Years ago 1-1/2" was the norm for a laundry standpipe, but in the late 70s to early 80Âs the appliance industry started installing higher volume pumps in the washing machines and it was soon learned that the 1-1/2" lines could not handle the volume and velocity of the discharge so the plumbing codes were amended requiring a laundry standpipe to be 2".

The type of washing machine that you select has absolutely no bearing on the size of the line. Regardless of what laundry machine you choose, there is no guarantee that when that machine wears out that it would be replaced with a machine of equal size, therefore the standpipe must conform to the code standard for a laundry standpipe.

Taking this discussion to the next level, living in a condo you are confronted with a number of problems that your real estate agent no doubt forgot to mention.

In most jurisdictions a homeowner may perform "maintenance" on a single-family dwelling or a residential multifamily dwelling so the question then is, what is the definition of "maintenance"?

Maintenance is the act of servicing or repairing all pipes, valves, fixtures and appurtenances related to the structure water distribution system or DWV system providing the systems are maintained in the original configuration and layout. Any additions, changes or alterations of the original system, no matter how slight, are defined as "New Work".

A homeowner may pull a "self help permit" for "New Work" providing the structure is a Âsingle-family dwelling" solely occupied by the homeowner or members of his/her immediate family. (This can get real touchy; I once worked on a house where the homeowner was denied a self help permit because they had a foreign exchange student in residence in their home for a year.)

In residential or commercial multi-family dwellings the homeowner (landlord) or his/her delegates (maintenance department) may perform "maintenance" but they May Not perform any "New work" on the structure.

In those jurisdictions that have both Residential/Commercial Plumbers and Residential Plumbers a Residential Plumber may perform service for hire on a single -family residential structure or a residential multi-family structure, but not on a commercial multi-family structure.

Generally a "Residential multi-family structure" is defined as any structure with two or more dwelling units but not to exceed 4 dwelling units or 3 stories in vertical height.

All structures with 5 or more dwelling units or exceeding 3 stories in height are defined as a "Commercial Multi-family dwelling" and a certified residential/commercial or journeyman plumber must perform all maintenance or new work.

In some jurisdictions all "condos" regardless of how large or small the structure are classified as "commercial multi-family dwellings"

Your Plumbing Inspector has already notified you that he will not pass the installation unless you install a 2" line for the standpipe however what he did not tell you is that installing the 2" line will involve the tub drain line as well. All DWV (drain, waste & vent) lines) are sized by the code DFU (drainage fixture unit) method. Basically the code has tables listing every type of fixture that can be found in a structure and it assigns a minimum drain opening size and a DFU value. When your tub was initially installed a 1-1/2" line was rated for up to 3DFUÂs and as long as you make no changes to that line it may remain a 1-1/2" line however, if you make any changes whatsoever you would be required to bring it up to the code that is in force at the time of the new work. Under the UPC & the Calif. Code a tub is rated at 3DFUÂs but a1-1/2" line is now limited to 1DFU, therefore if you make any changes you would not only be required to install a 2" line for the standpipe, the tub drain line would also be increased to 2", which is rated for a maximum of 8DFUÂs.

Now let us discuss the idea of not installing the washer at this time, then after you have your inspection coming back and installing it. Sadly this is commonly done, but if you elect to do so you should be aware of your liability.

If you should happen to have an overflow, and if that overflow were to cause any property damage to the dwelling unit below you, you would be liable for all property damage. If you were to then turn that in to your homeowners insurance they reserve the right to come out and inspect the damages to determine the extent of liability. If they note that you have a washer/dryer hookup but the other dwelling units in your condo do not, that would raise a red flag and they will go looking closer. Do not discount insurance investigators because they are fully familiar with code and if they find your installation is non-code compliant they may elect to contact your local code enforcement office to determine when the installation was made and if it was done to code at the time of installation. If they determine that the installation was made without a permit, they may opt to deny your claim. Now to add insult to injury, once they contact the code enforcement office to verify a permit, the code enforcement office has authority to come make an inspection. When the code enforcement office determines that you made the installation without a permit, they will issue you a summons to appear in housing court, where you will be given a hefty fine and they may issue an order that you have not more than 180 days to have the entire dwelling unit brought up to current code.

I googled portable clothes washer and found that one of those would take care of all your problems. $299, hooks up to a faucet like a portable dishwasher and runs a 4 to 9 pound load.

If you cannot get the plumbing in to support a real washer/dryer set, this might work.

The issue is with the veolicty of the water that these new front loaders discharge. The velocity of water is so great that you could end up with suds in the shower in the bathroom that is behind this closet. Hence this is why the plumbing codes have been changed to require larger drainage pipe sizes from a washing machine discharge.

I would recommend finding another location for your washer & dryer.

