Installing new tub drain around a lead drum trap

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CHS9

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Long story short, right now i'm installing a new tub drain/overflow assembly because I sheared off the bolts that hold the overflow cover to the plumbing, then broke off my extractors trying to get them out. It's been wonderful. It looks like all of this plumbing is original, despite the bathroom having been redone by the previous owner within the last 10 years.

I believe I have a lead drum trap there in the center, and the old drain assembly on the left. The old drain assembly looks like it is wiped into the lead drum trap, so I can't just remove it and install my new one.

Aside from calling a real plumber, I think there are 3 ways to deal with this:

A: Cut the steel pipe at the bottom of the drain assembly and use a Fernco or PVC couple to attach my new assembly to the steel pipe stub. I worry there is not enough space for a coupler there, though.

B: Cut the lead pipe JUST below the steel coupling and install a Fernco to attach the assembly to the lead pipe directly - hopefully Fernco makes them in 1.5 to 2 inch adapter size? I'm not sure.

C: Cut the drum trap out near where the right arm goes through that beam and install a P-trap, connecting it to the right arm with a Fernco.

For the record, I'm no plumber. Obviously. Any suggestions or pointers ya'll could provide would be greatly appreciated. Right now I'm leaning towards C, as I'm concerned i'll have trouble fitting an adapter for option A and getting a good seal on the lead pipe on option B.

tub-drum-trap-leak-03.jpg
 
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Wow. I have never seen one of these in my life. I actually had to look it up.

It appears you have easy access from the basement/crawlspace, so you can do anything you want really.

You can do this repair in two stages. Go ahead and do "A" with the cut at the middle arrow in your photo. Cut the old tub pipe, not the drum's elbow. That drum looks so solid, I bet it holds up its entire weight on its own. This will be the least amount of work for a DIY and you can probably do it in under 2 hours.

This will get your life back with daily showers, in the meantime, you can plan in the future how you will remove that entire drum all the way to the vertical. That repair for a DIY can take more than a whole day, so you want to plan this one.

Don't take apart stuff you can't put back before the wife needs it.
 
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CHS9

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I'm glad the guys who haunt plumbing forums think this is as surprising as I do! I like your suggestion, quick fix it and plan to really clean it up another time while I do some research.

Absolutely, I'll link a small photo album below. I show the whole system in 3 photos: 1 is the photo I've already included above, and the next 2 are directly to the right of the drum trap. One shows where the sink drain (left) and toilet (Isn't this narrow for a toilet? on the right) go through the floor into the bathroom. You can see the right arm of the drum trap on he left edge of the photo.

tub-drum-trap-leak-04.jpg


Then the next shows where they enter the cast iron trunk line. Note the sink/tub drain and toilet drains do not intersect, but do tie into the same trunk line, so If I want to remove all the tub/sink lead plumbing I can do it without messing with the toilet, which I really like. This is probably standard but it's all new to me.

tub-drum-trap-leak-05.jpg


One additional photo just shows a close up the lead-t0-cast iron connection for the tub/sink, which looks breakable, although based on my googling it sounds like I might be in there picking away lead with pliers for awhile.

tub-drum-trap-leak-06.jpg
 
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the lead-t0-cast iron connection for the tub/sink, which looks breakable
Not going to happen, you will never touch this in your lifetime, heh.

If you ever do plan to remove that drum, you will remove the section of the vertical just below the floor's woods and above the ballooning of the pipe. Rubber couplers do the rest.
 
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I assume you own a grinder: instead of cutting the small length pipe under the drain assembly, try to grind off the drain assembly itself (the Tee), so it falls away, leaving the entire pipe in full, sitting on that drum elbow.

With the whole length of that pipe preserved, you may be able to compression slip-on the new (os&b) drain to it.
 

CHS9

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I see what you're saying, the assembly I have looks like it has an analogous pipe that cannot be removed from the assembly. But, maybe I can cut that off all together and use that compression fitting as you suggest, but I worry that since I can't insert the old steel pipe into the new assembly that the compression fitting won't be effective. The new assembly has threads for a compression fitting, but that pipe at the bottom can't be removed, unless I'm missing something fundamental here.
(part Moen 90410)

tub-drain-brass-01.jpg
 
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Jadnashua

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Not sure what they were thinking when they put that in!

That joist that they mangled is the equivalent of what depth there is left of the notch - looks like less than a 2x4. You can't cut a huge notch like that in a joist! Then, by making the water flow uphill after the drum trap, you've essentially created an S-trap. Normally, the trap arm needs to have downward slope upon exiting the trap - it can't go up.

I think I'd want to get rid of most of that leaded pipe. To clean out the hub in the CI, you'd use a drill and drill out a bunch of holes around the pipe. Once you get enough of that out, you can usually pry out what's left. There's probably a brass collar in there that the lead is attached to, then lead fills around it with oakum for the seal.

Once you've got the trap arm out of that notch, you can sister some supports around what's left to reinforce things.
 
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