Posted from 04/01/06:
Question: Ed The Plumber, we need your advice and help! My husband and I recently bought an apartment in Brooklyn. It's an older building and has a lot of charm. The previous owner installed a "bidet" when she redesigned the bathroom. Since a bidet is not really our style, we were wondering how difficult it would be to replace the bidet with a bathroom sink. Can this be done? - Alicia, New York
Answer: First, I want to make sure all our readers are on the same page; I know from my speaking engagements a lot of people have never seen a bidet. A bidet (ba-day) is a plumbing fixture that looks like a toilet without a tank and it has hot and cold water lines on a special faucet that lets the water flow in an upward direction from the bowl. To put it delicately, it's a washing fixture for delicate areas.
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The good news for you is that like I just mentioned a bidet has hot and cold water lines ... just like a lavatory sink. It also has a drain line just about the same size as most bathroom sinks. So, since you have all the elements required for a bathroom sink already present with your bidet, you should be able to remove the bidet and install a lavatory sink in it's place with no major plumbing renovations. However, your water and drain lines were roughed in to the bidet specifications and probably will not line up with a wall-hung sink. I recommend installing a vanity base and with a sink top. The vanity base box will hide the water and drains and you can repipe them to fit your faucet without the exposed pipes showing. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to throw your old bidet away; there is not a big demand for used bidets.
Question: Dear Ed, we have a septic/cesspool type system in our seasonal cottage. It serves three bedrooms and one bathroom and works fine. We estimate that we use about 3,000 gallons of water per year. We would like to add a half bathroom in our basement but wonder how the existing cesspool will handle the extra flow? We don't want to dig up the yard and update the system, but we do want the extra bathroom. Please help us decide what to do! - Sean, Vermont.
Answer: First, you are going to have to check with your local building officials to determine the local codes requirements necessary to meet when you add a bathroom. When it comes to septic and/or cesspool systems, you need to do things by the book to avoid any environmental concerns. They will advise you on what you need to do in the way of paperwork, fees and inspections so you can do the job properly and meet your local standards.
However, I think I may have some good news for you as far as adding a second bathroom and your extra flow concerns to your septic system. In most areas, authorities rate what a septic or cesspool system can handle by the number of bedrooms in a home and not the number of bathrooms. Think about it and it makes total sense. You can have only two people living in a one bedroom home with five bathrooms and your flow will not increase because only two people are using water. On the flip side, you can have five people living in a three-bedroom home with only two bathrooms and now your water usage has more than doubled even though you have half the bathrooms! So it's usually the number of people that will live in a home that determines if the septic system can handle the flow. The number of bedrooms will estimate how many people can live in the home.
To recap, if you just add an extra half bathroom and the bedrooms stay the same, your septic/cesspool system should handle the job. Your local building inspector will need to confirm this. I have a septic system in my own yard and I want to remind everyone that septic and or cesspool systems do need to be inspected and pumped out every couple of years to avoid flow problems. Trust me, I've been through it myself; when your system fails it's a costly and stressful experience. Treat your septic system properly and you can go a long way in avoiding a flood of problems!
(Ed Del Grande is a certified Master Plumber and hosts "Ed the Plumber" on the DIY - Do It Yourself Network. Send plumbing questions to him at edtheplumber(at)diynetwork.com or visit DIYnetwork.com. For building code concerns always contact your local government office or a local licensed plumber.)
SHNS
