RetireJapan

Hi...I’m considering buying an older (50 years) mansion and remodeling it. I would very much like to have the kitchen to the back of an open plan Kitchen Dining Living area rather than near the veranda where it sits now. In my current condo, I sit on my sofa and look across at my kitchen and am sick of that layout. I talked with a reform company today and the fellow mentioned that there might be a problem with that plan as there needs to be an incline for water to flow away from the sink – probably toward the veranda. He said the further the sink is from the veranda the higher the floor needs to be as that’s where the pipes will likely go.

Clearly, I need to have a better idea of how the plumbing works in this condo. I’m sure an architect could sus this out quickly, but I’m not at the stage of taking along an architect yet for a second look. So I wonder if anyone has experience with remodeling an older mansion and can advise on this. Already the ceilings are kind of low so the thought of raising the floor doesn’t appeal. Maybe there’s a work around to send sink water to the toilet pipes or along wall? Hmmm. Thanks!

We remodeled our kitchen and put in wooden floors -it is away from the balcony and is raised about 3 cm to accommodate pipes etc.

It's not really a problem.

Is a 50 year old condo built to the latest earthquake standards?

We remodeled our kitchen and put in wooden floors -it is away from the balcony and is raised about 3 cm to accommodate pipes etc.

Thanks, 3cm would be ok.

Is a 50 year old condo built to the latest earthquake standards?

No, it was built before 1980. But it just went through a major 6 month earthquake retrofit.

That’s cool, I didn’t realize that happenes - thought generally the economics of old condo blocks favoured tearing down and rebuilding.

Typically there will be a service riser (or multiple) where your services run (sewer, water, electrical, comms etc.) so it sounds like it is near the verandah. I shouldn't image getting enough fall for your drainage will be an issue as you're probably not running the pipe over a very long distance (unless it's a huge mansion). May just require a few centimetre rise in floor level like what Ben experienced. Also if you want to connect the sink drainage to the toilet pipe you would want to make sure there is adequate venting so you don't get unwanted smells coming up in your kitchen sink.

May just require a few centimetre rise in floor level

Thanks, I can live with that.