shower drain lines into the main line from the toilet: [picasaweb.google.com]. The wyes are rolled up just a touch in order to get the right slope. Just a couple inches past the bottom wye in the picture is where the line drops vertically down (yeah...this just barely fit).

Here is another view, from the other side of those combos: [picasaweb.google.com]. Never mind the odd-looking stuff at the ends of those lines off in the distance...I haven't set the shower drain or the closet flange yet, so stuff's just sort of sitting there on those ends for the time being to plug them up.... Oh yeah, and the sawdust in the picture is from work done after gluing the DWV stuff together, and I just haven't cleaned it up yet.

Ok, and here's a picture from the other side of that other combo: [picasaweb.google.com]. There wasn't enough room to angle clear over to the main line at a 45, so I had to use a long 90 here and then go to 45 on the other side of that joist, like this: [picasaweb.google.com]. I'm thinking that drill hole is a little on the low side of the joist, but hopefully it's OK. (By the way, the copper you see there is from the pre-existing work, as is any copper you see in these pics. That one was running over to feed the toilet.)

Oh yeah, and I don't have a picture, but after the vent line goes through the top plate of the wall, I angled it at 45 degrees with vertical until it met up with the existing vertical portion that penetrates through the roof.

So, that's what I've done. Do your worst . Please let me know if you have any questions or if there are things I should clarify.

Thanks for your time!

looks good.

not the way i would have done one or two things to use fewer fittings and save a bit of room and drilling holes but its ok

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

I'll take "ok," thanks!

Is there anything that should be done to support these lines, or do they typically just lay there like that in between the joists? Especially when I set the shower drain--what should be done to hold it in place so it can't wiggle around? My previous shower started leaking between the shower base and the drain, and I suspect it didn't help that the trap was just sitting there on top of the ceiling below, secured by nothing. One plumber that I had come provide an estimate did mention that he would add "proper support" for the drain.

usually just a piece of 2x4 nailed between the joists under the pipe and or strapping iron (plumbers tape, or what ever name your area uses)

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"