Sewer lines in house

[nobleea]

I have a question about sewer line connections from the house. Are all lines connected to the waster sewer system, or is it possible that some lines might be connected to the storm sewer system?

For example, one of our easetrough gutters runs inside the house, then down a drain. I have changed it so that it runs outside the house in a proper gutter to reduce the number of punctures in the building envelope. But the drain line is still available in the basement. It's a fairly large line as well (3 or 4"), so I was wondering if I could use it to hook up a shower or toilet - assuming it'd be connected to the waste system and not the storm sewer system.

The house is 50 years old and most of the drain lines are cast iron.

[glasshead]

Originally Posted by nobleea

I have a question about sewer line connections from the house. Are all lines connected to the waster sewer system, or is it possible that some lines might be connected to the storm sewer system?

For example, one of our easetrough gutters runs inside the house, then down a drain. I have changed it so that it runs outside the house in a proper gutter to reduce the number of punctures in the building envelope. But the drain line is still available in the basement. It's a fairly large line as well (3 or 4"), so I was wondering if I could use it to hook up a shower or toilet - assuming it'd be connected to the waste system and not the storm sewer system.

The house is 50 years old and most of the drain lines are cast iron.

I would assume to sanitary sewer; however, for piece of mind, I would suggest get it scoped. That way you could see where it drains to and the condition of the pipe to the city connection. Also, if you are putting a bathroom in your basement, you'll need a city permit and you better hope you don't have an illegal sewer connection.

[nobleea]

If there is already a bathroom in the basement and I'm just enlarging and rearranging it, is a permit required? I would assume so, but technically I'm not adding a bathroom. The city already has the basement as being developed on the tax roll.

How much does it cost to pull new plastic lines through the sewer connections? $5K? $10K?

[raz0469]

Depends on how old the house and neighbourhood is. Some old areas have combined storm/sewer systems, some have only sanitary lines running to the houses, some have both.

[nobleea]

It's in Holyrood. Most of the houses are 1955-1960 vintage. If it helps any, the drain in question goes through the concrete about 6" away from the kitchen sink drain line. Being so close together, I assumed they might be the same line.

There's storm sewer drains in the road out front and sanitary sewer drains in the alley out back (or maybe they're combined out back). I don't know if the storm sewer lines out front were added during the initial build out, or as a later addition.
Guess i will have to get it video inspected.

[glasshead]

Originally Posted by nobleea

If there is already a bathroom in the basement and I'm just enlarging and rearranging it, is a permit required? I would assume so, but technically I'm not adding a bathroom. The city already has the basement as being developed on the tax roll.

How much does it cost to pull new plastic lines through the sewer connections? $5K? $10K?

We had a sewer line and water line pulled and installed for $6600 in 2006.

[raz0469]

Originally Posted by nobleea

It's in Holyrood. Most of the houses are 1955-1960 vintage. If it helps any, the drain in question goes through the concrete about 6" away from the kitchen sink drain line. Being so close together, I assumed they might be the same line.

There's storm sewer drains in the road out front and sanitary sewer drains in the alley out back (or maybe they're combined out back). I don't know if the storm sewer lines out front were added during the initial build out, or as a later addition.
Guess i will have to get it video inspected.

Probably combined then, or rather the wee bit of storm in your house was just connected to the sanitary and there is no storm drain. If you can pull off the cap or plug on the line and give it a good whiff, that will give you a good indication as well .