As a homeowner building a new house or remodeling an old one, you may plumb your bathroom as a do-it-yourself project. Choosing your bathroom fittings and designs can be exciting, especially since bathrooms are one of the most personal spaces in a home. However, bathroom plumbing or piping may require you to be at least knowledgeable about plumbing in general.
While hiring a plumbing expert to plumb your bathroom is advisable, you can still do it yourself, especially if you don’t have the finances to hire a plumber. We will explore instructions you can follow if you choose to have a DIY bathroom project.
However, even if your bathroom plumbing is a DIY project, a licensed plumbing inspector needs to approve your plumbing plans. You can also consider consulting a qualified plumber for guidance. Here are some steps that you can use to plumb your bathroom by yourself:
Step 1: Decide on the Bathroom Layout
Before anything else, you need to decide how you want your bathroom to look, including the positioning of the sink, shower, bathtub, toilet, and other bathroom plumbing fixtures. Deciding on the positions of these fixtures and appliances will help you to know where to mark as you cut and drill in preparation for installing the water lines.
Step 2: Install the Water Lines
After the cutting and drilling, you need to install the different water lines needed in a bathroom. A typical bathroom requires around five water lines, including one each for the sink, shower, bathtub, and toilet. Except for the toilet water line, the other water lines can be in two, cold and hot water lines. You also need to connect the correct faucets for each water line. For instance, sink and bathtub faucets must be on a flexible water line. After installing the water lines, you can then solder them to the main pipe.
Step 3: Attach the Drain Lines
The next step involves attaching the drain pipes to the various fixtures. You need different-sized drain lines for the different plumbing fixtures. For instance, while the toilet requires a drain line of around 3 to 4 inches, the sink drain pipe is usually 1.5 inches, and the bathtub is 2 inches. According to plumbing recommendations, ensure that the drain lines are connected to the main drain.
Step 4: Install the Toilet
You can now install the plumbing fixtures with the water lines and drains in place. When installing the toilet, attach the flat rim from the waste pipe to the bowl using a strong adhesive. Also, ensure that the slot lines align with the bolt holes. Once the bowl is in place, tighten the bolts and the washers.
Step 5: Install the Bathroom Sink
Start by positioning the sink and marking where the bolts should go before drilling the floor. After drilling, you should attach the sink stand to the floor using a nut and bolt. However, connect the sink to the water lines before installing and adjusting the other sink fixtures. You should then install or adjust the remaining fixtures, including faucets.
Step 6: Install the Bathtub and Shower Unit
With the supply lines and the drains in position, installing the shower and tub is often easy. However, before connecting, you need to ensure that related pipes are aligned with the drains and water lines. Use a strong adhesive to glue the water lines and drains to the fixtures. Also, ensure the bathtub is properly leveled to avoid malfunctions or accidents.
Why You Might Need a Plumbing Professional
While installing your toilet, shower, and bathtub can be easy, you might need help running water lines and soldering pipes as a non-professional. Bathroom plumbing can be fun until you need to use the toilet or shower and there are pipe leaks due to improper soldering.
Accordingly, you may need to call a plumber to fix the leaks or sort out another issue only a few days after the DIY project. These repairs are often expensive as you might need to buy new pipes after incorrect cuts on the previous ones. You might spend more on the repairs than you would have if you had let a professional plumb your bathroom from the start.
Additionally, and especially for remodeling projects, you need to remove existing fixtures to replace them with new ones. Removing fixtures like the toilet might be hazardous for a non-professional with activities like draining the existing toilet. If done incorrectly, such activities can lead to unpleasant leaks that further complicate the bathroom plumbing project.
Contact an Expert Tucson Plumber
Your bathroom is an essential part of your home plumbing system and one of the most used spaces in the house. Essentially, you and your household use the bathroom multiple times a day. While bathroom fixtures need to be personal, they need proper fixing, so they don’t frequently malfunction. A malfunctioning shower, bathtub, sink, or toilet is a great inconvenience.
Fixing some of these bathroom fixtures and appliances is not always complex; homeowners can do it themselves. However, connecting them to the house plumbing system and ensuring they are running efficiently may require a qualified plumbing technician to guide the homeowner in their DIY project or do the plumbing themselves. Whether you need someone to do your bathroom plumbing or to guide you on how to do it, you can always rely on our Tucson plumbing experts at Curtis Plumbing. Contact us today for a plumbing appointment and to learn more about our services.
