Although we were not really ready for it since the walls are not all up yet and only some of the plumbing is installed, I asked for a rough plumbing inspection to find out if the plumbing I am doing will meet code. It was a good thing because I have several errors that I didn’t know were errors. It also was a good thing because we had to get our permit extended by two weeks to qualify for the inspection and get the permit renewed for another 6 months. I guess I can’t count because our last inspection was in October and I thought we had until the end of March to get another inspection but it was the end of February. Talk about a scare…but as usual, the Arvada inspection department was very understanding and allowed the inspection to go forward as well as the extension. We are so fortunate to have such a friendly department.
The recommendations from the inspector are all very helpful. Even though I installed the water filter rinse tube according to the instructions, the inspector said it was not allowable to drain it directly into the waste piping. Instead we have to move the drain to the floor drain to pass code or at least he said that would be the easiest way.
Filter Installed with backwash directly into drain pipe
We also have the dishwasher drain going directly into the waste pipe without a trap, which is also not allowed.
Dishwasher drain hookup
He explained that it is highly important to keep all fresh water from contamination from the sewer drains. That is the reason for traps. I thought it was just to eliminate the odors from the sewer but I assume those odors are just a symptom of contamination.
Here are all of his suggestions:
Extend water filter drain tube to the floor drain with minimum 1” air gap, direct connection to sanitary drain not permitted. Install trap and stand pipe for dishwasher drain. Use proper fittings at lavatory connection. Provide back flow protection at connection to heating system. Kitchen, guest bath lavatory connections need to be reduced. Only one connection between trap and wall drain. May need a pressure balancing temperature regulator on tub filler faucet. (Since there is a temperature regulator on the whole house that might be good enough.) Also locking drains are required in the showers.
He drew a couple of diagrams to illustrate the errors and their corrections. This is the problem with the lavatory drain connection.
Inspector Drain Diagram with my note
You may be able to catch this error in the photo below. Of course the final plumbing should be in the wall behind the sink so the extra pipe length to reach the wall will be eliminated, still it is good to have this detailed diagram that has the requirements outlined.
New drain
I also have to be sure that the drain connection at the wall is the correct type as noted in the diagram. Also the cleanout is really not required here.
The new tub drain, however, is OK as well as the toilet, dishwasher and sink supply piping. I’ve ordered the locking drain for the master bath shower and just need to work on getting the concrete chipped out for it.
I have a friend who commented that this blog may be showing the incorrect way to build or as above plumb the drains. I guess I should include a disclaimer about that. I’m not claiming that how I do things is always completely correct, just that it is how I did things. When corrected, I try to update the original posts so that I’m truthful about what worked and what didn’t. Here is a case of a few posts where I included details that are incorrect. They have been updated.