Laundry Room Becoming Bathroom....hopefully!

[MaggieMae]

Hi guys, my house is old, "born" in 1952. It's cement block, cement foundation, etc. I want to take my washer and dryer out of laundry room, and either build or find a shed for them, but that's another topic...So once I do that, I already have the inside piping (washer) and outside drain pipe, and dryer vent. My main concern is installing a toilet without busting out anymore walls or the floor. I'd like a sink/shower combo too, at some point. I'm thinking a raised traditional toilet could work? Or maybe something unconventional? I know there's soooo much new technology, esp. with campers/rv's toilets, etc.,. that I'm hoping one or more of you guys or gals can point in the right direction for a simpleton like myself to be able to do this, at least mostly...lol. I don't need anything fancy, 'cause money is definitely an issue. I need it to accommodate temporary guests mainly. I live in the country too, so that also helps to keep things simple! Okay, thanks in advance...I so appreciate this forum being here!

 

[MicEd69]

You don't provide the sizes of your sewer piping in the current laundry room, so I will assume it is a 1 1/2" drain for the washing machine if it was back in 1952. If it is 2", that's better, but it is probably not 3" that is required for a toilet. But if it is 3" for some reason, assuming the laundry standpipe is in/below the slab, the associated P-trap would have to be removed to install a toilet.

But you could install a macerating pump and toilet to pump the toilet discharge to your sewer. Something like this.



And/or, you could use a macerating pump for the entire bathroom, something like this.



Then you just need to raise the shower a bit off the floor to get it to drain into the pump.

You need to be sure venting and drain piping is done correctly, which can only be determined once you come up with a dimensioned layout for the bathroom.

 

[MaggieMae]

Thanks so much! This is an old picture, ignore the clamp holding pipe in place. The sanitary sewer pipe is just in front of this a couple feet, so that's convenient. And the washer is just inside and against that wall in the corner. Looks to me like this would work, but IDK..I imagine also there are adaptive connectors that would allow me to connect the water to both the toilet and possible shower/sink? And wow, the mascerating pumps are expensive! Hoping I can make a traditional toilet work?

eYou don't provide the sizes of your sewer piping in the current laundry room, so I will assume it is a 1 1/2" drain for the washing machine if it was back in 1952. If it is 2", that's better, but it is probably not 3" that is required for a toilet. But if it is 3" for some reason, assuming the laundry standpipe is in/below the slab, the associated P-trap would have to be removed to install a toilet.

But you could install a macerating pump and toilet to pump the toilet discharge to your sewer. Something like this.

View attachment 39703

And/or, you could use a macerating pump for the entire bathroom, something like this.

View attachment 39704

Then you just need to raise the shower a bit off the floor to get it to drain into the pump.

You need to be sure venting and drain piping is done correctly, which can only be determined once you come up with a dimensioned layout for the bathroom.

 

[Olivia Henry]

Hi guys, my house is old, "born" in 1952. It's cement block, cement foundation, etc. I want to take my washer and dryer out of laundry room, and either build or find a shed for them, but that's another topic...So once I do that, I already have the inside piping (washer) and outside drain pipe, and dryer vent. My main concern is installing a toilet without busting out anymore walls or the floor. I'd like a sink/shower combo too, at some point. I'm thinking a raised traditional toilet could work? Or maybe something unconventional? I know there's soooo much new technology, esp. with campers/rv's toilets, etc.,. that I'm hoping one or more of you guys or gals can point in the right direction for a simpleton like myself to be able to do this, at least mostly...lol. I don't need anything fancy, 'cause money is definitely an issue. I need it to accommodate temporary guests mainly. I live in the country too, so that also helps to keep things simple! Okay, thanks in advance...I so appreciate this forum being here!

you can use automated laundry systems. Have a try on it.

 

[Zanne]

How tall is your ceiling? Would it be possible to build up the floor a bit higher? Maybe use some 2x6s or 2x10s as floor joists and run them in the direction of the plumbing so you won't have to cut through them to run plumbing? Plywood on to of that, then regular toilet and whatever else you want. Make sure you can get vents in the walls and get pipes through the wall for sewer. Will likely have to be lower down than what looks like the existing pipe.

In addition to drains, each fixture needs a vent. Not sure if circuit vents would be allowed or work.

A sketch showing dimensions and maybe some photos of the space might help. Are the walls concrete or are they wood studs and something with stucco?

Why on earth is there a pipe blocking the louvered vent? LOL.

For toilet you need 3 drain pipe & 1-1/2" vent. For tub you need 2" drain with minimum 1-1/4" vent. Lav needs to be 1-1/4" drain with 1-1/4" vent. I think. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

 

[CT18]

That pipe is not the correct size for adding a toilet. You will also need to vent the fixtures you are going to add. This is not a small project. You could probably pull that dryer vent and get a 3" pipe in for the toilet but it will need to be rear discharge or a saniflo type. The same for the shower or your going to need to raise the floor up for traditional draining fixtures. Depending on how far away the fixtures will be you could run the vent on the exterior of the house.

 

[Ludington]

And are you sure the washer drain runs into your sewer ? Some washers have a seperare drain field that bypasses the septic all togeather.

 

[Twowaxhack]

A lot of things are do-able if you don’t care how it looks.
And based off the pics, you don’t care how it looks.

Shouldn’t be any problem.

 

[Olivia Henry]

Hi guys, my house is old, "born" in 1952. It's cement block, cement foundation, etc. I want to take my washer and dryer out of laundry room, and either build or find a shed for them, but that's another topic...So once I do that, I already have the inside piping (washer) and outside drain pipe, and dryer vent. My main concern is installing a toilet without busting out anymore walls or the floor. I'd like a sink/shower combo too, at some point. I'm thinking a raised traditional toilet could work? Or maybe something unconventional? I know there's soooo much new technology, esp. with campers/rv's toilets, etc.,. that I'm hoping one or more of you guys or gals can point in the right direction for a simpleton like myself to be able to do this, at least mostly...lol. I don't need anything fancy, 'cause money is definitely an issue. I need it to accommodate temporary guests mainly. I live in the country too, so that also helps to keep things simple! Okay, thanks in advance...I so appreciate this forum being here!

I read the whole scenario which happened with you.