Your contractor should not have been confused on the issue at all. All washing machines except portables require a 2" drain minimum. Period. Your machine is not a portable. That should have been very self evident to both of you. You should not have been at all surprised to fail inspection. And you should not blame the manufacturer for manufacturing a standard appliance with a standard drainage requirement that is legislated throughout the codes of all municipalities. The manufacturer isn't required to inform you of codes. Your codes office or a contractor that you hire to peform a permitted remodel should be the source of information about how to plan for a compliant remodel. Your contractor failed you but code enforcement did not. Be glad they caught this! If you flooded your bathroom with a too rapid discharge of water from your machine and it leaked into the apartments below, you'd be finacially liable and no insurance would cover a non compliant instalation. They just saved you and your neighbors quite a bit of headache.

I want to thank everyone for the information. I in no way posted on this site to be spoken down to (as some have done in the postings) about this situation. All I was looking for was someone that has put this unit into the home. This is my first major remodel. If I learned anything from all of this is before starting a project, call out the city to inspect plans. I did not think of this cause of the high recommendation I had from referrals for the contractor. Trust me, I have spoken to the contractor about all of this. I am not the expert on code, the contractor is.

I spent this morning going over the documentation from Bosch on this unit. They show in the pictures for the instillation, that the drain hose can be hooked over a sink or tub for drainage. This is just like I do at this time with my washer/dryer combo. This might be the solution to my problem cause if they are showing it can be done this way with the drain hose exposed just like my current combo & hooked to my shower area exposed, not plumbed to the drain.

It is just too bad that as someone that is trying to be more "green" in my lifestyle (small car, bringing my own bags to the market, biodegradable cleaning products, etc.), the American way of having everything HUGE from large meals @ restaurants to cars to laundry systems, puts a wrench in using a water efficient system. I even heard on the news today that LA is going to have to conserve water & they are asking people to do smaller laundry loads cause of this. All I had to do is laugh cause if the industry never had these HUGE systems come out, we would have not had to increase the pipes to take care of the water load. Maybe us in Los Angeles are a little more forward thinking than the rest of the country cause we are trying to keep this world from becoming a complete disaster.

I have written to a VP at Bosch asking if they can help get more information. Hopefully I will hear back from them.

The last time I saw this much miss-information about plumbing and plumbing code issues I was standing in an aisle at Lowes.

Contrary to public opinion Front loaders do not discharge with any more velocity than does a top loader and there is not one word in the code that says full size washers need to be connected to a 2" line while portables may be discharged into a sink.

The Plumbing Codes state that a "Laundry Washing Machine" MUST BE discharged into an "Approved Indirect Waste Receptor" and that remains the same whether the laundry washing machine is a front loader, top loader, stacked pair, portable or an old Maytag gasoline engine powered wringer washer.

The question then becomes, what is an "approved indirect waste receptor"?

For the purposes of a washing machine an approved indirect waste receptor is either a "Laundry Standpipe" or "a laundry sink".

Prior to the early 80's it was common to construct a washer standpipe with 1-1/2" pipe and we may continue to use those standpipes providing they were originally installed before the codes were changed requiring a standpipe to be 2". Any standpipe installed after the code was amended to 2" would be required to be 2" because all "New Work" must comply with the code that is in force at the time of the installation.

Under the International Residential Code a washing machine standpipe must be 2" but a laundry sink only requires a 1-1/2" drain line, therefore if Karen's installation had been in a locality under the IRC I would have recommended installing a laundry sink on the 1-1/2" line and discharging her washer into the sink however, Karen lives in California and their code is modeled after the Uniform Plumbing Code. Under both the UPC and the California Plumbing Code an 1-1/2" line is limited to a maximum load of 1DFU (Drainage Fixture Unit). The only fixture in a residential structure that is rated at 1DFU is a bathroom lavatory bowl. Under the UPC a washing machine standpipe, laundry sink, bathtub, tub/shower or kitchen sink is rated at 3DFU's so we must then increase the drain line size to 2" which is rated for a maximum load of 8DFU's.

Now before someone under the UPC chimes in and says their kitchen sink drain is only 1-1/2", that is partially correct. The code says the drain opening & trap for a kitchen sink, bathtub or tub/shower is to be 1-1/2" but the waste arm and the drain piping inside the wall is required to be 2".

Now in regards to Bosch's reluctance to provide information on the drain lines, My hat is off to them, because they are absolutely correct, legally, morally and ethically.

Morally or ethically speaking, Plumbers don't tell Bosch how to make washing machines and Bosch doesn't tell plumbers how to install a DWV(drain,Waste & Vent) system.

Legally speaking, only a Plumber, Plumbing Inspector, Architect or Structural Engineer may interpret the Plumbing code and pass the information on to the public. In fact, in some states one has to be a certified plumber to teach a theoretical textbook class on plumbing theory in a classroom.

Perhaps some of you have noticed that if you shop for parts at a commercial plumbing supply the counter people will be glad to fill your order, but they expect you to know what you need and they will not give advice on how to assembly your project. Believe me when I say they are not being condescending or aloof, they are simply complying with the law.