Project Basement - Week 2 - A plumber's saga

So I've taken a few days off because things have necessarily had to slow down a bit. I got home on Friday and Mike (Mad Dog) & Ron (plumber) were pondering the sewer line. Essentially, the line runs so shallow across our basement that putting in a backflow valve and outlets and vents for the toilet, shower and sink was proving to be a bit of a challenge. Mike & Ron work well together - Mike was suggesting how he could work with wall layouts and Ron would measure a bit, growl some at the layout, then resume thinking. He's a character. In the end, they were able to keep basically the layout that Mike & I had agreed upon, (maintaining the 48x36 shower).

They cut out the OLD cast iron sewer line (like 90 years old...yeah) and replaced it with the white piping you see in the photos. The main line is the one running through the middle of the photo; the line to the toilet & shower runs on the right, starting in the foreground. If you follow the line to the back of the picture and up, you'll see it shoot off to the right and come out just behind the support post. That's the line to our new & improved sump pump. Very, very quiet & big & capped...and quiet. It's great.

Tomorrow, bright & early, the plumbing inspector will be by to make sure everything works. They do this by blocking the outflow of water from the house and filling the new piping with water to make sure it's leak-free.