On 2/27/2011 4:36 PM, aemeijers wrote:
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.

My basement is below septic level, so when I wanted a small sink, I
put an above-floor sump pit made from a 7 or 8 gallon plastic tote.
Check this pic and the following 3 pics.
https://picasaweb.google.com/actodes...13572891670850
It works very well. The pump was a re-use pump from my old house.
Actually, I removed it from service when we returned from vacation
and found it running continuously, just heating (almost boiling) the
small amount of water in the pit. Subsequently, it served as an
emergency pump for about a year in a friend's house, so I guess it
wasn't damaged too bad.