Basement Bathroom Plumbing and Remodeling Considerations

Adding a basement bathroom to your home has a lot of benefits. You'll be adding value to your home - houses with more than one bathroom have a real advantage, even in slow markets - and you'll be increasing livable area and convenience. The basement is the best place to add a new bathroom to just about any home. After all, it's less costly than expanding the existing house, and easier than sacrificing upstairs living space for another bath. However, before you jump into this project, there are a few things you should know about basement bathroom plumbing and remodeling projects.

Before you get started, you need to do your research. Basement bathroom plumbing, in particular, can be a really difficult prospect if you don't know what you're doing. You'll need a good plan, you'll have to locate your bathroom correctly, and you'll need to have a good idea of what you want and can get out of your new room. Remember to make a budget and stick to it, but do plenty of research beforehand so your budget will be as accurate as possible.

You need to know what you're doing with the space before you start any kind of construction or renovation. Find out where plumbing outlets and piping is, where you can tap into household wiring, and what the code requirements are for a basement bathroom in your area. If you don't know much about plumbing to start with, there's a good chance that basement bathroom plumbing shouldn't be your first big project.

Be willing to do only the parts of the work you know how to deal with, and contact an expert when you aren't sure. It'll save you money, trouble, and frustration down the line. There's a fairly good chance you'll need to talk to a pro at some point during the project, anyway. That's because many building codes will require you to at least have your remodeling work inspected by someone who does this job for a living. This applies to both plumbing and electricity. A professional may even be required by code to be there for the hookup of the last few pieces.

Basement bathroom plumbing is uniquely complex, but not so hard that you can't do it on your own. You need to understand that if your bathroom is below your sewer lines, you'll have to invest in a method to get waste water up to the sewer or to the septic tank. Gravity will keep it from going there on its own. The two most popular methods are a macerating toilet and a sewage ejection system. Both remove waste water (including sink and tub water from drains if you have a large enough system) and prevent big problems in your basement bathroom. They do cost more than an ordinary toilet, but it's worth it in the end to get one of these options.