Should We Keep Drum Trap?

[Erin Jackson]

Hi, we are redoing our bathroom and continue to run into snags along the way. Today's major snag is about a drum trap that was discovered once the bathtub was removed. We plan on converting to a single shower but now don't know what to do with the drum trap. Since I've been in the house, the tub drain has always run slow. Now that the tub is gone and the drum trap was revealed (originally buried under the tub), we are wondering if the drum trap will be the best solution for a shower. Neither one of us are plumbers and much of the remod is trial and error. I hate to see the floor ripped up to have a pipe replaced and the drum trap changed to P trap, but I think this is the best in the long run. If I had to guess what was done initially with the previous owners, I'd say that they opted to ignore the drum trap and simply add a shower head to the original tub. The house was built in 1946 and based on what I've read, this is typical of an older house which was not equipped with a shower back then. Any help or advice you can offer would be great!

 

[hj]

It was typical of a bathtub, regardless of whether it had a shower or not. At this point, remove it and go with a "P" trap.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Erin Jackson]

It was typical of a bathtub, regardless of whether it had a shower or not. At this point, remove it and go with a "P" trap.

Thank you! Hopefully we can just take out the drum trap and attach a P trap to the existing pipe without tearing up the floor....any thoughts on that?

 

[Reach4]

Thank you! Hopefully we can just take out the drum trap and attach a P trap to the existing pipe without tearing up the floor....any thoughts on that?

A p-trap needs a vent for the trap arm. You can probably manage that.

 

[Jadnashua]

Without being there to see what and how things are connected, it's sort of like asking how high is up?! No way to tell how easy or hard it would be to change the trap out without at least a picture, and even then, that may not be enough information without being there.