Back onto the OP question, I don't believe moving from 2x4 to 2x6 should be as costly as your architect believes. MacV's breakdown is much more accurate from my experience. 2x6's were around $1 more per 10ft in my area, so the extra lumber bill was in the $3,000 range. If you order the windows and doors from the manufacturer with the jambs built for 2x6, the extra cost is minimal, something like $20 per window or door (maybe $50 for doors). Insulation, well you can spend as little or as much as you want, but striking the balance between air infiltration and price is the center of most debates. R value is great in a lab, but in the real world, you need your doors and windows to shut tight and keep the walls from allowing wind in. Worthy's mention of an exterior foam board (taped at the seams) coupled with a blown in cellulose or fiberglass is a great economical choice. He's also right about the interior walls, I should have done 2x6 there as well. You really can't insulate around the DWV pipes for sound in a 2x4 wall.

One of the other casualties of the idiocy of up or down venting is the dryer itself. I can't tell you how many people go shopping for a new dryer 2-3 years after they replaced the old one. When you get blocked airflow, you burn out elements. And lots of people don't have a clue as to how to replace an element or clean a duct out. So they just buy a new one and wonder why it still takes 2 hours to dry a load in their new dryer. There used to be several threads on the Laundry Forum showing pics of how badly lint accumulates in such a duct. It IS shocking. I did find a thread that showed how much lint was pulled out of a simple direct to the exterior vent. Something through the roof would have 10 times as much possible lint accumulation. Think about it! Here is a link that might be useful: Lint pics

Code prohibits installing a vent horizontally under the floor in the manner you describe. A vent must rise vertically until it reaches an elevation of 6" above the flood level rim of the highest fixture served by that vent before it can be run horizontally, which in the case of a watercloset (toilet) it would be 6" above the rim of the bowl. While it can be said that all fixtures are required to be vented, it can also be said that there are numerous ways of achieving a vent and not all vents are a separate pipe. Let us consider the trap on your lavatory bowl. Inside the wall we commonly have a vertical riser coming up from the drain line below and in most instances that riser will continue upward to the roof. We then have a Tee on the line with a short section of pipe running horizontally out of the wall and to the Trap. Technically speaking the horizontal pipe coming out of the wall is defined as the "Fixture Arm" and it must serve as both the Waste and Vent for the lavatory trap. The portion of line extending from the top of the Tee to the roof is the vent while the section of line from that Tee down to the drain line under the floor serves a dual purpose. It serves as a waste line for the lavatory but it also serves as a vent to the drain line under the floor thus it is technically defined as a "Wet Vent". All horizontal DWV lines are required to be pitched to insure a good velocity of flow but code also states that the bottom of a pipe at the trap weir may not be higher than the top of a pipe at the vent opening. From this we can use a mathematical formula to determine the maximum length of a fixture arm. Under the International Residential Code (IRC) the maximum length of the fixture arm can be determined by dividing the diameter of the pipe by the pitch of the run. Example: All lines 3" or less are required a " per foot pitch therefore if we have an 1-1/2" fixture arm with a ¼" per foot pitch the maximum length of the Fixture Arm would be 1.5" / .25" = 6Â. The Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) begins with basically the same mathematical formula except they de-rate the maximum length approximately 40%. Fixture Arm Maximum Length: Pipe Diameter IRC Max. UPC Max. 1-1/4" 5 2Â6" 1-1/2" 6 3Â6" 2" 8 5 3" 12 6 4" or larger 16 10 A watercloset is required to be connected on the end of a line 3" or 4" line therefore under the UPC the line could run 6 or 10 from the water closet to the vented stack or vented drain to which it is attached without requiring any additional vents. The IRC has an exception for waterclosets. If a watercloset is the only fixture served by the line it may run an indefinite length without additional venting. If the length of the watercloset fixture arm exceeds the stated limits the solution is to connect the drain line from the lavatory to the watercloset fixture arm within the prescribed limits then extend the riser behind the watercloset up to the roof to provide the necessary venting. Under the IRC all structures are required to have one "Main Vent" which must run undiminished in size from the building "Main Drain" through the roof. Once that is achieved additional auxiliary vents may be reduced to ½ the diameter of the line they serve and they may terminate through the roof, in the attic space, under some circumstances through the wall or we may use an unlimited number of AAVÂs (air inlet valves-commonly called Studor Vents). Thus if the watercloset line is a 3 line we may use an 1-1/2" vent or for a 4" line it would need to be a 2" vent. The UPC does not require a "Main Vent" however under the UPC-ALL VENTS must terminate through the roof and the combined aggregate cross sectional area of all vents must be equal to or greater than the cross sectional area of the building Main Drain. In addition the UPC assigns a maximum DFU (Drainage Fixture Unit) load value and maximum length to each size of vent pipe. Must increase one nominal pipe size if more than 3 of vent line is horizontal.. The UPC permits a maximum of one (1) AAV per structure with the expressed written consent of the local authority having jurisdiction. Pipe Diameter Max DFU Max Length 1-1/4 1 45 1-1/2" 8 (No WC) 60 2" 24 120 2-1/2" 48 180 3" 84 212 4" 256 300 From the chart you can see that the minimum size of vent permitted for a watercloset is 2". In this case you could attach a 2" line within 6 of the watercloset, extend it horizontally to the lavatory the turn vertical and continue 2" through the roof. This line would then serve as both the waste line for the lavatory and the vent for the watercloset.

Thanks. I was planning on the supports for grab bars, but hadn't gotten around to learning about it yet. Bracing 36" off the floor....horizontally...where I want the grab bars, right? Plus, where I will have the hand shower sliding bar and beside the doors the braces will go vertically. Hopefully, the plumber will show up today. I have been calling plumbers since April. One finally answered his phone! It is unbelievable how busy they are with that high dollar lake development going on. Bruce, how do you like living in Northern Virginia? We are thinking of moving when this house is finished. The heat is southeast Oklahoma is as bad as south Texas and Florida heat,and almost as bad as Arizona heat. Our humidity is unbelievable. 112° Heat factor and we get no winters now. I have been looking at the Charlottesville area. I am looking for 4 seasons. Virginia Beach is pretty nice, but hurricanes....