New Construction Help

[abernut]

Hello,
We are having a home built in Jacksonville Beach, FL. We are on a very tight budget and had to do without some of the "wants"

I wanted a sink in my detached garage but it was pretty pricey. Instead I asked that the plumber leave an outdoor trap for me to use at a later date.

I just got an email from the builder stating:

I've gotten the additional option pricing from the plumbers, and I've attached a copy of the plan showing the possible clean-out locations. To have the clean-out in the following locations would be an upgrade cost as listed:

· Originally priced location: $195

· Option #1 attached: $425

· Option #2 attached: $325


Please let me know which, if any, you would like to do, and I'll send over a change order for approval.

Here is the drawing:

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First Question: Is it normal to for the price to increase that much just by moving it back that little of a distance.

Second Question: Is there anything else I should be asking or requiring so when the time comes I wont run into any surprises when installing the sink in my garage (Are there additional clean-outs, venting, etc...)

Thanks
Mike

 

[Caduceus]

It is standard to charge a lot for change-orders. This covers administrative costs, adds a few bucks in profit but also acts as a deterrent to customers who's obsession with changing the original plans could slow the construction process. I'm not saying that is what you are doing, I'm just letting you know what the builders have shared with me.
Maybe I just don't understand, explain if I misread. At first you mentioned having an additional trap for the future installation of a sink, but the builder refers to relocating a clean out. Is it that the garage doesn't have any floor drains? I don't follow how relocating the cleanout...or leaving it alone...has anything to do with the additional trap outside of the garage. And if the garage is a separate structure from the house and it does have floor drains, an additional outside trap would be in order anyways. Please clarify for me if you can.
If there is a floor drain in the garage, has the underground piping been installed and concrete poured in the garage? Most people who want a future fixture would ask that a future stack pipe be added in the room, not outside, and connected to the same piping as the floor drain.
I looked at the plan and it appears that you would also need to have future water lines installed underground and accessible from the inside of the house,unless you plan on doing that yourself later.

 

[Caduceus]

Now that I think about it, Florida is under IPC regulations and doesn't require an outdoor house trap unless local jurisdictions call for it.
Hopefully phishfood will see this thread and give some more insight.
My codes in Pittsburgh vary from other areas.

 

[phishfood]

House traps are not the norm here, and in fact, it could technically be against code, as code does not allow fixtures to be double trapped. (Let's not get into lint or grease traps)

I am a bit confused. Are you asking them to leave an attachment outside of the garage to which you could later drain the sink, or are you asking them to install a P trap outside?

If the garage has not been poured yet, I would have them install a drainage pipe inside of the garage, not on the exterior.There will also need to be water supply lines roughed in.

The pricing does not seem out of line to me, especially if they are roughing in the water lines. Understand that the more exterior piping they have to install, the more risk that it will be damaged by other construction crews, and it will be hard for the plumber to get payed for repairing it. Also, if the contractor pays his employee $15 an hour for the couple of hours it will take to do the extra work, it costs the contractor almost double that amount just to pay for all of the hidden costs of employing the plumber. Now figure in the monstrous hassle of making sure that this additional, out of the ordinary, work gets done, add in a little profit, add in the time that the builder has to spend processing this change order, and a little profit for the builder, and it shouldn't be hard to see how a seemingly small change can cost a surprising amount more.

 

[abernut]

I'll do my best to explain.
The first set of plans had a sink in the garage. But we had to start removing options because we were over budget. One of the options we removed was my garage sink.

I told the builder I would like to be able to add a sink at a later date. It is hard to see but there is an outdoor shower (hot and cold) right past the AC unit. This is where I was planning on tapping into for my supply lines. I needed somewhere to tap into for my drainage. This is when the builder recommended installing out out door clean-out between the house and garage. He said this is where I can tap into for my drainage.

There are currently no floor drains or plumbing of any kind I the garage.

When the time came I was going to recruit a couple of people smarter than I on this topic to help get the sink installed

 

[abernut]

Also the different options on the drawing reference the places the plumber could install the clean-out. He was originally going to install it close to the AC unit. I was trying to get it moved farther back so it would be less line for me to run I the future.

Also, are clean-outs and traps the same thing?

 

[abernut]

I am a bit confused. Are you asking them to leave an attachment outside of the garage to which you could later drain the sink, or are you asking them to install a P trap outside?

Install something that I can tap into at a later date for drainage. They are calling it a clean-out. Is that the same thing

If the garage has not been poured yet, I would have them install a drainage pipe inside of the garage, not on the exterior.There will also need to be water supply lines roughed in.

There has been no concrete work yet. They just dug the footers today. My concern is change order cost and I am really not sure where I want the sink just yet. I was hoping I could tap into the out door shower for my supply lines. It is on the right side of the house just past the AC

 

[IFIXH20]

Clean-out and traps are two different things. I know you're trying to cut back due to funds but if you really want a sink in the garage I would let the Builder/Plumbing Contractor take care of the ground rough-in (water and drain line). The water lines to the out doors shower will be in the wall and under the slab when the house is completed so tapping into them may not be as easy as you think with out making some sort of access to tap the lines. If you decide to install the sink later (run water & drain lines from scratch) You will still have to have a permit pulled. Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, & Neptune Beach have gotten very strick with the codes these days due to the fact lots of Owners of rental properties was doing the work themselves or having Joe Blow doing it ALL WRONG.

 

[johnjh2o]

It would be a very simple to rough in for a sink if you put it back to back with the kitchen sink. The cost to you will be far less to have them do it while the home is being built, than trying to do it after the home is finished. If funds are tight then cut some where else that will be easier to finish at a later date. Like don't purchase the dishwasher.