Brand new shower drain rusting

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amateurplumb

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Had a professional put in brand new shower drain, we have done 2 water tests and it's already rusting. Is this normal?
 

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Jadnashua

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The part that will show (the grate and riser) shouldn't rust. As to what's there, I'm not sure. But, it looks like that liner is flat on the floor. Is it? Plumbing code REQUIRES the waterproofing to be sloped to the drain (in addition to not leaking!). Neither tile nor grout is waterproof. Building a shower with a flat, level liner is going to produce one smelly shower stall over time. It may not leak, but there WILL be water accumulating on top of the liner since it will not be able to drain fully. That leads to stagnant water, which leads to smells. There needs to be a preslope underneath the liner if you want to meet industry standards and plumbing codes.
 

amateurplumb

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You are right they did not pre-slope - this is on concrete (and NY state) and they said not necessary. The plan is to do a sloped mortar bed and hydroban over that, so in theory shouldn't reach that point anyway?
 

Jadnashua

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The LINER is the waterproofing...as I said, neither the tile nor the grout is waterproof. Plumbing code REQUIRES the waterproofing to be sloped in a shower. While there may be inspectors that don't have a clue (if it doesn't leak, it's good), if they know and enforce their job, it would NOT pass an inspection. Some moisture WILL get beneath the tile. It will accumulate on the flat liner, and leave some there. Eventually, it will become smelly like a swamp. How long that takes depends on how often it's used, and how good the ventilation is.

Why is it that they water test the liner, but then not the tile? That's because the liner is the waterproofing.

There's decades of research on this. The Tile Council of North America is the industry bible...NONE of the methods (and they list many) has the liner flat on the floor, and it's for a reason...it doesn't work reliably. As I said, it may not leak into the room, but that's not all that is required to have a successful shower.
 
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