Toilet flushing and a gurgling tub
Hi folks,
I moved into a new construction home two months ago and noticed that my master bath tub gurgles each time the toilet is flushed. I took a look at pictures I took before the sheet rock went on. Coming out of the tub drain, there is a (P?) trap which then runs horizontally and ties in directly to the toilet’s drain line.
I’m thinking that the toilet water moving past the tub fitting is pulling the water out of the trap, causing the gurgle. I put additional water into the tub’s drain to refill the trap, but the gurgle returns after two or three flushes.
I have two questions:
Should the tub drain be tied directly to the toilet drain line like this?
Shouldn’t there be a vent pipe off the tub to prevent the trap from getting sucked down?
Thanks!
Replies
What size is the toilet's vent stack? It should be supplying enough air to prevent vacuum at the tub.
BTW I prefer a vent for the tub tied into a 3" stack for the toilet.... but that ain't always possible.
A La Carte Government funding... the real democracy.
The vent stack is 3". Looking at the layout of the joists, it looks like it would have been possible to tie into the vertical stack versus into the toilets drain, not sure why they wouldn't have done that. Does code cover a situation like this?
Hey Neighbor:
Yes. Pennsylvania is under the IRC (International Residential Code) for plumbing.
While the code does not reference "gurling" the code is written such that the venting is completed to avoid siphoning the water out of another trap. (the gurgling)
You need to contact the builder and have em make their plumber resolve it.
If they dont have good access, they might need to open up the ceilings to move some piping around but it needs to be done.
By the way, some plumbers cap the vent at the roof for their air test during the rough inspection (under construction). If that cap is still on the vent (up on roof) then it is not allowing air into the system thereby causing the gurgling. The builder and plumber should be smart enough to check that out prior to ripping and tearing.
Good luck.