First off, I'm not a professional plumber, but I've seen a few pipes in my day, so will tell you what I think.

I don't think that hole is "for the toilet" as you say. I think it's probably just a floor drain, with a trap built into it to keep out sewer gases. If it had been designed for a toilet it would have been capped somehow to keep the sewer gases from coming up (until the toilet was installed, which has a built-in trap)

Bottom line is I think you're going to have to jack hammer the floor and re-"rough-in" the pipes if you want a toilet there. You could also "rough-in" drains for your proposed shower at the same time.

It must be an optical illusion, because that stack doesn't appear to be 5' from the yellow line. If it is, however, you should have enough room for your plans. I'll let the more knowledgeable people chip in if they have any easier way to accomplish your goal.

Thanks for your post, tryinbrian. Actually, the "yellow line" is just the tape measure lying on the floor. If you look closely at the left side of the first picture, you can just barely see the studs that I'm referring to when I mentioned that the stack is 5'1/2" from that wall.

I should mention that since we have lived here, there has always been a plastic bag stuffed into the "hole", which I removed for the picture. Looking down into the hole, it appears to be about 6 inches deep and is lined with debris and pebbles. Do you think it could still be designed for a toilet or would that necessitate it being capped above ground? It seems odd that they wouldn't have roughed-in for a toilet.

Hmmm, jackhammering the floor . . . I was originally thinking that if putting in a shower was too costly we could just do a half bath. Is it still a DIY project? We do know a plumber who owes us a favor.
Thanks again,
Laura

There's another possible solution for a basement bathroom that wouldn't require jackhammering up any of the floor. It's a product from a company called Saniflo. It's essentially a macerating sump and pump that would connect directly to your existing plumbing. See the link below for more details.

You might also want to check out the latest issue (March 2008 - issue no. 193) of Fine Homebuilding Magazine which contains a feature article on Plumbing a Basement Bathroom. It should be on your local newsstand right now, or you can view it online with an online membership at this website: Fine Homebuilding Magazine

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saniflo Macerating Pumping Unit

what that looks like to me is a laundry sink and that the area was plumbed for a laundry not a bath. the stub sticking out would be for the washer drain to be tied in.

that in the floor is a floor drain, not a toilet drain.

you MAY can convert it to a bath, but there is no way to know without knowing what is under the floor. for example, in my house the laundry area only has a 2" drain line under the slab, it does not connect to the 4" line until outside. if i wanted to convert this i would have to bust out the floor, dig up the line and replace it with 3 or 4" all the way out to teh main drain line.

With a macerating pumping unit (like the Saniflo mentioned above), the discharge pipe is 3/4" PVC to the gravity fall. Busting into the floor for a toilet wouldn't be necessary. That's the whole point of these units.

Jamesk, thanks for your post. My husband is against using the Saniflo and actually seemed happy when I told him that it looks like we may have to do some concrete demolition. We did that at our former home before hiring a plumber to come in and lay the lines for the basement bathroom. I will try to pick up a copy of the magazine that you mentioned. I followed the link and it appears that the timing of the article is perfect for us.

DavidandKasie, now that you pointed it out, it does seem that the area may have been designed for a laundry room. When we bought the house, the washer and dryer were placed in the main floor bathroom closet. We have since relocated the laundry room upstairs. After reading your post, I measured the pvc pipe in the floor and it is 3", while the other upright pipes are 2". I'm not sure if that is indicative of it's purpose or if it means that we can in fact tie the toilet drain there. Thanks for your help and if the new info means anything, let me know.

Have a good day!
Laura

If it's a 3 inch drain line, I guess it would be possible to use it for a toilet, although I usually prefer a 4 inch line for that. Two inches is adequate for the vent, so you should be alright there, at least above where the other lines connect.

A jackhammer still is going to be required though, since the floor drain will have a trap (probably filled with the "debris" you mentioned) that has to be removed. I don't think it's that big of a deal because you just have to remove concrete above the pipes, not the entire floor.

Probably the thing to do is have your husband start breaking the concrete by the drain and then follow the pipe back to the vent and then a foot or two "downstream" to see how it's laid out. Then have a plumber come in and design a new layout with the toilet outlet where you want it. Probably should also have a floor drain included, since it's in the basement.

Actually, in my basement, the floor drain doubles as a shower drain for my homemade "shower stall". Works out good, though not exactly fancy looking.

If you're still set on having a real shower in the far area, that will involve more jackhammering, of course. I think you would cut a trench from the vent stack over to where you want the shower to be.

I'm with your husband on the mechanical toilet. I'd only use one of those if you didn't have gravity working for you, which you obviously do.

Tryinbrian, I am curious about your "homemade shower stall". Did you rig up a curtain around a shower head and then the whole floor just slopes to the floor drain? I had thought about doing that since it will be a small room and that would make cleaning very easy. Is it possible to make a basement bathroom into a "wet room", so that no curb is required for the shower? I imagine it's hard to get the correct slope. Also, I was considering a warmed floor system such as Nuheat, so I suppose that wouldn't be possible if that design was used.
Thanks again for your help.
Laura

Sorry so slow to respond, thought this one was done.

My "Homemade" shower was just as you described when I bought the place, a shower curtain around an area that sloped into a floor drain. I constructed a wall around it, keeping the bottom plate off the floor with some treated 2x4 spacers between it and the floor. There is drywall on the outside and that plastic-coated hardboard "tile" on the shower side.

Works good, though occasionally water may seep under the walls before it drains back down again. I have a wooden platform that you actually stand on while showering, keeping your feet warmer.

The reason I built it was for size - it's about 4x4. It has held up well and the "wet floor" as you describe has created no problems for me. Plus, it was much cheaper that buying a real shower stall...

You will need to look at the plans that are on file at the local building dept. to know if it's a toilet waste pipe. It's placement in the floor suggests it isn't. When you do the plumbing down there,add a vent for the laundry tub. It doesn't have one.
Ron