When you first thought of it, you know the garage bathroom idea, well it sounds great and super functional, that’s why you thought of it, right! Then you start thinking about how a garage toilet pump system would work.
The toilet sort of jumps out at you, doesn’t it? Well, not all is lost but you are going to need access or have near access to hot and cold water. Bear minimum cold water access, at the very least. Instead of piping hot water to your garage oasis, you could use one of those water on-demand heating units. Getting easier already!
Where is your nearest water appliance? We are looking for a sink, toilet, or maybe you have a laundry room off from the garage space. I have a seen complete laundry setups right in the garage. If you have that it would be like, BINGO! Water and a drain!
Okay, so you do not have the perfect setup so let’s keep looking. As the crow flies, is it behind a garage interior wall? If so it would still make things a lot easier!
If not then we are going to have to do a little bit of engineering. I have seen a few garages with a hose bib installed coming from the main house, and that would be great too. But the ideal setup would have to be one where there is a bathroom or crawl space has a common wall to the garage.
Yes, it starts to make the sewer line not as much of a problem, but still a small hurdle to get over. But, it is definitely doable! Even if that bathroom is a couple of rooms away.
Toilet Placement
To see this project in our mind’s eye, we first need to look at how a toilet works. Your average john or toilet has a supply line for water to supply the tank or water closet. That would probably be a 3/8’s or 1/4 inch line. Look no farther than the plumbing section at any hardware store. I myself prefer the cheaper plastic vinyl kind, It is flexible and easily cut to length. It will enter the tank from the bottom with a compression-type fitting and the bulbous end of the supply line.
Now, this is where the rubber meets the road, my friend. The toilet discharge on a regular john is on the bottom. That is why we are not going to use it. Now don’t get me wrong. If you can see your way clear of using a bottom discharge toilet then, by all means, full speed ahead!
Like you may have several steps that puts your garage floor lower than the main living quarters.
If so, then you more than likely have a crawl space under your house with a common wall to your garage. Easy enough to punch a hole through for a three-inch sewer line. One option would be to jackhammer enough concrete to accommodate that three-inch line then take it through that wall into your crawl space. From there you want to slope your line 1/4 inch per foot towards your existing sewer line or the stack, tapping into one or the other with a tee.
If that Crawl space is like say three or four blocks tall well you could construct a wooden floor on top of your garage floor with 2 x 6 or 2x 8-floor joists. You would then be able to drop through the wooden floor and straight into an elbow, taking your sewer line under your floor through the space between the joists. You would want to chisel out a hole in that crawl space wall to get your pipe under the house. There would be a step into or out of your bathroom is the only thing, but only a thing.
Toilet Grinder/Pump Tips
If you were to chose the grinder option, you could conceivably put a toilet anywhere in your house, including the garage. Upstairs, basement, or anywhere you could get a water line to and a 1-inch discharge line out from and to the nearest sewer drain. The discharge line could empty into your vent stack or into the main sewer line with a three x three x one-inch tee.
You wouldn’t think that it could get discharged through a one-inch line but that grinder can liquefy waste and toilet paper in about three seconds then pumps it out at a high velocity. The Sanibest Pro Grinder/Pump can efficiently pump 15 feet horizontally and or 150 feet vertically. The pressure is not too high to where you couldn’t use stainless screw tighten pipe clamps for the connections on the grinder housing.
One bit of plumbing to plan for would be the vent pipe. It comes off from the top of the grinder housing with a 1 1/2 inch PVC line and has to be a free air vent, meaning you could not use a mechanical vent that only opens one way. It also can be connected to your vent stack or joined with the vent of another appliance.
A wet vent is an option as well but is not allowed in some principalities. Simply put, you install a tee in a 3-inch horizontal sewer line with a 2-inch nipple rolled to point up and vent your system there. Check your local plumbing codes for direction.
On another note, the Sanibest Pro has two, 2-inch access points on either end of the housing for additional drains, say for instance a shower, sink, wash machine, or all three.
What is the Best Residential Grinder/Pump
There are many brands of grinders on the market. Like everything else, it is best for you to do your due diligence and do research on the various brands available for the application that you may be using it for. They even make toilets with the grinder built-in and could be considered as a portable unit that could be unplugged, dismantled from its mount, and taken along to your next destination.
The only reason that I mention the Sanibest Pro is that I have more experience with that model than any others. I was at a location that utilized that grinder where there were about 30 employees and after a year’s time, the only problem that I had was some disgruntled employee had stuffed the toilet with paper towels and cardboard..a lot of it. I popped the top off and cleaned the unit out and it was good to go.
The Sanibest Pro
This unit is reliable and is a cost-effective option for any homeowner who wants to install a full bath below or away from a sewer drain. This a 1 horsepower system with a 9 amp oil-filled split phase motor that powers the grinder and pump in one action. This beast can pump 25 feet straight up or 150 feet horizontally.
It can easily handle residential and commercial applications ( warehouses, rentals, offices, etc.) It can handle the occasional sanitary product; such as dental floss, condoms, q-tips, and sanitary napkins, etc. It can get the job done with little or no maintenance.
Using an Upflush Toilet
This is the toilet that you would use with a grinder/pump type system. The grinder will have a 3-inch porcelain nipple coming out of the back of the toilet below the bowl. It will back up to the front of the grinder and be coupled to it with an accordion-like rubber fitting. The base of the appliance will have 2 holes in it, one on each side.
These are to secure the toilet to the floor. It is best to do a trial run and fit everything together, then mark the holes. Take it all back apart, move the stool out of the way, if your mounting to concrete that is, drill your concrete at the holes you just marked, and install your anchor system.
If you have a wooden floor you can skip taking it back apart and go ahead and screw right to the floor. Companies, including Saniflo, offer a package deal where you can purchase the grinder, toilet, hardware, and everything you need for your new bathroom.
I hope this article about garage bathroom ideas has given you food for thought, answered a few questions you were pondering on, and maybe even allowed you to take some of my experience and add some of your own observations, to form a plan for your next project, about the home.