askjake

Rough carpentry, electrical and HVAC

Ben asks:

I am having a contractor open a walkway in a load bearing wall this week. However, he is only finishing the rough carpentry, and will not be moving the electrical outlet that ties to the upstairs as well, or the central vac connection. I am wondering if the moving of these mechanicals is harder after the contractor has completed his rough work, or if it will be of equal difficulty after rough work as it would have been before. And about the central vac connection, can that be flush mounted in the floor? The flooring will be 3/4" hardwood. Thanks! 

Ben

Jake's answer:

Ben,

Usually the rough carpentry is completed prior to the mechanical (plumber, HVAC and electrician) trades appearing on the job.  If some of the wires etc. have to be cut,  make certain to note how they were installed originally.  It’s not a bad idea to take some photos of the wall after it is opened up and before anything is moved out of the way – your tradesmen will appreciate this. 

Furnace and water heater in the garage?

Question from Mel:

Our house (on a slab) has 1/2 bath, furnace and water heater in the middle of the first floor (dividing the dining area and family room). Is it possible to move it (at least the furnace and water heater) to the garage or build a closet outside of the kitchen. Also planning to upgrade to a waterless tank.

Jake's answer:

Mel,

Yes, you can move the furnace and water heater to the garage.  I’m not familiar with the climate where you live, however, if you experience freezing weather, be careful of the water heater in your garage. You might have to build a closet for it.  When putting gas fired appliances in enclosed areas, such as a closet, take into account the make up air required to maintain maximum efficiency.  A down side to relocating these two items at the end of the house is that you will loose some efficiency since they won’t be centrally located. The air will have to “pushed” a little further and the hot water will have a little longer course to run. 

Mystery drain

Question from Jeff: 

Hello Jake, I removed the old rusty drain grate (12"x12")in my basement floor and discovered an open hole with standing water (and drain flys and larve). Also, the hole is just lined with loose bricks and there seems to be some type of pipe with a ragged edge near the waterline. During heavy rains water will rise up into the basement. Can you tell me whats going on here and how I can cover this up. Thanks, Jeff 

Jake's answer: 

Jeff, It sounds like to me that this is an old sump pit without the sump pump. The pipe you see is most likely the end of the drain tile that is at the base of your foundation. It collects the water that rises in the wet season. You need to install a pump and pipe to handle the water when it rains. If you can’t do this type of job, call a foundation specialist in your area.

Sprucing up a floor drain

Question from Bruce: 

Jake, I recently built a house with a basement. I put in a floor drain in the basement bathroom. The drain was one of those cheap white square plastic drains that have about a 4" center piece that pops out so you can clean the drain. Now I have decided to tile the bathroom and wondering how do I finish around the drain and can I put in a better looking drain to blend into the tile better? 

Jake's answer:

Bruce, I googled decorative drain covers and didn’t really come up with anything that looks like it would work. You might try an architectural salvage yard and find an oversized grate and cut it down to size to fit. You could probably find something pretty cool that was used for something completely different but could be adapted for the floor drain. Most of the grates off the shelves are pretty straight forward and don’t offer too much in the way of design.

Plugging a drain

Question from Michael: Hi Jake. I am finishing my walkout basement and have a question regarding the basement drain. The drain is unfortunately located right in the middle of what will become my home office. About 4 feet from the drain is the hole for the sump pump. no pump has been installed. Can I cover/plug the drain and use the sump pit as my drainage in case a pipe burst? I have seen some covers for sump pits that have drains built into the covers? appreciate your time. Thanks Jake, Michael. 

Jake's answer: Michael, Yes, you can cover the drain and use the sump pit as your drain. Since it is your only drain, you might want to consider putting in a battery back up pump just in case the power goes out and water is present. We usually infill the drain bowl and use a self-leveling product to take some of the floor dip out of the floor. If you have a cover over the existing pit, you could just drill some holes through the top to allow the surface water to get into the pit. Be aware that the sump pit is not necessarily in the lowest point of the basement floor, so if water were to get into the basement, it may take some extra effort on our part to get the water to the pit.

Basement plumbing questions

Question from Theresa: I have two questions regarding finishing our basement. 1. We have a floor drain in the center of the room, we would like to cover it altogether, is necessary to have a floor drain? 2. The basement already has the plumbing for a bathroom. Will it still be extra expensive to install it, or since the plumbing already exists is it more realistic? 

Jake’s Answer: Theresa, I feel that it is very necessary to have some sort of drain in the basement. In the event of a leak, without a drain you could create a rather deep swimming pool in your lower level. You can cover up the drain and install a drain in another location in the basement if the current location interferes with your finishing plans. This new drain could be in the form of a sump pit with a pump that is activated when the water reaches a certain level in the pit. This pump would drain to the exterior through the rim joist. Be aware that when the concrete floor was placed it was sloped to the drain – the lowest point in the basement. The new sump pit most likely will not be the lowest point but it still will take care of the bulk of the water in the event of a leak. Since your basement is already “ruffed in” for a bathroom, it should help in reducing the cost of installing the bathroom. You will avoid the cost of removing and replacing the concrete and the cost of installing the in-ground plumbing - a savings of over $1000.00.

Gas piping for a slide in range

Question:  We are in the process of remodling our kitchen. I found your site when I ran a search for removing soffit. Your article for removing soffit helped me the most. Now the soffit is gone, we have moved on to refacing the cabinets, installed a vented microwave over a new slide in gas range. The problem is the naural gas line for the range is coming from the floor, preventing the range from sliding all the way back as it was designed to do. I need to move this line and have it coming thru the wall instead, how can I accomplish this, and what type of equipment and supplies will be needed? Thank you!! 

Jake's Answer:  When we come across a situation like this, we call our licensed plumber to do the job.  In our area, the code calls for hard black pipe up to the appliance connection which usually requires pipe threading and pressure testing.  I feel that this is best left up to a qualified and licensed plumber.  On some appliances, you can actually move the pipe to the very rear of the floor and still allow for your slide in range to set properly.