- Q. I am installing an in-floor ejector pump for a
basement toilet. Obviously, a wet vent is not possible, since I
don’t want any upstairs fixtures discharging into the
sump pit. How do I vent the toilet?
A.Master plumber Rex Cauldwell responds: You
will have two pipes at the top of the sump pit: a high pressure
discharge pipe, usually 2 inches in diameter, and a dry vent
pipe, usually 2 to 3 inches in diameter. To connect the vent,
first try to find a dry vent in the house plumbing and tap into
that. If you have none, you take the vent outside and up along
the siding. Some people terminate the pipe below the soffit,
while others take it through the soffit and go above the roof.
I’ve also been known to take it through the floor to an
upstairs closet, and then outside and up.
Here’s an idea that is not code approved: Install an
automatic mechanical vent (2 or 3 inches in diameter) in place
of a fixed vent right at the unit itself. This works in some
cases, but not all. Every time the pump kicks on, the vacuum
will open the vent and allow air to come in, and no air will
escape to the house. Officially, you are not supposed to do
this because allegedly the mechanical vent does not respond
fast enough to the pump.
Incidentally, basement ejector pumps do not have to be
installed in the concrete floor. Kits are available which allow
an above-floor installation.
Venting a Basement
Toilet