Would you if you could ?

[HOTFR8]

The question is if you have the opportunity would you run a pipe through the concrete floor so you had a tap and the ability to use a hose inside your Garage / Shed for the purpose of washing / hosing the floor or cleaning vehicles ?

If you answer yes perhaps you can show us how you did it .

I've been pondering the idea today, wondering if it is a good idea to do this before I concrete the floor in extensions in the next week.

 

[softailgarage]

Ever had a pipe leak in the foundation ? I have, it *****. Why not go overhead with copper piping? That way if there's a leak it can be fixed without a jackhammer involved. Personally, I've always wanted a drain in the garage for the same reason.

 

[HOTFR8]

Not a bad idea. Never had a slab leak and my house has much of the plumbing through the slab but your idea would allow me to add it after the slab is poored and not before and then for that matter in the slab. Although if I do run it through the slab it will be near a wall without a big run of pipe. Both copper or poly pipe would do the job for what I need.

 

[eezeetoo]

I agree with Softtailgarage. I am currently involved in some plumbing work (not connected with the garage) that is "set in stone", so to speak. I have to do some repairs / modifications and it is a royal pain in the proverbial!!

 

[rsanter]

No
If I was going to do that it would be a pull down hose reel

Bob

 

[waggie]

building a shop pretty soon (plans are getting approved, still at the city.) I would not do this. In the old country, they bury everything behind concrete: electrical, sewer, cold/hot water, natural gas. It's fine there, since labor is cheap, so the cost of hiring a jack hammer crew to demo the concrete isn't a big deal. So, even with cheap labor, it's still not worth it to deal with the hassle. Put in a copper pipe, if it leaks, you'd know it and can repair it yourself.

 

[akdiesel]

Being in your location you don't have to worry about freeze / thaw cycles, but I don't exactly see the problem with installing piping for future planning. With the concern of pipe damage later down the road you could have many other concerns (electrical, drainage, etc...) that COULD have potential problems. If done correctly with today's standards I don't see an issue.
You could install a larger PVC pipe in the pad and simply run pex inside of it if you are worried about leaks.
So to answer your question, Yes I would put in before the pour.

 

[HOTFR8]

I agree with Softtailgarage. I am currently involved in some plumbing work (not connected with the garage) that is "set in stone", so to speak. I have to do some repairs / modifications and it is a royal pain in the proverbial!!

Going by the votes I can see many agree.

No
If I was going to do that it would be a pull down hose reel

Bob

OK a hose reel but how do you get the water inside to the hose real ?

building a shop pretty soon (plans are getting approved, still at the city.) I would not do this. In the old country, they bury everything behind concrete: electrical, sewer, cold/hot water, natural gas. It's fine there, since labor is cheap, so the cost of hiring a jack hammer crew to demo the concrete isn't a big deal. So, even with cheap labor, it's still not worth it to deal with the hassle. Put in a copper pipe, if it leaks, you'd know it and can repair it yourself.

Power in fact will be well under the slab as it has to be 500mm below ground (that is 20 inches imperial) and in fact it is in the crushed rock base. I have plenty of copper pipe and fittings so I may just make it up myself and run it through the wall after we do the slab.

Being in your location you don't have to worry about freeze / thaw cycles, but I don't exactly see the problem with installing piping for future planning. With the concern of pipe damage later down the road you could have many other concerns (electrical, drainage, etc...) that COULD have potential problems. If done correctly with today's standards I don't see an issue.
You could install a larger PVC pipe in the pad and simply run pex inside of it if you are worried about leaks.
So to answer your question, Yes I would put in before the pour.

Location is an issue often have pumps and pipes freeze with an extreme frost. Often with a frost the water suply into the house will freeze and those are poly pipes just above ground level. Sheltered and proteced but they can freeze.

That also sounds a workable idea with a PVC (poly) pipe then if I do that I may as well just run the water through it with a snap on hose fitting each end.

I think at present most are thinking as I am. Copper pipe not through the slab.

 

[Lotek]

My suggestion would be hose reel in the ceiling with a hose bib in the wall, the long hose in the reel will restrict flow, so when you are washing the floor use the hose bib and a short hose. Having had to jackhammer an 8' thick section of slab in my kitchen to get at a leaky drain pipe, no way would I put anything in the slab that could leak.

