Shower drain troubleshooting

Users who are viewing this thread

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
Thank you in advance

Earlier this week I found a wet spot on my ceiling. I measured and determined the shower drain was right above that spot. I went up to the drain and cleared a large hair clog. I did create a half dollar size hole in the ceiling since it was already wet

I’ve been keeping an eye on the downstairs even putting my finger in the hole when the shower is on. So far so good

My wife showered today at about 7:10 and I hopped on around 7:40. I came downstairs and could see water on the floor below the hole

I am thinking I have a clog that when enough water builds up, it reaches where the flange connects with the water pan and overflows.

I am trying to snake at the moment but can’t get the snake past the trap.

My next step might be to replace the drain?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Jordan

image.jpg
40430FEC-28BD-4DDC-9F48-415933911C20.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Terry

The Plumbing Wizard
Staff member
Messages
29,942
Reaction score
3,458
Points
113
Location
Bothell, Washington
Website
terrylove.com
I can't see the drain well enough to know why it's leaking. Is there a rubber seal around the pipe where it comes up through the drain?
Is the drain a part of the pan? Or is it held on with a large nut from the bottom? Sometimes with those, putty will loosen, and my fix is to replace the drain using Silicone instead of putty.

shower-drain-jordan.jpg


It looks like you're missing parts to the drain.


shower-drain-leak-terrylove-10.jpg
 
Last edited:

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
I can't see the drain well enough to know why it's leaking. Is there a rubber seal around the pipe where it comes up through the drain?
Is the drain a part of the pan? Or is it held on with a large nut from the bottom? Sometimes with those, putty will loosen, and my fix is to replace the drain using Silicone instead of putty.
Thank you for the information. Unfortunately I don’t have the access and expertise to answer your specific questions.

If I had to guess the black ABS pipe has a glued threaded drain fitting. I have to assume there is a friction washer/gasket and regular washer/gasket on top of that. I can see that the black flange is screwed to that black ABS pipe fitting.

What’s the best/safest way to unscrew the flange? Try to turn it using a flat head screw driver and a hammer?
 

Terry

The Plumbing Wizard
Staff member
Messages
29,942
Reaction score
3,458
Points
113
Location
Bothell, Washington
Website
terrylove.com
The ABS pipe gets glued to the bottom of the drain.
If it's leaking, you will need to open the ceiling, and replace the drain. I'm using clear Silicone on the drain flange now, not putty.
I'm finding that many of the shower drains of that age might develop leaks.
Much better pictures. :)
 

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
The ABS pipe gets glued to the bottom of the drain.
If it's leaking, you will need to open the ceiling, and replace the drain. I'm using clear Silicone on the drain flange now, not putty.
I'm finding that many of the shower drains of that age might develop leaks.
Much better pictures. :)
Thank you, Terry

Replacing the drain, since it is glued, involves cutting the abs pipe to remove the drain?

Thank you,
Jordan
 

John Gayewski

In the Trades
Messages
4,324
Reaction score
1,319
Points
113
Location
Iowa
Cut the ceiling, cut the pipe, glue a coupling onto a length of pipe, remove gasket and gasket nut from drain body, screw new drain body onto shower base from below and tighten screws using clear 100% silicone under the drain flange don't forget the underside gasket and friction diffusing cardboard, let sit until silicone cures, feed length of pipe (cut to approximate length but left long) up through the shower base and drain body and glue the coupling onto the trap riser (tailpiece), let glue dry, use rambit to trim pipe to length, install gasket and tighten nut using the provided "tool".




 

Jeff H Young

In the Trades
Messages
8,756
Reaction score
2,164
Points
113
Location
92346
I haven't had problems really with the no caulk joint but I rather a glue in joint otherwise that jack rabbit is good .
Excessive putty is often a problem , Again I don't normally go with silicone but considering changing my ways I'm leaning towards trusting the silicone over putty especially since if putty fails its a pretty major issue we have a lot of 2 story houses and the plumbing is often buried in ceiling
 

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
Thank you all for your help yesterday. I am trying to be as efficient with $ and time as possible when addressing this issue.

I opened up more of the ceiling yesterday and despite leaving the shower on as well as having another person in the shower with the water on, I can’t seem to see the leak in action.

The water damage has been minimal so far and even after back to back showers today, the area was dry.

I don’t deny water intrusion, but are there any repairs outside of full drain replacement?

It seems like I have a pin hole leak in the system. That gets triggered under certain scenarios.

Are there other tests I can do to better determine the root cause?

I will try to add an updated photo of the drain from the ceiling

jordana-01.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
Sometimes walking in the shower is part of what makes the fittings leak.
Thank you again! I really appreciate all those that take the time to support us DIYers.

Still contemplating if I want to tackle this one myself. If it was totally leaking 100% of the time I have nothing to lose but since it’s so hit or miss, fixing it might introduce a larger problem :)
 

John Gayewski

In the Trades
Messages
4,324
Reaction score
1,319
Points
113
Location
Iowa
Thank you again! I really appreciate all those that take the time to support us DIYers.

Still contemplating if I want to tackle this one myself. If it was totally leaking 100% of the time I have nothing to lose but since it’s so hit or miss, fixing it might introduce a larger problem :)
Maybe give it some time. It'll likely become more apparent.
 

Jeff H Young

In the Trades
Messages
8,756
Reaction score
2,164
Points
113
Location
92346
Tiny hole can you tell if it was siliconed or putty? Try filling pan or at least a few inches in it then let it drain.
I still can' tell if its a caulked drain or not , not sure if others described it can leak between the shower drain and the pipe or the drain might be leaking between the drain and shower pan.
 

JordanA

Member
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
Lakewood, Wa
Tiny hole can you tell if it was siliconed or putty? Try filling pan or at least a few inches in it then let it drain.
I still can' tell if its a caulked drain or not , not sure if others described it can leak between the shower drain and the pipe or the drain might be leaking between the drain and shower pan.
Thank you Jeff for your response!

I can’t tell if it’s siliconed or putty. If it is putty, is there a better chance of removing the flange from the top?
I am also trying to determine the root cause of the leak. I don’t believe it is where the flange meets the pan.

In the pic of the pipe and drain there are white streaks on the black abs pipe. I assume that is dried water. Would the be an indication of a leak between pipe and drain?

I assume if it is leaking where the drain meets the pan from underneath, the water would not run down the pipe and would drop
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks