"aemeijers" wrote in message
...
Arrgh. Ain't nothing easy.
Y'all may recall the rotted out main drain line I was whining about
recently. Well, I had a guy in to replace it, and although he was
expensive ($1400 including new toilet flange, tub trap, and pipes up to
kitchen sink drains), he was fast, and seemed to do a good job. All that
works fine. However, rather than disturb the old leaded connection into
the cracked/epoxied cast iron monster on the wall that leads out to the
septic, he stubbed out the copper and used a Fermco. No leaks or anything,
but that means the collector/trap arm on the wall for the washer and
nuisance drains sits 16-18" higher than it used to. So now, my entry-level
5 YO GE washer, if I do more than a 'small' load, piddles on the floor.
That only used to happen if I was washing pillows or something.

Background- the original wall drain for washer, which sits 16" lower,
apparently connects to nothing any more. I tested it when I moved in, and
an hour later had water all over basement floor. My best guess is that it
went to a now-failed or missing dry well. Been meaning to saw it off with
the angle grinder and mud it over, but that is another story.

Anyway, when the washer that came with house caught on fire, I had to run
out to Sam's and buy the only model they had. I had to extend drain hose a
couple feet to reach the other pipe on the wall, but it mostly worked
okay, other than minor accidents with washing big spongy things. Now, not
so much. Drain comes out of washer at the usual low-down location, and
goes up 80 inches or so, and 48 inches sideways. Old drain was maybe 62?
inches off floor, and original dead standpipe sits at 66 inches.

Except that I feel kinda broke right now, I do have a solution- call the
plumber back to install the plastic sump pit and bigass sump pump previous
owner left sitting under the stairs. I had been thinking about one of
those little pump-in-a-box things, and put it under the useless sink that
just drains onto floor. But plumber said that would never handle the
volume from a washer.

Any ideas for a cheap work-around, until I feel rich enough to get guys
with jackhammers involved? How much vertical pipe do I need above the trap
on the drain everything is poked into? Would a smooth rather than
corrugated drain line on washer help? (Nobody sells those, so I'd have to
make one from elbows and clear tubing, I think.) Or should I just build a
platform for the washer and dryer? Or am I missing an alternative
explanation, that shifting the washer around to swap the dryer that
self-destructed same week drain did, may have cracked or loosened
something under the washer?

As you can see from the questions, I'm no plumber. Any actual ideas or
information greatly appreciated.

--
aem sends...


I have one in a rental that is about 72" off the floor and have never had a
complaint. I do provide a extension piece of hose since most washer hoses
aren't long enough.

You did not say if your washer is a top or front loader. For a front, I
would put it on a pedestal. If you have some scrap you could try it with a
top loader. As long as you can get the clothes in and out with no pain it is
fine.

Any sump you put in for the purpose is going to need to be able to hold the
full washer load and the remaining backflow in the pit. A 5 gallon bucket
can help you figure this out. Use the bucket to fill the washer. My off the
wall opinion is they hold about 20 gallons. Let me know how close I got.

Also consider that the sump does not have to be in the floor to handle this
job and do it well. A farm supply store has many different size of watering
tanks that aren't all that pricey. I have been using a RubberMaid model as
a bio filter on my fish pond for over 15 years. So sit that puppy beside
the washer, pump the water into it and use a cheap sump pump to pump it
to the sewer. Total guess for all materials under $200.

Tractor Supply has a farm/ranch type site. You can view stuff from home and
then find it local if you don't have one close.

Please do update this thread with your solution.


--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com