 

[akdiesel]

no way would I put anything in the slab that could leak.

I don't understand this thinking. Lots of infloor heating, well lines, and septic lines do penetrate through concrete and or rest in the pad. The amount of leaks compared to the amount of active non-leaking pipe in concrete is probably very minute. This is of course the product was installed correctly.
Cooper on the other hand is a bad choice for direct contact with cement due to corrosion.

 

[RVDan]

My house currently has a poly line running across a bedroom wall and across a hallway as a quick repair for a broken line in the slab.

 

[HOTFR8]

I don't understand this thinking. Lots of infloor heating, well lines, and septic lines do penetrate through concrete and or rest in the pad. The amount of leaks compared to the amount of active non-leaking pipe in concrete is probably very minute. This is of course the product was installed correctly.
Cooper on the other hand is a bad choice for direct contact with cement due to corrosion.

That is correct as many in floor slab heating systems use gas hot water running through poly pipe in the slab. Interesting comments at this point in time. Still leaning towards not putting it in the slab and going with copper or then I could use poly pipe in the slab .

 

[hockey88fan]

I would put a sleeve, 2.5" electrical conduit, in the concrete and then run your pex line thru it at a later time. Any leaks, just pull it out and run new line.

 

[blackdart66]

I would put a sleeve, 2.5" electrical conduit, in the concrete and then run your pex line thru it at a later time. Any leaks, just pull it out and run new line.

This is what was done in my shop

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Coming from an area with clay soil, I'd say no. The slab foundation is too unstable. We've had neighbors house foundations move/crack and take bathroom plumbing with it. Makes for a work intensive repair. It was not pretty.

The chances for any kind of breakage necessitating work might be pretty slim. The only time it'll matter is that one time it needs work.

I would put a sleeve, 2.5" electrical conduit, in the concrete and then run your pex line thru it at a later time. Any leaks, just pull it out and run new line.

I was thinking something like this as well instead of a hard set pipe in the cement. Would get around the danger of pipes breaking from cement movement.

 

[aardquark]

I put 1" pvc in the slab, running down to just outside the footings. Then I ran 1/2" pex through that. I put a curb box with a ball valve down at the footing. The only nuisance I see is draining the water in the winter. My guess right now (never done it in practice, this is a new installation) is to use air pressure to push the water down below the frost line, then close the valve.

 

[willymakeit]

If you are worried about leaks and repairs, use Pex inside a pvc sleeve. Make sure and use long radius 90's for any bends and size the pvc to be able to make the pull. PVC elect. conduit and slikum will work.

 

[Falcon67]

I didn't vote because our water well is 10' from the back window of the shop, so I just throw the hose through the window - no piping necessary.

 

[Lotek]

I don't understand this thinking. Lots of infloor heating, well lines, and septic lines do penetrate through concrete and or rest in the pad. The amount of leaks compared to the amount of active non-leaking pipe in concrete is probably very minute. This is of course the product was installed correctly.
Cooper on the other hand is a bad choice for direct contact with cement due to corrosion.

Just my personal experience, ymmv. My main point was to suggest having more than an overhead reel in the shop.

 

[Kevin54]

The question is if you have the opportunity would you run a pipe through the concrete floor so you had a tap and the ability to use a hose inside your Garage / Shed for the purpose of washing / hosing the floor or cleaning vehicles ?

If you answer yes perhaps you can show us how you did it .

I've been pondering the idea today, wondering if it is a good idea to do this before I concrete the floor in extensions in the next week.

Ever had a pipe leak in the foundation ? I have, it *****. Why not go overhead with copper piping? That way if there's a leak it can be fixed without a jackhammer involved. Personally, I've always wanted a drain in the garage for the same reason.

I wish I had done so many things years ago when I built my garage and that was one of them. If you run a pipe through, make sure you have it where the cement does not come in contact with the copper if you use copper. Or better yet, run PEX water line, or run the black plastic water line. The PEX and the black plastic can be run in one piece, but if you go that route, run it through some PVC. That way if it leaks somewhere down the road, you can remove and slide a new piece through the PVC pipe. Even if you decide against it today, run the PVC pipe anyways because tomorrow you may change your mind. Plan ahead my friend, plan ahead.

