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Basement construction in clay soil poses several problems. Expansive soil can cause cracking in the foundation, basement walls and floor if proper precautions aren’t taken. Natural movement caused by expansive clay soils also require special precautions to be taken when installing basement plumbing. Pipes can burst if plumbing is too rigid.

Floating walls keep the walls and floors from being damaged as the home moves with the expansion of clay soil. This allows the walls to move independently from the floor of the basement. The pipes need to be able to move upward with the floor but not push against the first floor of your home. The drainage pipes under the basement floor need to be able to breathe as well.

When you install loos, washing room, or a mudroom in the basement you want to make allowance for natural movement of clay soil. Installing flexible growth couplings and growth joints on cellar plumbing will make allowances for this movement and keep the pipes from dripping at the joints or cracking.

Your pipes should really be new during installation. If you’re working with existing pipes ensure not to go from one kind of metal to another. If you happen to use copper stay with copper pipes and the same applies for other metals. Take care to not to switch the dimensions of pipes incidentally. It’s feasible to go from one size to another but it isn’t always generally smart idea. You need to also begin with new pipes whenever it’s possible. Older pipes can have lead solder split while you are working with them and you don’t desire this to get into your water supply, whether or not it is for a shower and not drinking water.

Anywhere that you’re attaching one length of pipe to another you want to add a growth coupling. Expansion couplings are made from a synthesised polymer sleeve that slips over the ends of both pipes. Steel clamps are used to hold the coupling and pipes together. Once applied, the coupling will make allowances for a touch of movement in the pipes. It’s important to be sure you have got the growth couplings and not regular couplings as the growth couplings are made to breathe with the home and the regular couplings are not made to move.

When installing a shower you may use reverse floating walls to stabilize pipes in the cellar and permit movement in the head of the pipes. You need to put the maximum amount of the plumbing in the same area as feasible and use the same wet wall. A chase should be included and access can be either along a wall or in the ceiling.

Flex lines are required for water supply lines. The main water supply line should go into the chase and have flex lines attached in that area to the pipes utilized in the cellar. The most logical place for the chase access panel is in the use room together with the water heater.

As well as having growth joints and flexible couplings installed the pipes there should be adequate space between the pipes and the ceiling / floor to avoid having the pipes push into the ceiling as the ground expands with the changes in the moisture in clay soil.

Growth joints will be required for installation of ground water drainage pipes also. This will be done below the basement floor, above the foundation. Drains can be placed in the cellar floor permitting moisture that does enter the cellar to run into the drainage system and away from the home.

The expert team of Cypress Plumbing and Plumbing Houston provides plumbing quotations and every home plumbing service you require, such as fixing all toilet plumbing problems, sewage systems and pipelines in case of running water problems, to installing boilers in your shower for your pleasure.