Basement plumbing

Installation of the basement plumbing is a multi step process.  First we need to deliver a load of gravel into each basement to bed the pipes.  Fortunately this was done with the gravel slinger truck a few weeks prior.  The sanitary and water line to the property line was also installed and inspected previously, as this must exit the building below the footing so is done at the time of the basement excavation.

We also had to source the various pipes, fittings, back flow protection valve, floor drain and sump pump.  The sump pump is necessary as any water that collects around the building and drains into the weeping tile or sunken patio must be collected and pumped toward the alley (considerably lower than the basement) so it can drain over land, not into the city sewer system.  Complicating the plumbing install was the frozen solid condition of the ground.  Due to recent cold weather, the clay-type soil was extremely hard and frost penetrated.  To chip this away we used a large hilti hammer drill.  Another option would have been to heat the entire basement and wait until the ground melted.  In this case the chipping  away of the frozen clay was a simpler option.

In this photo our plumbers Kirk and Jeremy glue in the last of the ABS four inch pipes plus the smaller pipe for the shower, bar drain, and vanity.  Substantial gravel shovelling and frozen clay chipping was needed