Shower drain installed by chimps

One of the many problems left to me by my incompetent disappearing contractor is a cretinously installed shower pan and drain in a 2nd floor bath. This is an old house, and everything this guy touched was done wrong--I've spent the last year fixing stuff myself, and wishing I'd had the time to do the work myself in the first place. As far as I can tell from above, he put the bottom part of a two piece drain in *above* the pan, threw away the top part, didn't intall a riser, and used a 1 1/2" p-trap, butted against the drain and sealed from above with a huge amount of plumber's putty. Surprisingly, this hasn't leaked for an entire year, until the putty started to fall away--there's now a tiny spot on the ceiling below. I jammed in some more putty as a stop-gap. I've seen the Wingtite drain, but don't think it'll work because of the lack of a proper 2" riser. We just bought the house and did much work, so money is tight, so for now I really want to avoid pulling the ceiling out and re-doing it all properly, especially because it's our only shower. Also, I know that as soon as we get in there, there are going to be more stupid problems--I suspect he also screwed up the concrete he used to level the floor. I realize it would only be another stopgap, but would it be a terrible idea to replace the putty with waterproof epoxy (like Harvey's) and hope that will tide me over for a while longer? I don't want to create bigger problems further down the line, but am between a rock and a hard place. Thanks.

For a temporary stop-gap measure, G.E. makes a very good clear silicone that you can use to replace the plumber's putty with. You can apply it with a caulk gun. It will be easier to remove than the epoxy if and when you decide to fix things right.

Thanks--silicone sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if it'll hold up here. I'd have to form a series of beads up to 1 inch wide X 1/4 inch thick, maybe 1.5 inches into the drain. Any experience laying it on that thick?

I've used regular acrylic latex caulk that thick--usually with backer rod, but not silicone. I don't see why it wouldn't work, and it'll (probably) hold a hell of a lot better than the plumber's putty. If it doesn't, just scrape it out and try something else.

drain

From your description, I don't know how you would do any repairs to the drain without removing the entire shower.

My real question is whether epoxy is going to make my life harder in the long run, if I'm ever in a position to do it right. For now, it's just not practical to remove the shower pan and start over--it's not even practical to tear out the ceiling and fix it from below. I'm looking for a make-do solution that won't bite me back later. But for the future--I'm not sure I understand--why couldn't I replace the drain from underneath? (Believe me, if I had a time machine, I'd go back and fire the idiot who did this...)

What size is the pipe coming off of the drain? 2"?

Is there any flex in the drain line? Can you take a picture an post it?

Could you get a fernco fitting over it? Not sure if they make reducers in those things, but they might.

Is the p-trap solvent welded in or does it use slip joint couplings?

Thanks, Jim. Problem is, I can only see so much from above, and I'm trying to avoid tearing out the ceiling below. Looks like a 1.5 inch slip-joint p-trap, with no riser, just butted up against bottom of drain, then puttied to fill gap. (The chimp factor...) Since there used to be a bathtub in this location, and the house is almost 90 years old, I suspect it's 1.5 inch drain all the way. Fernco reducers are available (I used to work in a hardware store,) but I don't see putting one in from above. Because everything is so old, I'd be very hesistant to try working with any flex in the drain line. I'll try to get a picture up tomorrow, but not sure if I can get in tight enough to help. Thanks again to all.