Replacing shower stall drain that's leaking, any DIY tips?

[Watson524]

Hi all,

Went up to visit my 83 year old godmother today and happened to be there while her grandson was in the shower and while someone was in the basement cleaning out, I hear them yelling my name to come look at water coming out of the ceiling into the unfinished basement. Turns out the shower drain is leaking right up at the top so I assume the compression gasket that's in there has $hit the bed after almost 30 years since the house was built. Since I have clear access to the whole underneath, is it recommended to replace the entire thing down to the P trap? Or just a topside replacement? I didn't get to remove the floor drain cover and see what's what in there but I assume it's your standard 2" drain with the notched compression nut that uses the tool you don't want to end up in the drain. I've only ever seen these from the top and never much thought about how the lower part connects to the tail pipe.

Also have a potential issue with her washing machine water lines but that'll be another post

thanks!

 

[Dj2]

First find out where the leak is coming from.
Check the condition of the rubber Gasket from above, and if damaged replace with Fernco PSD-210 2" gasket.
If the leak is from the trap, replace it.
Make sure you have everything you need before you start working.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Watson524]

First find out where the leak is coming from.
Check the condition of the rubber Gasket from above, and if damaged replace with Fernco PSD-210 2" gasket.
If the leak is from the trap, replace it.
Make sure you have everything you need before you start working.

Leak is definitely not from the trap, it's from the shower drain itself. Here's some pictures from underneath and also above (I'm trying not to gag at the scum!) I've not seen this topside detail live but it doesn't look like it has one of those notched nuts in it that you turn which compresses the gasket so that seems weird.

 

[Watson524]

Leak is definitely not from the trap, it's from the shower drain itself. Here's some pictures from underneath and also above (I'm trying not to gag at the scum!) I've not seen this topside detail live but it doesn't look like it has one of those notched nuts in it that you turn which compresses the gasket so that seems weird.

Got a good look at it and the water is dripping out between the underneath gasket and shower pan so I assume that gasket is shot or the plumbers putty is shot under the ring topside. Oddly, there doesn't appear to be an internal washer and no notched nut up top. Just smooth pipe all the way down to the p trap. So I'm guessing there's zero way to regasket without cutting pipe between floor and p trap, installing new drain and slip coupling or whatever the tail pile back together.

Seems to be your standard 4 1/4" drain

 

[Watson524]

Or in looking at this i'm wondering if I this thing is meant to unscrew from underneath just under the gasket, so you can replace that gasket and then somehow unseat the part in the shower, re putty and screw it back together? I just have no idea how strong putty holds as I've never had to bust it apart. It just seems weird that from the topside it seems smooth all the way down to the elbow joint.

 

[Terry]

Normally that leak is the plumbers putty that is no longer working for you.
I remove the old drain and install a new drain using Silicone instead of putty. The drain you have was glued to the PVC, so you might as will cut above the p-trap and figure on using a coupling there. Either one you glue, or a shielded coupling.

Sometimes you can remove the nut below but not always. A small hand saw can come in handy.

 

[Watson524]

Normally that leak is the plumbers putty that is no longer working for you.
I remove the old drain and install a new drain using Silicone instead of putty. The drain you have was glued to the PVC, so you might as will cut above the p-trap and figure on using a coupling there. Either one you glue, or a shielded coupling.

Sometimes you can remove the nut below but not always. A small hand saw can come in handy.

Thanks for the tip on the coupling, I wouldn't have thought of that. I was wondering about the nut and what the heck you do if it doesn't break loose. I guess saw into the fitting vertically careful not to cut into the shower pan itself

 

[Watson524]

Thanks for the tips. Replaced it all today with no issues. We couldn't get the nut loose so a few vertical hacksaw cuts to squeeze the drain which was so brittle it snapped and crumbled and came out. Let the silicone set up and then tested it and all was good. One project off the list.