No success Googling this one, so I thought I'd try here. I have to fix a leaking shower drain pipe in an upstate lodge. There is an economy type plastic shower drain pan which appears to be fitted with an integral drain.
2" galvanized pipe is leaded or epoxied into the drain and there is a substantial leak where this short piece is threaded into an elbow. The drain appears to be press fitted, there is no way of unthreading it that I can see.
I am thinking I will have to sawzall or drill the drain out without damaging the plastic and install a new threaded drain.
"ATP" fired this volley in news:51604013$0$25610$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:
Never seen one with an "integral drain", unless you just mean a declivity in the plastic where a drain flange and coupler may be fit from BOTH sides, and screwed tight.
I seriously doubt a close nipple was leaded to a plastic pan...
I think I would investigate from the top, perhaps nibbling away the strainer, if it won't remove easily. There must be a 'bulkhead' style coupling there (two halves, clamping on opposite sides of the work, with the top-most piece screwing into the bottom tailpiece).
I cannot imagine the plastic (which is usually vacuum-molded) being also extruded into a proper tailpiece. Maybe a tailpiece was glued on from the bottom?
Regardless, if there's enough meat around the opening, there should be some sort of drain coupling you can buy to fit, even if you have to cut out the old one -- keeping as small a diameter hole as you can muster.
It's a metal drain but does not appear to be a regular two piece threaded drain. Maybe I should have said factory pre-installed, it is not truly integral, although that is the way the cheap pans with the drains already installed are described. The galvanized is sealed to the metal drain with lead or epoxy.
"ATP" fired this volley in news:51605c29$0$20228$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:
If that's the case, you're either going to have to grind it out a bit at a time, to make room for a two-piece drain, or you're going to tear the whole mess out and replace the pan, OR you can cut the drain out, re-line the pan (which means removing the surround, and is just about as big a job as #2, and maybe messier), and install a two-piece.
How about repairing the existing tailpiece? Any clues there?
Just google what you asked: ========================= ============ Instructions: (fix leaky shower drain)
1) Pry up the drain cover for your shower with the flathead screwdriver. Very rarely will you encounter a cover that is screwed down.
2) Unthread the compression nut that using your needlenose pliers. This will allow you to lift out the compression gasket. You will also need the needlenose pliers to actually pull the gasket out of the drain.
3) Remove the drain body. Make two vertical cuts about one inch apart in the drain body using the hacksaw. Then cut all the way through the drain body but be sure not to break or cut the shower pan.
4) Cut two cuts in the drain flange as well, again, making sure that you do not break the shower pan.
5) Use the flathead screwdriver again to pry the drain flange away from the shower pan. The rest of the drain should fall apart at this point.
6) Install the new drain by applying some dish soap to the o-rings of the new drain replacement kit. This will act as lubrication and make the installation much easier.
7) Apply silicone caulk to underside of the drain flange and press the wing nuts tight against the drain body.
8) Insert the new drain to the shower pan, hold it firmly and tighten the wing nuts evenly until it is completely secure.
9) Test the drain. If it still leaks, you may want to consider calling in a professional because replacing any further piping or shower drain pieces can become a difficult project.
--
formatting link
Make sure all the replacement parts are made by the same company for the same parts. Otherwise, nothing will be integral.
It's the threads that are probably rusted through. Not enough room to thread in place. A Fernco elbow would work but that would be less than professional. If I can get the pipe out of the drain that might be the best solution, I can plastic weld a new pipe in place. I gave most of my lead working tools away. Otherwise I'll be cutting and grinding it out and replacing with a two piece. Complicating the whole job is that it will take place on a weekend with limited access to plumbing supplies and tools.
"ATP" fired this volley in news:5160c6ec$0 $25633$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:
I mis-wrote that. I meant 'galvanized iron'. I don't even know where that came from... I haven't seen a cast drain in 20 years (around these parts, they rot out in about 10). You said it was a galvanized iron tailpiece.
Iron pipe is wrenchable without flats, especially at the low torque required to tighten one of those drains.
What I expected to have flats or at least nubs was the bottom half of the drain body. It looks like the bottom of a smooth bowl. The galvanized pipe is just a pipe that is caulked into the drain body at the top and threaded into an elbow at the bottom. And yes, of course iron pipe is wrenchable.
The non-integral plastic shower drain I recently installed had a threaded ring on the inside under the drain screen that compressed a rubber gasket around the drain pipe.
Product liablility lawyers make so much money, because they can *SUE* you !!
This can happen months after you do this work even with the owner cheering you on (especially, if you are in New York, Illinois or California).
Why? Because you are in a blue state; a union state. So any building, re-modeling or digging questions that you have, you should dial the local AFL-CIO building and trades department, call MISS-UTILITY (NY, dial 811) who can get you in touch with the proper trade unions, lawyers and or insurance companies who know about or have on file what was installed or what you are looking at.
They can get you to the plumbers union - and probably even can direct you to the name of the master plumber, or contractor, who last signed off on the work that you are about to do repairs on, so you won't breach the property's current insurance contract (which may call for certain plumbing and drain set-ups. Meanwhile, you are now going in with sawz-alls blazing and hammers swinging. Not pretty. Because, then the insurance company - that the owner is paying monthly premiums to - won't - or may have to be - informed by an investigator that you've changed the integrity of the drain system on the property that may have been needed as otherwise stated in the contract. Yes.
Meanwhile, you've now changed it. Meaning that you now have changed the contract, because the shower's drain is no longer "integral" to the original shower construction. But since you didn't have union assistance to change it, you are now liable in court for it, because you changed the construction of it.) That could cost you millions. And when you say "up-state", I assume you mean New York. Like California or Illinois, that is not a great place to take chances, unless you are a unionized contractor.
You should direct questions like this to your local AFL-CIO office.
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.