 

[geezer48]

if i was runing water under slab i would use pex single run no splices

 

[HOTFR8]

Interesting to see how the vote changed over night to 16 Yes and 10 No.
Still interested to read other ideas so keep them coming. My Concreter will be back on the job (hopefully) tomorrow so he will get the final say. At present I have all copper pipe but that will mean above floor fittings and a hole in the wall.

Plan ahead my friend, plan ahead.

Thanks Kevin, that is what I am trying to do but picking every ones brain in the process.

 

[HOTFR8]

Nearly equal votes now.

 

[jabberwoki]

I did a polly line under the slab with no problems have a drain in the floor also.

 

[Mudbone]

I second the posts that say to sleeve it. And make the sleeve as large in diameter as you can. Two inches minimum.

 

[HOTFR8]

I did a polly line under the slab with no problems have a drain in the floor also.

Drain is something I never considered, but then I hope never to have that much water in the place as I would then need a sump pump in the pit.

I second the posts that say to sleeve it. And make the sleeve as large in diameter as you can. Two inches minimum.

Sounds like the way to go. I have some good ideas now and something very simple will come from all the ideas shared here.

21 yes to 14 no.

 

[jabberwoki]

Well the drain is in the paint booth

 

[Outlawmws]

Another vote for the 2-1/2" or 3" pvc/plastic conduit for later use. To me it's a no brainier for repair-ability.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you have seen the pics of my garage bathroom, you'll know it's about 10' in from the back wall. It was two small restrooms prior to my ownership and water was run from the house at one time. I ran a new line around the outside (far side)of the house and under the back garage wall. I cut the floor, dug out the dirt and ran the line to a frost free hydrant in the bathroom. Then I filled the trench back in, concreted the floor and then poured a new floor over the old. Safe to say the line is about 30-36" under dirt which is under about 7" of concrete.

 

[D.J.]

I would put in a water line and definately sleeve the piping, but I would probally use pvc or poly pex or copper with sweep ells. I think I would also consider a drain if for nothing else but a future sink drain in a corner.

 

[Kevin C]

I ran hot and cold water from the house out to my garage using PEX. As a just in case.... I ran an extra line.

For that matter I ran two hydronic lines back to the house just in case I ever put solar heaters on the garages roof, that way I can send extra hot water back to the house.

All the lines are run in foam insulation. While I was at it I ran 3" DVW for a shop sink.

 

[e-tek]

Although guys likel voted that they'd "like to" just because they'd "like to have water". I agree with those that say don't plump it through the slab. There's lotsa reasons they don't do that!

BUT - if I ever did it again, I'd for sure I'd want a drain in the slab - a "proper" one if allowed, or a hidden one if not.

 

[HOTFR8]

Well the drain is in the paint booth

You have a paint booth !

Another vote for the 2-1/2" or 3" pvc/plastic conduit for later use. To me it's a no brainier for repair-ability.

Looking at a flexible sleeve I can run through the floor at present and then just run a hose through that at a later date. Should be easy and easy to fix if anything goes wrong.

I would put in a water line and definately sleeve the piping, but I would probally use pvc or poly pex or copper with sweep ells. I think I would also consider a drain if for nothing else but a future sink drain in a corner.

I already have a Toilet, Sink and Shower in the existing part of the building with Hot and Cold water.

If you have seen the pics of my garage bathroom, you'll know it's about 10' in from the back wall. It was two small restrooms prior to my ownership and water was run from the house at one time. I ran a new line around the outside (far side)of the house and under the back garage wall. I cut the floor, dug out the dirt and ran the line to a frost free hydrant in the bathroom. Then I filled the trench back in, concreted the floor and then poured a new floor over the old. Safe to say the line is about 30-36" under dirt which is under about 7" of concrete.

Reason I asked about this is so I am not digging up the slab to put it in. I wanted ideas before I poor the slab. I had to cut up my slab later for the Shower floor and that was when I originaly built the shed.

I ran hot and cold water from the house out to my garage using PEX. As a just in case.... I ran an extra line.

For that matter I ran two hydronic lines back to the house just in case I ever put solar heaters on the garages roof, that way I can send extra hot water back to the house.

