Basemest bathroom installation in an older home

last year

Has anyone installed a full bath in the basement of an old home? Ours was constructed in 1930. My partner would like to hire the same contractor that remodeled our other bathroom. He is better at carpentery, and his plumping skills are not that great. If I find a plumber to do the initial work, I'll feel a lot better. What sort of questions should I ask potential plumbers? What issues did you run into?

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Comments (3)

PRO
Minardi
last year
Do you have the 7' head height needed? Is the basement waterproof? Insulated and finished? Where is the sewage outflow to the street/tank compared to the height of the toilet outflow? Will you need a grinder pump to lift up and pump the waste?

This is way more complicated than some jack of all master of none can tackle. You need a genuine licensed and insured General Contractor to help plan the result with the multiple trades involved, then hire and supervise the trades. A bathroom is not just carpentry and plumbing. It's electrical, drywall, painting, cabinetry, countertops, waterproofing and tiling, and making sure all of those are planned to mesh together from the beginning.
PRO
Meg Yates
Original Author
last year
Thank you for your advice. I know I have 7 foot plus ceilings and the basement is waterproofed. I wouldn't have been able to put the rest into words.
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Jake The Wonderdog
last year
last modified: last year
Isn't your current contractor capable of hiring subs?

When you hire the subs, you are assuming the role of General Contractor and that needs to be very clear to everyone - but especially you. The GC is typically responsible for pulling permits, knowing code well enough to spot issues in planning - and then again during the project. They hire subs, phase tasks, and coordinate between trades. And they are responsible for getting the project done on time and on budget and are responsible for the overall quality. They know about insurance, licensing, bonding, etc. And BTW: when you have a problem after a job, a GC who has an ongoing relationship with subs has an infinitely better chance of getting a sub to fix a problem - even if they have to eat the cost. You are going to deal with a plumber once, for example - but a plumber is going to bend over backwards to keep a GC happy and the jobs flowing.

Look, I'm not being a jerk - but unless you know how to be a GC for a job (and you've indicated you don't) you should let the lead contractor do that.

They have to work together, communicate, etc. and you want a single point of contact and responsibility.