Vent Pipe Location

I do not know much about plumbing but am trying to get some information for potential layout of bathroom remodel. My question is, Can a vent be upstream? In other words, can there be one vent between a washing machine and a shower right next to it?

 

Depends...

The simplest way to vent two fixtures would be to vent each one separately, go up above the flood rim for both then tie them together for a single vent through the roof.

There are cases where you can "wet vent", where a vent for one fixture works as a drain for another. I'll have to defer what fixtures can be wet vented and what can't to someone with more experience.

I'd suggest you sketch out how you want to drain and vent everything and pass it by the folks here. They'll certainly be able to help.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for your reply. Is it okay to put a vent pipe in an outside wall?

 

Hi Scotty,
I will help out as best as I can, but I may need some kind of drawing to understand what you are trying to do.

First of all, yes, a vent or drain line can be in an outside wall. Do not put water supply lines on an outside wall if you have a potential for freezing temperatures.

Technically, you cannot vent a washing machine and a shower on the same vent, but they can be vented separately, as zorfdt has mentioned in the earlier post. In this case you cannot use a "wet vent" because a washing machine cannot be used in a wet vent at all. A little confusing, but a diagram will help me show the correct way. Also, wet venting requires different pipe sizing.

You may also want to check with your local building dept for any special code requirements. I use IPC code book in NH. Your town may be different.