Guide On Plumbing A Basement In Clay Soil
Basement construction in clay soil poses several Problems. Expansive soil can cause cracking in the foundation, basement walls and floor if good precautions are not taken. Natural movement due to expansive clay soils also need special precautions to be taken when installing basement plumbing. Pipes can burst if plumbing is too rigid.
Floating walls keep the walls and floors from being damaged as the home moves with the expansion of clay soil. This permits the walls to move independently from the floor of the basement. The pipes have to be able to move upward with the floor but not push against the first floor of your house. The drainage pipes under the basement floor have to be able to breathe as well .
When you install bathrooms, washing room, or a mudroom in the basement you must make allowance for natural movement of clay soil. Installing flexible growth couplings and expansion joints on basement plumbing will make allowance for this movement and keep the pipes from leaking at the joints or cracking.
Your pipes should ideally be new during installation. If you are working with existing pipes make sure not to go from one type of metal to another. If you are using copper stay with copper pipes and the same applies for other metals. Take care to not to modify the size of pipes incidentally. It is feasible to go from one size to another but it isn’t always usually sensible idea. You should also begin with new pipes when possible. Older pipes can have lead solder break up while you are working with them and you do not want this to get into your water supply, even if it is for a shower and not drinking water.
Anywhere that you are attaching one length of pipe to another you need to add an enlargement coupling. Enlargement couplings are made from a synthetic polymer sleeve that slips over the ends of both pipes. Steel clamps are used to hold the coupling and pipes together. Once applied, the coupling will make allowance for a bit of movement in the pipes. It’s vital to make certain you have the growth couplings and not regular couplings as the enlargement couplings are made to breathe with the home and the regular couplings aren’t made to move.
When installing a shower you can use reverse floating walls to stabilize pipes in the basement and allow movement in the top of the pipes. You need to put as much of the plumbing in the same area as feasible and use the same wet wall. A chase should be included and access can be either along a wall or in the ceiling.
Flex lines are needed for water supply lines. The main water supply line should go into the chase and have flex lines attached in that area to the pipes used in the basement. The most logical place for the chase access panel is in the use room together with the hot water heater.
As well as having enlargement joints and flexible couplings installed the pipes there should be sufficient space between the pipes and the ceiling / floor to keep from having the pipes push into the ceiling as the ground expands with the changes in the moisture in clay soil.
Expansion joints will be required for installation of ground water drainage pipes also. This can be done below the basement floor, above the foundation. Drains can be placed in the basement floor permitting moisture that does enter the basement to run into the drainage system and away from the home.
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