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You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Improvement/Repair > Plumbing in the Home > Bathroom Remodel
Expert: Dana Bostick - 10/30/2009
Question
I'm about to remodel my master bath. I cut a section out of the flooring to see what the plumbing looks like between the joists (2nd story of house). I had a neo-angle shower in one corner ; a toilet next to it ; followed by a whirlpool on the next wall ; followed by double sinks on the next wall (which would be opposite of the shower and toilet. My first question is can I cut away the flooring up to or close to the outside walls without hurting the integrity of the walls ? Second, I'm going to move the toilet over a foot closer to a new, smaller bubble bath. I want to put in a rectangular shower but the toilet waste pipe is right in line with the shower drain pipe, just one joist over. Would I be better off just leaving the drain in the spot its currently in ? Or is there a way I can move the drain over to the right ? Lastly, is it better to have a rectangle shower drain in the middle or is having it on one end ok as long as the slope is correct toward the drain ? (There are also quite a few copper water lines running across and parallel to these waste pipes.
Answer
Hi John,
Quite a project you are contemplating.
First, if you build a "hot mop" shower pan, it can be any size and shape you wish. The drain can be anywhere you want. I actually prefer it out of the center where you would stand on it. Off to one side or end is fine. If you use a pre-made standard size pan, you are sort of stuck with what they give you.
Cutting out flooring up to the walls is not a problem. You will just need to scab on some new rim blocking or ledgers to support the new sub floor along the edges that would normally be supported on the framing under the wall.
The toilet must be at least 15 inches from center of drain to the nearest side cabinet/tub/wall etc. Moving the actual drain arm can be tricky. A 3" drain can be up to 36 inches long before the vent. Toilets are designed to be "12 inch rough-in" to center of the closet ring. That means 12 inches from the rough stud wall, not the finish wall. If you set it too far out, it will have a gap behind it. Measure twice, cut once! Look closely at the cut sheet for the rough-in dimensions.
Structural issues: Never, repeat, never cut a floor joist or break (notch) the top or bottom edges, called the chord. Any holes through one can only be in the outer 1/3 sections of the span, and must be only in the center 1/3 of the depth top to bottom and no more than 40% of the depth of the joist. Example: a 2x8 (actually 1-3/4" x 7-1/2")can only have a 3 inch max hole and then only per the above constraints.
Good Luck,
Dana
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