Moving a shower location in bath remodel

[kitchenredo]

I am planning a bath remodel and want to move the shower location about 4 feet. I have a concern on how to re-run the water source and drain lines. I can only envision a layout that will require that the lines go through a floor HVAC air passage. Is this allowed by code, or is there a good common-sense reason not to do this?

Thanks for your comments, it will help me to get this project started. If I can't do either of these, I will have to see if it is possible to move the HVAC air passage which looks difficult.

 

[MicEd69]

You cannot pass plumbing, drains or supplies, or even electrical through HVAC ductwork by code. Is this a supply or return piece of ductwork? WHat is it's size and where is it going or coming from?

 

[kitchenredo]

That is what I feared. The situation is that there is a floor source vent against the wall and my plan was to just route it under the new shower position and out the floor at the edge of the new shower position. I'm not good at drawing but I'll try to put something together to show the situation and maybe someone will have an idea what can be done. Thanks for your quick reply.

 

[MicEd69]

Marked up pictures might help as well. And is this on the first floor or second floor. Also, if first floor, crawl space or basement.

 

[kitchenredo]

The diagram shows the bath and adjoining walk-in closet. The shower takes space that could be used to enlarge the closet, and since it is recessed into the closet that leaves a lot of unused space in the bathroom. I want to move the shower into the main bathroom area, and I have drawn in the HVAC floor vent (4” x 12”) that is in the way (the duct is in the wall directly behind it). The drain and source lines for the shower all lead to the opposite wall where the toilet and sink are. The floor joists must run from the outside wall toward the doorway (not confirmed, but seems logical to me based on where walls are), so I was planning to just extend the run of the floor vent between the joists to exit where I drew the proposed new location and run the shower drain and source lines through that extension, which I now know is not allowed. I don’t know of another way to change the location of the floor vent but maybe there is another way to run the water lines? This is a second-floor room, underneath is a room with the washing machine and food storage. A typical attic is above. The HVAC equipment is in the basement. Because there is a window, I can’t move the shower to the same wall as the toilet.

 

[MicEd69]

You may have to do a bit of searching, but you may be able to find a shower base like this one that might take the drain out of the ductwork.

 

[kitchenredo]

Yes, that would work, thanks for the idea I'll locate one of those shower bases. One more question please. One configuration I'm considering is to put the water source and valve on the outside wall. Is this not allowed or not advisable because this location could potentially allow the pipe to freeze in winter? Otherwise, it will be on the new wall section I will build inside the bathroom.

 

[MicEd69]

Yes, that would work, thanks for the idea I'll locate one of those shower bases. One more question please. One configuration I'm considering is to put the water source and valve on the outside wall. Is this not allowed or not advisable because this location could potentially allow the pipe to freeze in winter? Otherwise, it will be on the new wall section I will build inside the bathroom.

There is no code against it, and it depends on your location and wall construction. In Missouri, we can get to below zero for short periods of time, like this week, and the high was only 7 degrees F for a couple of days. In New Jersey, I'm thinking you have milder winter weather. If you have good exterior insulation, there is a risk of freezing, but you should be OK if your temperatures don't get much into the teens for any period of time. I'm old school and like copper piping over the new PEX stuff. But PEX is better for freezing applications as it can expand and not split like copper does.