Looking for shower drain strainer

Hello, I am re-tiling my shower floor and am having a difficult time finding a strainer for my shower drain. All of the metal in the bathroom is nickel so that is the colour I am looking for. The spacing between the screw holes is 2-5/8" and I have only managed to find one strainer that has those center to center dimensions. It is a 4-1/4" diameter round strainer. Because I am tiling I was really hoping to use a square strainer which will make the cuts in the tile much simpler but the only square strainer I can find has a 2-7/8" center to center screw holes. One option I was considering was rather than placing the strainer in place and then tiling around it showing the exposed edge like in most installations I was thinking of tiling around the pipe and then placing the strainer over top of the tile. This would hide the exposed edge of the tile and the cuts would not be so important, much like the escutcheons hide the holes in the tile where the shower head comes through. I would then use a little silicone around the outer edge of the strainer to prevent a ridge. I suppose the downside to this plan is that the drain would not be the absolute low spot on the shower floor and you would be left with a small puddle of water in the shower until it evaporated. Perhaps this is why you never see that done I was wondering if anybody has any opinions or any suggestions of a product I could look into for my application.

thank you,
-jeff

re-tiling over the existing tile? I can see a problem with part of the drain cut away.

If you can find someone who knows mud pans, and tile, talk to them about this problem.

I actually removed the old tile but it had been just laid with mastic directly to the concrete pan. Even though it is a basement and so waterproofing wasn't completely necessary I decided to put down a layer of blue seal waterproofing to drain any water that gets through the tile down to the drain. I had to cut a little bit out of the drain to allow the water to actually flow into the drain rather than just pool around the lip. I spoke with the person who built the house and unfortunately he never installed any type of weep holes or anything to allow water that goes into the pan to make its way to the drain. I figure by keeping all the waterproofing above the pan nothing should really get into the concrete.

thanks,
-jeff

Is it retiled yet? Are you willing to try something designed for this sort of thing? Kerdi system has a square drain, but it is part of an entire system. Check it out at www.schluter.com. It makes a bulletproof shower. A clamping drain with a liner has weep holes, your drain may not. Code requires a liner, even on a slab.

Thanks Jim, I definitely did look into the Kerdi system and that had been my original plan. However, once I got the old tile off I was surprised to see that it was not a mud or lead pan but rather just poured concrete. I was going to break it up but after talking to the original owner who built it 30 years ago he said that would end up becoming a real nightmare with all the rebar. He did not add weep holes for the drain, it is just encased in the concrete. The Blue Seal that I applied to the top of the concrete is approved as a shower pan liner so I am okay there. Because of the lack of weep holes though I needed to cut that chunk out of the drain so the water would have some way to get into the PVC pipe. I have not laid the tile yet, I was kind of hoping that there was some sort of adaptor flange or something that I could use on the old drain to allow me to transition to a new drain with something other than 2-5/8" holes.

thanks
-jeff

jp_fizzer said:

.... The Blue Seal that I applied to the top of the concrete is approved as a shower pan liner so I am okay there. Because of the lack of weep holes though I needed to cut that chunk out of the drain so the water would have some way to get into the PVC pipe. ....

Click to expand...

nickel Kerdi drain cover. Leave everything else you have done intact.

david

I would love to use the Kerdi drain cover. However, it appears that the screw holes for fastening it to the drain are in the corners about 4" apart. How would I attach this drain cover to my drain?

thanks,
-jeff

The Kerdi drain cover can only be used with the Kerdi system...it acts more like a funnel into the very wide opening of the real drain. Their drain is a three piece system: the drain connected to the pipe, an adjustable drain cover holder (it actually just floats in the well of the drain and is anchored by thinset at the time of installation), and the cover itself. the neatest part of this is that it has about 1-2" of slop so you can center it well and minimize cuts. I did one recently with 2x2 tiles, it perfectly aligned after I cut out 4 tiles in my layout by moving it just so.

imagine a nickel cover with no screws. It uses gravity to keep it in place. They work very well. Millions of them out there and still counting, with no complaints.

I guess the nickel one has screws to keep it in place when people unauthorized try to lift it to admire it. Just like how locks keep honest people honest. The cover stays down and doesn't get carried away by admirers. Works well in a fancy public restroom.

If that is the only purpose to the screws, you in this case can allow the nickel plated screws to be useless: cut off their tips below the cover level, and glue them there stubby screws in those holes in the cover. Then, you have a nickel cover that doesn't interfere with your shower membrane waterproofing.

It looks screwed down, and it isn't. That's not a problem. Besides, your guests are all respectable people.

david

different view of the situation: there is always one big supplier with all the parts, willing to sell you individual upgrades or replacement parts. A nickel cover plate is only a 4"x4" plate of metal with holes punched in it. It can be bought and sold separately.

In the kit, around the nickel 4"x4" is more nickel in a frame, and that probably costs the same or more to make, so the whole kit is expensive compared to a stainless one, which has a plastic frame... You don't need the frame. I have always grouted over them since I don't like the look of beige plastic, and I try to minimize the visual complexity, so I make the grout go over everything and that simplifies the look. Grout right up to the drain. The drain can by pried up when required.

David

Excellent point David, thank you. It had never occured to me to just not screw the cover down. I guess since the previous one I had was screwed down I just assumed it had to be. If I make it a tight fit with the tiles it should not wobble and it would appear to be fastened down.

So.... do you know where I can pick up just this grate? Would a supplier of Schluter products be able to get that for me or would they only sell the entire drain?

thanks.

You could ask Schluter, but my guess is that may not be available as a replacement part, at least at this time. WOrth a try. There is an Oatley drain with a square grate, if I remember. Not sure what finishes it is available with, though. I really like the idea of a square grate, it is easier to make square, straight cuts than round ones any day.