JMattero
New Member
Hello:
I am NOT a plumber, but a DIY rehabber of rental properties I own.
Anyway, I need some help. In one of my properties, a tenant called to say that she had a leak whenever she took a bath, but NOT when she took a shower. I went to look, and when I ran water against the overflow, I got a small leak behing the tub (accessed thru the "trouble door" in the linen closet at the head of the tub) This is a 50 year old house with the original bathroom, but it is in surprisingly great shape!. Anyway, I took the overflow apart, and, FROM THE TROUBLE DOOR SIDE, I removed the old dry rotted overflow gasket/washer. I went to the local plumbing supply house, and showed him what I needed. He gave me two different types, but insisted that these go on the FINISHED side of the tub, NOT BEHIND the tub. I disregarded his advice (which I hate to do, since he knows far more about plumbing than I do!!!) and installed it via the trouble door. I tightened everything up , and again ran water against the overflow, and the leak appears to have been fixed. Can someone tell me which is the correct way to do this, and direct me to an exploded view somewhere, so I can put it in my files?
One more thing... When I was inspecting for the first leak, I noticed that the gasket under the tub strainer was also leaking slightly (maybe 10 drops per minute). I tried to tighten this by using channel locks in the strainer, and a screwdriver to turn the channel locks, but I couldn't get it to move. Since I didn't want to break anything, I decided to let it go until I could find the correct way to repair/replace this problem. Do I have to remove strainer, overflow, and all associated parts back to the main drain, or is there a way to simply replace the strainer washer/gasket? If it were your home, how would you proceed? Since I am NOT a great plumber, I would like to fix this once and for all, so I won't have to worry about it for the next 20 years or so. ANy advice?
Thanks in advance.
I am NOT a plumber, but a DIY rehabber of rental properties I own.
Anyway, I need some help. In one of my properties, a tenant called to say that she had a leak whenever she took a bath, but NOT when she took a shower. I went to look, and when I ran water against the overflow, I got a small leak behing the tub (accessed thru the "trouble door" in the linen closet at the head of the tub) This is a 50 year old house with the original bathroom, but it is in surprisingly great shape!. Anyway, I took the overflow apart, and, FROM THE TROUBLE DOOR SIDE, I removed the old dry rotted overflow gasket/washer. I went to the local plumbing supply house, and showed him what I needed. He gave me two different types, but insisted that these go on the FINISHED side of the tub, NOT BEHIND the tub. I disregarded his advice (which I hate to do, since he knows far more about plumbing than I do!!!) and installed it via the trouble door. I tightened everything up , and again ran water against the overflow, and the leak appears to have been fixed. Can someone tell me which is the correct way to do this, and direct me to an exploded view somewhere, so I can put it in my files?
One more thing... When I was inspecting for the first leak, I noticed that the gasket under the tub strainer was also leaking slightly (maybe 10 drops per minute). I tried to tighten this by using channel locks in the strainer, and a screwdriver to turn the channel locks, but I couldn't get it to move. Since I didn't want to break anything, I decided to let it go until I could find the correct way to repair/replace this problem. Do I have to remove strainer, overflow, and all associated parts back to the main drain, or is there a way to simply replace the strainer washer/gasket? If it were your home, how would you proceed? Since I am NOT a great plumber, I would like to fix this once and for all, so I won't have to worry about it for the next 20 years or so. ANy advice?
Thanks in advance.