Adjusting drain for shower

[greenjp]

Yes I recall reading about using piles on this site previously. Here's what I'm thinking - Swan calls for "up to" a 1/2" bed under most the the pan, tapered to 1/4" near the hole, while leaving 2" around the hole and perimeter of the pan clear. I was planning to use a 1/2" x 1/2" trowel (and 1/4" near the drain) to spread the mortar, sorta like as if I was setting a big tile. This should allow for the "squishing" effect you'd get with piles while also promoting full area support, no?

Another thing I could use opinions on - would it be advisable to put down plastic under and/or over the mortar? Understand this may promote better curing of the mortar and also make any future (though hopefully unnecessary) removals easier. If so would something as simple as a cut piece of a heavy duty garbage bag suffice?

And last - Swan wants the bottom edge of the front apron in contact with the floor. While dry fitting I've noticed that doing this leaves the two back corners a tiny but up, pushing them down only takes a little force and results in the whole thing being sufficiently level. So I was thinking of setting a tile box in the center over the drain and at each corner to hold it down while the mortar cures. The Wedi base I installed in another shower called for doing this.

Thanks!
jeff

 

[greenjp]

Alright I got the base set last night, everything was firmed up nicely this evening so I've started the flood test.

I put in just enough water to fill that round circle around the drain, figure that'll make it easiest to spot if it's decreasing. Not like a tiled receptor where I need to worry about leaks elsewhere. No bubbles forming anywhere so I think that's a good sign. Turns out the drain wasn't quite as plumb as I'd hoped. It was a bear getting the gasket around it, soaped everything up good but still had to use a tiny flat screwdriver to encourage it in a bit at a time all the way around. Wedi uses something similar but with a nut sort of thing on the top that you screw down to press it into place.

Now on to the new toilet flange. I have the Raven one linked by Wayne with the 6" pipe (kudos Supplyhouse - good prices and fast shipping), it is definitely the correct size for fitting within the drain. In dry fitting it I find that it'll go about 3.5" down and then no further, at least with moderate pressure. I plan to have it ~1" above the surface of the concrete so I need it to get down another 1.5" - should I expect it to go in easily when the drain and flange have the primer and glue on them? Recall that the top 2" or so of the drain are more or less missing due to the removal of the old flange so there would be about 3" of joint length between the pipes. Would it be advisable to trim maybe 1" off the bottom? Is 2" enough overlap? Thanks!

jeff

 

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[greenjp]

Hello everybody,
The shower drain worked out well during an extended leak test so that is good to go.
Still figuring out how to get this toilet flange installed. I checked and verified the flange's pipe is tapered so don't believe cutting it shorter would be of any use. So I'll just have to assume that once the primer and cement on are it'll slide down into place.
I note the advice is to use applicators 1/2 the size of the pipes to ensure you can get enough on quickly enough. The little balls on the primer and cement caps are more like 3/4-1" so I'm well short of that. Surprisingly I haven't found anything at the local stores or online that would fit the bill - any suggestions as to what to use? Maybe some old paint brushes? Thanks,

jeff