All the lines are run in foam insulation. While I was at it I ran 3" DVW for a shop sink.

That is a great idea for the hot water. My shed is to far away from the house to do that so I have a compact electric Hot Water service in the shed. In fact it has come in handy in the past for shower when the Solar Hot water in the house has failed due to frosts here etc.

Although guys likel voted that they'd "like to" just because they'd "like to have water". I agree with those that say don't plump it through the slab. There's lotsa reasons they don't do that!

BUT - if I ever did it again, I'd for sure I'd want a drain in the slab - a "proper" one if allowed, or a hidden one if not.

The drain idea I have missed on totaly but then I have a pit and the water will be near the pit section of the extension so I can only hope I never flood the pit. Still it will make life easier for me to clean the underside of many things even the Hustler mower. I may have to make a tray to fit into the pit at floor level as a catch tray for something like that then have a way to drain it off. Still giving me good ideas here guys.

I have seen indoor car wash bays with drains and if I did not have the pit the wash bay would have been my next idea.

Ideas from here at present have made me decide to run a short length of flexible tube slightly bigger than a garden hose through the slab then run a short length of hose through that. Click on fitting on each end. Garden hose connects from the tap to the short hose outside and then the hose I need inside connects as well. The only tap in the system will be outside the building.

 

[RivennHewn]

Ever run a pipe through the walls?

 

[RivennHewn]

Interesting to see how the vote changed over night to 16 Yes and 10 No.
Still interested to read other ideas so keep them coming. My Concreter will be back on the job (hopefully) tomorrow so he will get the final say. At present I have all copper pipe but that will mean above floor fittings and a hole in the wall.



Thanks Kevin, that is what I am trying to do but picking every ones brain in the process.

"concreter'? WTF?

 

[VANAMAL]

Id run it overhead and plan ahead for a future sink/washtub. Small electric waterheater overhead too. Dont forget the drain itseasybefore you pour the crete. If you have nice cars and bikes then softwater is nice for washing. Hot water stub out for power blasting is the bomb

 

[HOTFR8]

Ever run a pipe through the walls?

Yes, I did so when I first built the shed all water went through the wall.
Not practical to do so this time with the extension and that is why I asked the question.

"concreter'? WTF?

The Concreter is the fellow pooring the slab for me. Have you never heard them called that ???

Id run it overhead and plan ahead for a future sink/washtub. Small electric waterheater overhead too. Dont forget the drain itseasybefore you pour the crete. If you have nice cars and bikes then softwater is nice for washing. Hot water stub out for power blasting is the bomb

Already have all that in the existing part of the building, shower and sink all drain off to a grey water system. Floor drain is sadly not an option this time due to the pit.

 

[Kevin54]

Simon....why not run your line and stop it in a box in the floor close to an outside wall. That way if you don't connect it now, you can connect to it later. Just make a lid for the box. Have your water entering into it and also to a drain pipe exiting out of the box. Later on, you can add a sink and place it over the top of the box. Everything will be right there where you need it. By doing it that way, all you will have is straight runs from the outside in and won't have to worry about one piece lines. Just a thought.

 

[StaggeringGoat]

I just have a hose tap hooked up underneath my shop sink, with a 3/4" x 100 foot hose on a reel. It will reach anywhere in the shop easily. The main water line to the shop is 1 1/4" PEX buried in the slab...

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon....why not run your line and stop it in a box in the floor close to an outside wall. That way if you don't connect it now, you can connect to it later. Just make a lid for the box. Have your water entering into it and also to a drain pipe exiting out of the box. Later on, you can add a sink and place it over the top of the box. Everything will be right there where you need it. By doing it that way, all you will have is straight runs from the outside in and won't have to worry about one piece lines. Just a thought.

A good idea but would not fit as I need it. I've started on a flexible pipe now and will run a hose through it. I'll post more as I update the extension topic.

I just have a hose tap hooked up underneath my shop sink, with a 3/4" x 100 foot hose on a reel. It will reach anywhere in the shop easily. The main water line to the shop is 1 1/4" PEX buried in the slab...

Say that is also a great idea as I could add that easily under my sink. Also sadly will not work for me as the water near my sink is not near the new work bay in the extension.