Cast-iron shower drain

[Joe Rausch]

Hello,
My house was built in 1975 and I'm remodeling my current stand up shower, which is located in the basement of my home. I removed the shower pan I noticed there was a cast-iron drain underneath the shower pan. The purpose of this conversation is to look for advice on either replacing the cast-iron drain or leave it? My gut feeling is that I will need to replace it because of the concern of water stagnating underneath the shower pan.

I attached a bunch of pictures to show you my current situation and to give you an idea of the project.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[hj]

IF you are installing that prefabricated pan, that cast iron drain HAS TO GO.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Joe Rausch]

IF you are installing that prefabricated pan, that cast iron drain HAS TO GO.

What if I tile flush with the floor with no prefabricated pan ... does the cast-iron still need to be removed? The reason I ask is not due to laziness but simply put this is a basement shower that we do not use that often and want to cut down on cost and time.

BUT, if there is a long-term fix for this then I will replace it.

 

[hj]

If you clean it up and use a "plastic liner" it will work.

 

[Joe Rausch]

If you clean it up and use a "plastic liner" it will work.

Sorry not sure I follow. What do you mean by plastic liner? Do you mean the prefabricated tub or do you literally mean a piece of plastic as a vapor barrier underneath the tile?

 

[Terry]

With a tile floor, you need the liner. Grout is not water proof. It's a clamping drain to a liner with a sloping mortar base draining to it.

Or you can pick up a fiberglass base which also has it's own drain. But no way can you use what you have there.

 

[Jadnashua]

For a shower to work well long-term, the waterproofing MUST be sloped to the drain. Neither the tile nor grout is considered waterproofing in the plumbing code...you need a waterproof layer which, in a conventional construction tiled shower is a liner sandwiched between two mortar layers (the first one sloped, called the preslope), and the top layer constant thickness on top of the liner that is then tiled. To do this with a conventional shower, you need both a clamping drain assembly and a liner.

You can use other things for your liner. My personal preference is a sheet waterproofing membrane that you can directly tile onto. That way, you only need one layer of mortar, the preslope. Then, the waterproofing, then the tile. This type requires a different drain from both what you have and a clamping drain used in a conventional shower. An example of one company's shower is Kerdi from www.schluter.com they have a bunch of videos showing their technique. Been around now for about 30-years. Most of the newer ones out there are clones.

There are lots of different approved methods to build a shower today, but none use the drain you currently have installed.

With the look of that drain, I'd be worried about the p-trap buried below it. And, maybe some of the drain pipe as well.