Adding New Plumbing to Older Akron Homes

The Typical Akron Project: More Bathrooms in an Older House

Akron grew fast during the rubber industry years, and many neighborhoods are full of sturdy wood-frame homes, bungalows and foursquares from that era. They have good bones, but their plumbing was sized for one family bathroom and a kitchen. Today's requests look different: a primary bath carved out of a bedroom, a half bath on the main floor, or a dormered attic turned into a bedroom with its own shower.

Each of those needs a new drain path down to the building sewer, a vent that reaches open air, and hot and cold water brought up from the basement. In a finished older home, the hard part is not the pipe itself. It is finding a route that does not mean tearing open half the house.

Finding a Route Through Plaster Walls and Old Framing

Before quoting, we trace where the existing stack runs and look for natural chases: stacked closets, an old laundry chute, a corner beside the chimney, or a wall that lines up from the basement to the attic. Using those spaces keeps plaster repair to a minimum.

Old framing also brings surprises. Joists may be true-dimension lumber, previous owners may have notched them for earlier pipes, and balloon-framed walls can run open from basement to roof. We plan drain runs so joists are drilled or headed off properly rather than cut through, and we add fire blocking where open cavities call for it.

• Stacked closets or a back hallway wall often make the cleanest vertical chase
• Attic baths usually need the vent tied into the existing roof penetration or a new one
• Long horizontal drain runs across old joists may need a dropped soffit below
• Knee walls in a finished attic can hide supply lines but must stay above freezing

Tying Into Cast Iron and Galvanized Pipe

Most new drain work is PVC, and most older Akron stacks are cast iron. Joining them is routine when it is done right: we cut in a new fitting using no-hub transition couplings and support the old stack above and below the cut so its weight does not shift. Before cutting, we check the cast iron for cracks, thin spots or heavy scale. If the section we would connect to is in poor shape, it is better to replace that length now than to hang a new bathroom on it.

On the supply side, homes that still have galvanized steel lines often lose pressure because the inside of the pipe has narrowed over the decades. Feeding a new upstairs bathroom from a corroded galvanized branch is a recipe for a weak shower. We usually run new lines back to a healthy point near the main, in PEX or copper pipe depending on the location.

Inspections and the Order of Work

New bathrooms in the city generally require a plumbing permit and inspections. While walls are open, the rough-in is tested and inspected. After fixtures are set, a final inspection confirms everything drains, vents and holds pressure. We schedule our work so your carpenter or remodeler is not waiting on us, and so nothing gets closed up before it has been tested and signed off.

If the upstairs bathroom is part of a larger renovation, our bath and kitchen remodeling team can handle the fixtures and finish side once the new lines are in.