There's a hole in my floor that can only be filled by you...

The garage at our new house has a pipe coming out of the floor. Previous owner says it goes to the septic because he want to put a hot tub in the garage and never got around to finishing it.

I don't really know a ton about plumbing. What would be the best way to either get it flush with the floor or only sticking up an inch. Can I get some sort of cap that goes inside the pipe? The PVC ones I've seen go outside and I dont want to chip away concrete. I hope there is some sort of simple solution that would let it be flat to the floor and keep the garage from getting filled with septic fumes.

I have no intention of adding a hot tub.

cut flush with concrete, install glue in toilet flange with knockout, will allow future access with snake if needed, or you could put a toilet in the garage if you're too lazy/dirty to go inside

but seriously, i'd do the toilet flange if you are planning to shop at home lowespot. it'll lay flat on the floor and allow stuff to roll over. otherwise you're stuck with a couple inches of cap sticking up from the floor. a real plumbing supply place probably has a drop in plug, but i've never seen one at a big box store.

You can put in a test plug. Just google oatey test plug to see one. It's not meant to be permanant, but it fits inside the pipe and it will keep gases from escaping. Any home depot or Lowes should have a range of sizes.

EDIT: you can use test plugs to find boost leaks as well.

Build a cabinet over it. Plumbing drops in concrete are valuable imho.

Garage sink?

Slippery wrote: Garage sink?

that would be too convenient..

Every garage needs a laundry sink.

Most likely thats the foundation clean out, and by code it is required to be at the last place the main drain leaves the building. It needs to be full sized(4") and needs to remain accessible. It doesn't need to stick out like that. You can cut it down. It can be below the floor and then covered with a deck plate clean out. Ever walk thru a store and see one of those round brass plates on the floor, held down with a couple of flush screws? Thats a deck plate cleanout. Underneath that is a drain clean out plug. They make them in plastic as well, or you can just get one of those round boxes with a cover for sprinkler systems. Buy something large enough to cover around the pipe. Cut the pipe flush with the floor first. Stuff a rag inside the pipe. Drill and chisel around the pipe so that the box will sit in the floor. The concrete is probably 4" thick with sand underneath, so it won't be that difficult. cut the drain down low enough to install a new clean out below the floor surface. Install box over plug and add new concrete around the box. If you want to cheap out, just cut the pipe below the floor and install the clean out flush with the floor. You can install the clean out plug upside down so that the square bump points into the pipe. There is a special tool that has a square end for turning the plug, but you can improvise with a square piece of wood cut to the right size. The back side of that plug looks just like one of those oil drain plugs that you stick the square 3/8" ratchet extension into to turn... but bigger. If you need to cut below the floor, and can't get a saw down there, they make an inside cutter for PVC. Its basically a cutting wheel on a spindle that goes into a drill. Looks like just about every tool that fits into a dremel. Put a rag in the pipe in case the tool comes loose and falls out of the chuck.

Count me vote #4 on a sink.

I just became aware of a potential solution to this yesterday, but it is only good if access is not needed. There is a kit a friend gave me that has soft foam, and a two part epoxy. According to this pretty sharp friend, once soaked in the epoxy, the foam will harden into PVC. I had never heard of such a thing.

Urinal. Seriously, that's the best thing about my garage.

Build a 2x8 false floor over it and add a throne and shower. Once you cut it off your options are severely limited think eunuch

wheelsmithy wrote: I just became aware of a potential solution to this yesterday, but it is only good if access is not needed. There is a kit a friend gave me that has soft foam, and a two part epoxy. According to this pretty sharp friend, once soaked in the epoxy, the foam will harden into PVC. I had never heard of such a thing.

Thanks. I have a pipe that really does need to be blocked. I'll give this a try.

What size pipe is that? I'm having a little trouble telling the scale.

If it's a 2", it's a drain for a hot tub, and will not work for a toilet or a cleanout. Could work for a sink drain or urinal, but it is pretty far off the wall.

If it's a 3" or 4", it's a cleanout, or toilet.

I wouldn't block it completely in either case.

If your goal is truly ZERO concrete cutting, then your options are test plug, sticking up about 1 1/2", or permanently blocked (see epoxy example above). All of these would probably rule out toilet, urinal, or sink (too far from wall- would have to do minor concrete cutting).

If you're willing to do some minor concrete cutting, then you also have the options of deck plate cleanout, toilet, sink, and urinal.

I guess you could have a urinal in the middle of the room... It's odd. Makes me picture some kid spinning around while relieving himself and marking his territory throughout the room.

Its a garage in Michigan! Its a cleanout and not a drain. There is no vent hanging down, no drain for a sink to wet vent whatever floor mounted fixture that you want to install, no water lines anywhere to be seen. If it were set up as a drain, there would be a dog bowl around it for a toilet flange or there would be a formed box for a tub/shower drain. Oh, and there would be water lines and it would be a heated space. But, you could leave the cap loose and use it as a "construction urinal". Better than relieving yourself in a laundry sink.

A sink isnt in the plans. I dont plan on running water to the garage and the location isnt where I would want a sink anyway. There is a bathroom in the house a few feet from the garage so I dont have the need to add an extra pooper. There is a man door on the back of the garage thats perfect for a urinal already .

I will do some more research on the suggestions here for getting it flush. Its sticking up in the area I want to put my benches and press. Its far enough from the wall it wont sit under a bench.

In reply to tr8todd:

Its a garage in Pennsylvania. Im splitting time between the 2 states right now.

This forum is great. I don't know anything about plumbing and in a few hours I get great ideas and learn what stuff is actually called. Its hard to google "cleanouts" when you dont know what they are!

What diameter is it?

SVreX wrote: What diameter is it?

I think its a 4 inch.

Don't over think it. Cut it flush, weld in a plug with a threaded cap or stick in an expanding cap and be done with it.

T.J. wrote: Urinal. Seriously, that's the best thing about my garage.

someone already said a sink