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Every place I've ever lived had plumbing in the walls. Now, it also had it in the floors, so your point is well taken. But I seriously doubt that a central plum

Every place I've ever lived had plumbing in the walls. Now, it also had it in the floors, so your point is well taken. But I seriously doubt that a central plumbing stack is a serious holdup on plumbing out an entire floor. Then again, I don't have any real experience, so I'm very much being optimistic here without actual hands-on knowledge. I could be very wrong, and would love to hear why!

tcmart14 4y ago
So, this is me reaching back aways in memory. Walls with plumbing through them are held to different standards to other walls. Walls with plumbing use 2 by 6s. Builders and architects try to optimize by making as few walls as possible walls with plumbing because they are more expensive. Your regular walls use 2 by 4s. So yes, some walls have plumbing running through them, but not all. Any architect and contractor will try to optimize cost by having as few walls as possible with plumbing. Which is why in some apartments, neighboring bathrooms in units will be close or share some wall space.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  I've never seen a wall framed with 2x6s because it had plumbing in it. It's all 2x4 regardless, here—you almost never see a 2x6 wall. Is that a California thing?
  - tcmart14 4y ago
    As far as I know, no. I learned about this when I lived in North Carolina. The house I grew up in had 2x6 wet walls with all other walls being 2x4. It could be state or local building codes based. Here is a mention of it from a city in Illinois. But it definitely isn't just a California thing. https://elmhurst.org/DocumentCenter/View/1826/Plumbing-Requirements-PDF?bidId= https://elmhurst.org/DocumentCenter/View/1826/Plumbing-Requi... https://www.reference.com/world-view/standard-wall-thickness-residential-home-f595d4bc80d70b61 https://www.reference.com/world-view/standard-wall-thickness...
  - telotortium 4y ago
    The most common example is a wall with a toilet drainpipe. In the US, that requires a 3" inner diameter pipe - the outer diameter is 3.5", which is exactly the same as the space inside a 2x4 wall, but if you need any fittings, it won't fit, and even if you don't, the likelihood of being pierced by nails is too high when the pipe is right against the drywall. If you have a single-story house, there would be no need for such a drainpipe, so this is primarily an issue in multi-story buildings. Sometimes there's a central chase that contains these pipes (as well as HVAC ducting), but unless all your bathrooms surround that central chase, you'll need a 2x6 wall somewhere.
  - jjav 4y ago
    > I've never seen a wall framed with 2x6s because it had plumbing in it. It's all 2x4 regardless, here—you almost never see a 2x6 wall. Is that a California thing? My California home is all 2x4s everywhere and there's plenty of plumbing in most walls.
pessimizer 4y ago
> Every place I've ever lived had plumbing in the walls. In every wall and under every floor? How many sinks did you have?
- hn_version_0023 4y ago
  Sorry, I wasn’t clear. Every house had plumbing in the walls & under the floor, but not in every wall. Normal houses, not.. a showroom for fountains!

tcmart14 4y ago

So, this is me reaching back aways in memory. Walls with plumbing through them are held to different standards to other walls. Walls with plumbing use 2 by 6s. Builders and architects try to optimize by making as few walls as possible walls with plumbing because they are more expensive. Your regular walls use 2 by 4s. So yes, some walls have plumbing running through them, but not all. Any architect and contractor will try to optimize cost by having as few walls as possible with plumbing. Which is why in some apartments, neighboring bathrooms in units will be close or share some wall space.

yamtaddle 4y ago
I've never seen a wall framed with 2x6s because it had plumbing in it. It's all 2x4 regardless, here—you almost never see a 2x6 wall. Is that a California thing?
- tcmart14 4y ago
  As far as I know, no. I learned about this when I lived in North Carolina. The house I grew up in had 2x6 wet walls with all other walls being 2x4. It could be state or local building codes based. Here is a mention of it from a city in Illinois. But it definitely isn't just a California thing. https://elmhurst.org/DocumentCenter/View/1826/Plumbing-Requirements-PDF?bidId= https://elmhurst.org/DocumentCenter/View/1826/Plumbing-Requi... https://www.reference.com/world-view/standard-wall-thickness-residential-home-f595d4bc80d70b61 https://www.reference.com/world-view/standard-wall-thickness...
- telotortium 4y ago
  The most common example is a wall with a toilet drainpipe. In the US, that requires a 3" inner diameter pipe - the outer diameter is 3.5", which is exactly the same as the space inside a 2x4 wall, but if you need any fittings, it won't fit, and even if you don't, the likelihood of being pierced by nails is too high when the pipe is right against the drywall. If you have a single-story house, there would be no need for such a drainpipe, so this is primarily an issue in multi-story buildings. Sometimes there's a central chase that contains these pipes (as well as HVAC ducting), but unless all your bathrooms surround that central chase, you'll need a 2x6 wall somewhere.
- jjav 4y ago
  > I've never seen a wall framed with 2x6s because it had plumbing in it. It's all 2x4 regardless, here—you almost never see a 2x6 wall. Is that a California thing? My California home is all 2x4s everywhere and there's plenty of plumbing in most walls.

pessimizer 4y ago

> Every place I've ever lived had plumbing in the walls. In every wall and under every floor? How many sinks did you have?

hn_version_0023 4y ago
Sorry, I wasn’t clear. Every house had plumbing in the walls & under the floor, but not in every wall. Normal houses, not.. a showroom for fountains!