Floor Drains

[maglite]

Gday All,

When the builder was doing our extension/reno they made allowance for floor drains in the 2 toilets,laundry and bathroom.
The bathroom was cut in using a holesaw but the others were forgotten about wether thru choice or just one of those things:mad:
The drains are 50mm and are not connected to the sewer or much of anything and simply have a spout at the perimeter of the house.
Are they really needed or simply put there to satisfy the relevant building code?
Sure, if one of the rooms mentioned was flooded they may be of some assistance but if the washing machine blew what hope would a 50mm pipe have of draining all the water away anyway.....especially if no fall has been built into the floor?
The tiler starts soon and i would like to know wether i will be crawling about under the house drilling holes or sitting in the nearest pubtab with a cold pint instead.
Thanks in advance.
Steve

[Pulse]

Get the builder to fix it. It is a legal requirement because it is part of BCA. All bathrooms, laundries and toilets need them or I think thay can have fall to an external door. Many houses just have a spout that goes outside, I'm not about the plumbing requirements.

I'd get the builder to fix it, may have troubles with insurance should something flood. Will also bother the council inspector or potential purchasers down the track. Who did the plumbing? They should net be forgetting those things.

Cheers
Pulse

[bitingmidge]

Yep, it is a requirement of the Building Code of Australia.

It is NOT a requirement of the Plumbing Code however.

There is NO requirement to provide falls to the wastes, which is pretty ironic, and par for the course.

A building certifier has the discretion to approve without wastes.

There is a lot of emotion about them but as was rightly pointed out above they serve no purpose in the event of a major failure.

We try to delete them from major projects as a matter of course, because they are a major cause of vermin entry, and when plumbed to the drainage system need to be kept charged. (Not always easy when apartments are empty for a long period of time).

We DO fall bathroom floors to shower recesses, (and that works for major overflows), ONLY use fixtures with internal overflows which are capable of carrying the full volume of the water coming out of the taps, and use braided hoses to washing machines and dishwashers to prevent failures.

It doesn't save any money, but the end result is neater and has no long term implications.

If I were you, I'd be happy not to have them.

Cheers,

P

[ptrott]

Just like pulling petals of a daisy Steve...she loves me ...she loves me not...she loves me.........

[Don777]

I would put a s bend trap on the waste pipe even if it was draing just outside, to stop things crawlly of walk or flying up the pipe..

talking about Drains and fall in floors, at my partners flat, tha bathroom has no drain, put not to worry the floor level in the bathroom is a good 20mm higher than the hall, which in turn is 10mm higher than the kitchen and lounge, but it will not flow out the front door, because the floor in the stairwell outside the front door is 10mm higher than the hall floor, so if the washing machine lets go the bathroom will be dry, hall will have 10mm of water and the all the other rooms will have 20mm of water in them...

Yes I know it wasn't really related, but it just show what little thought some people put into things when building...

Don

[bitingmidge]

I would put a s bend trap on the waste pipe even if it was draing just outside, to stop things crawlly of walk or flying up the pipe..

Don,

Only works if the trap has water in it. If you don't run a fitting through it via the sewer, you'll have to continually top it up by hand, and have a mossy breeding spot.

On the other hand if you do.... well most if all commercial installations do, so I am being alarmist, but there are other inconveniences!

BTW you can solve the creature and smell problem by putting a bath mat over the waste, but that also stops the drainage thing!

Cheers,

P

[Barry_White]

As was said earlier a 50mm waste won't carry a major spill but to stop the vermin coming in them there is a flap trap that is glued on the end of the 50mm poly on the outside of the house.

But the best thing is to use 100mm "P" traps installed and have your wash basins run into them. This way every time you wash your hands there is water sent into the "P" trap and keeps them loaded.

If the place stays empty for a while it is a simple matter to turn the wash basin on to load them.

A 100mm "P" trap will take a long time to evaporate inside a house and if the waste "P" trap drys up so will have your toilets. My house was emty for 6 weeks in the middle of summer and they never dried up.

I would also be making sure the tiler puts fall in the tiles into them.

[Pulse]

I think I've seen spouts with little trapdoors on the end to stop the rats.....



-----------------------------------

Sorry Bazza you beat me to it......

[bitingmidge]

One of my favourite subjects because of all the hours I've wasted doing inspections on "defective" units!! :D :D A case of knowing the subject too well I think!

The little flap is called a "frog flap" for good reason, however it's not a roach, ant, silverfish, lizard or any other sort of insect flap!!

Baz, you don't have to dry the whole trap, just enough so the seal is broken. Given today's workmanship, often traps are not installed plumb (So why are they called plumbers??) leaving as little as two to six mm of water depth above the trap.

Most troubles come in occupied units where a second bathroom is rarely used, but I've seen a couple of situations where the traps dry in less than a week, resulting in the sewer system venting back into the bathroom.

My favourites are the ones where the vents have not been correctly installed, and each flush of the toilet causes the water in the trap to suck out, leaving a clear way for the pong to enter the room!

Look, none of this was meant to be alarmist, the issues are easy to fix/maintain.... I just think (as does Baz) that the 50mm wastes are not worth having, and if you are going to do a proper one, then that means proper falls and all sorts of things which in my view just make it all too hard!

Cheers,

P (In a Friday argumentative mood!) :D

[Jon]

the floor drain in our laundrey dries out and we get that wonderful smell. It is under the washing machine so I always forget about recharging it until the pong reminds me, or you fellas, excuse me while I chuck a bucket of water under the washing machine.
Jon

[Dan_574]

Its not a requirment to have them in Victoria, so check if you need them in W.A