▪ I have never dealt with septic systems for sewage. I do know that most sewage systems are simple pipes that lead out of your house to the sewer line in the street. There must be a downhill slope so that gravity can do the job of moving the waste. Otherwise, you may need to install a sewage ejector pump to move the waste to the sewer line.

If you want to put a bathroom in a subterranean basement, you can do so with a sump pump ejector system dedicated to that bathroom only. This is simply a tank and pump that are sunk into your basement floor. When the waste reaches a certain level in the tank, the pump activates to move the waste upwards to the main sewer line, where it can move downhill to the main sewer line in the street.

If you do have a sump pump in your basement, I suggest the addition of a high water alarm. If the pump stops working for some reason, this will alert you to a possible sewage overflow onto your basement floor.

▪ Before the contractors dig into the ground to install the water, sewer or gas lines, you need to call your local utility locator service to come out and mark the underground utilities. This will prevent your contractor from accidentally digging into and damaging the existing services. If you neglect to have the utilities marked, you could face very large repair bills that the utility companies will require you to pay.

▪ There does not seem to be any kind of universally agreed upon shower head height. Be sure to specify or your plumber is sure to put it too low or too high.

▪ Some building inspectors require the installation of a certain number of hose bibs on the outside of your house. They may also require that these bibs be frost-free. You may want to consider putting a hose bib off of your back deck (if you have one) to make it easier to water any plants growing there.

▪ If you plan to have an automatic ice maker, you need to ask the plumber to install a water line near the refrigerator.

Plumbing in House Renovation- Part 3

Former builder and instructor of "Save Time and Money in Home Remodeling" cont. ed. course at Emory University