Tub nightmare please help

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jemu

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I know this is very stupid but holes were drilled accidentally in the drain elbow...the tub is on slab and the PVC pipe the leads to the drain is cemented in...removing the tub to fix this is not an option. Is it possible to put JB Water Weld in the holes and then put another circular piece of PVC or plastic on top for that and then seal it so water doesn't get in there? Thank you.
 

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jemu

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Thank you Terry.

Do you think water weld is the best product to use for this? I need something that will hold up and not fail later on.

I have been in a state of total panic and terror all day about this foolish mistake. If I have the tub removed to fix this it will destroy the tile and backerboard and waterproofing that I just spent months doing...all for one moronic mistake on a piece of plastic. I'm about to lose it completely.
 

jemu

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I bought a tube of water weld but have not put anything on there yet.

What product should I use for this?
 

Jeff H Young

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Wow. Not sure how I'd fix it ideal would be to have dowel pins of PVC and glue the plugs in and then glue a patch over it all. here's one tip put heavy layer of pipe dope on threads so whatever glue or epoxy doesn't mess up the threads if it drips on there
 

jemu

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Yes, grout went down the drain, the drain became blocked...I forgot the drain did not go straight down, thought a layer of grout was blocking the drain (looked like grout under the water) so drilled into it to try to clear the grout. When I removed the crosshatch I figured out my error. Then I found there was no grout it was just the trip lever chain messed up. So stupid.
 

Weekend Handyman

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I am not a plumber or a pro of any kind. Interesting problem. There is a video on Youtube called "Cast Iron Sewer Pipe Repair Epoxy" by Bob's plumbing videos that seems applicable to your situation. I might be inclined to do a test run on some extra PVC, as it looks like this stuff sets up quickly.
 

jemu

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Does anyone know if I want to put a disc of cut PVC over that area (after plugging the holes with Oatey Fix), would I use Cement glue primer and cement glue to attach the disc to the top of the drain elbow above where the holes are? Will that glue adhere to putty epoxies? Or should I just use the putty to join the two flat surfaces of PVC together?
 

Weekend Handyman

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I am not a plumber or a pro of any kind. Just a thought … you will want to be careful to not put anything where it is going to obstruct the drain from screwing in to the appropriate depth. Could you do it from the bottom?
 

jemu

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It won't affect the drain screwing in...that piece is shorter than the depth of the elbow basin.

I would go underneath but it's on a slab and I don't think there's any access--it looks like they buried the PVC in concrete...I don't know why they do that because if something goes wrong with the drain you have to pull out the whole tub to replace the drain.
 

jemu

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Does anyone have anymore advice or am I just completely screwed at this point?

Is using a demo hammer from an opening in the rear wall (in the living room) to remove enough mortar and/or slab from underneath the tub to gain access to to drain elbow and replace it an option? (without removing tub). Or will that destabilize or unlevel the tub?
 

Gagecalman

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I am not a plumber.

Does your tub have a tub waste and overflow like pictured?

Usually there is a void left around the drain. Is there any access at the end of the tub?

029.jpg
4333 Berger_14.JPG
 

Weekend Handyman

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I am not a plumber or pro. If I was the one in the situation, I would cut a hole in the drywall to see if you can get your hand on the drain shoe. Then, I would then do your fix with just the epoxy (prob get someone pushing up on the drain shoe so it does not move around). If it does not leak, I would patch the hole in the drywall and move on. If it does leak, you could likely use a coupling and put on a new drain shoe. If you feel you are in over your head, call a plumber.
 

jemu

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OK I went back and opened a bit more of the wall...the drain elbow is NOT buried in slab (you can just barely see it -- the white object in one of the two photos below). There is a void under the tub as someone here said...and there is poured quikrete between the studs and the front of the tub.

It is a tight space. Do you think if I removed enough of the quikrete so that the current drain elbow and the rest of the horizontal PVC pipe (the part of the Gerber drain assembly) are visible that the drain elbow could be replaced? I would prefer to just do that than to jerry-rig the "hole" area with oatey fix, even if I have to pay someone to replace the drain elbow.

Thanks.
 

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jemu

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OK thanks...I would feel better just replacing it and knowing it works than trying something that could fail in the future.
 
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