LESLIE: Now we’re going to talk to Michael in New Jersey about installing a bathroom in a basement. What can we do for you today?
MICHAEL: Hi. I bought a four-bedroom house with only one bathroom and it’s a family of four (Tom and Leslie chuckle); so we’re having a little bit of problems with that.
TOM: (chuckling) I bet.
LESLIE: Scheduling.
TOM: (chuckling) Yeah.
MICHAEL: Right, exactly. Mother Nature always calls at the same time. Our basement has an eight-foot ceiling and it’s a huge basement.
TOM: OK.
MICHAEL: But the sewage pipe is three feet off the ground.
TOM: Right.
MICHAEL: Is there anything I can do to install a bathroom down there?
TOM: Yeah, you absolutely can. What you need is a type of pump …
LESLIE: Is it a lift pump? Yeah.
TOM: Yeah, and basically what happens is the waste flows into this pump in the floor that is about the size of a sump pump but it’s different; it’s all sealed and it grinds the waste and then lifts it up high enough so that gravity can make it flow into the typical drain line for the house.
LESLIE: Would you need one lift pump per fixture or can a lift pump in one bath handle like a toilet and a shower?
TOM: No, it would be one pump for the entire bathroom.
MICHAEL: Oh, OK.
TOM: And it’s a fairly big job. I mean don’t get me wrong. Because you have to break out the floor to have it installed and have all the lines installed and it has to be vented and of course it has to be, you know, drained into the house drain waste vent pipe.
MICHAEL: OK, thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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