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anthony_arias34

Plumbing ground too close to foundation edge?

9 years ago

Good afternoon everyone! I'm owner/builder of my first home (Missouri City, Texas). The foundation was poured last week before hurricane Harvey. The one good thing from Harvey was that it helped cure the foundation I guess..

My question is about one of the sewer pipes, is it normal for these to be placed on exterior walls like the picture below? I was planning on the entire house being 2x4 walls, do I now need to make them 2x6? The pipe is 3" but it's so close to the edge... I don't know how the framer will need to compensate to work around this.

How would you handle this? Thanks for your input!

Comments (16)

  • 9 years ago

    That looks like a main drain out of your house - and it looks like the rebar is sized for 2x6 walls. are you sure the basement / lower level isn't being framed in 2x6's?


    Anthony Arias thanked just_janni
  • 9 years ago

    Thank you Nicpedia and jannicone. I'm attaching PDFs of the plans, hope they go through. I did notice they put the j bolt on both sides as if they are expecting the Framer to split the sill plate, would that be up to code?


    Yes it is a main drain that goes up to the second floor. The architect didn't mention and the plans don't have anything in them about the first level being 2x6. The estimator made the take off with 2x4s everywhere. I can see 2x6 being the better option.


  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Don't see the plans. If it's in a closet, it's not a problem. Of course, it's still to close to the edge to allow any space for insulation--on either side--in just about any climate zone.

  • 9 years ago

    Here are some screenshots, it doesn't seem like I can upload a PDF.


    It's not a closet, it's an exterior wall that happens to be the living room.

    I found on the sheathing details the mention of 2x4 bottom and top plates so it looks like the plumbing just wasn't planned correctly?

    If I decide to go with a 2x6 first floor, I don't think that'll cause much trouble with the city inspectors right? I'll go have a chat with them tomorrow...


  • 9 years ago

    Going with 2x6 on that single wall won't hurt anything besides window and door extensions. Just make sure those windows/doors are sized for 2x6. I highly suggest the 20% cost increase to make all exterior walls 2x6 for the added R-Value. Energy costs have only gone up, so it should pay the framing cost. Interior can stay 2x4 walls.

    If that were my house, I would have a drain running in an interior wall. I'm a little anal about exterior walls, though. If required to run there, I would have put it inside the room in a corner and baffled that corner or used that corner for hvac also. I know you can also leave that alone and work with it. Just a bummer, I'd be curious on their reasoning.

    Anthony Arias thanked Nicoletta
  • 9 years ago

    Any chance you can still change your kitchen layout a bit?

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Who supervised the plumbing crew when they installed the drain line? Who supervised the concrete pour once the drain line was in place?

    From your wall sheathing detail I can't tell if there is rigid insulation over the sheathing or not. That would provide some insulation and stop any thermal leakage. My guess is your stem wall is going to have a permanent crack if it doesn't already. You'll have to monitor for movement in the future, particularly if you have expansive soils. The crack may also extend to your floor slab in the interior, particularly if there's movement.

  • 6 years ago

    We have a similar issue with our new home in dallas. Concrete is down framing is done and pipe is exposed. What should we do I don’t know. Should we walk away?

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Do yo u have a picture of it now with the framing done? I can't really see what's going on in the first pic. If the framing is done and your pipe is thicker than your framing, you'll possibly need to frame around the pipe otherwise you won't be able to hang drywall without the protruding pipe getting in the way.


    I ended up going with 2x6 for my exterior walls to resolve this issue.

  • 6 years ago

    The first picture is the exterior wall with theGypsum sheet rock on it for stucco application. At the bottom on the slab we see the pipes being exposed. The black portion we see is the foam which was applied on pipes before concrete pour. Three dark grey spot I believe were the post tension rods which are closed after applying the tension

  • 6 years ago

    And thank you for response

  • 6 years ago

    I see. There's not much that can be done, in my opinion. I'd encase it in cement so that it doesn't somehow get punctured or broken by landscaping

  • 6 years ago

    "Should we walk away?"

    Can you without losing your deposit? What are they proposing to fix or remedy the issue? This appears to be a tract or developer type home, so at this point your options may be very limited depending on your contract.


  • 6 years ago

    Yes it’s developer type home and chances are we may loose the deposit but if we know this will cause a major foundation issue down the line should we still sail through. We are not sure how big this issue is and was looking for the opinions. Thank you all for the prompt responses. We will talk to builder today and see what solution they may have.

  • 6 years ago

    If it would pose major foundation issues down the road I would think the building dept would not pass the inspection (could be completely wrong however, lol)?