Shower Remodel

Users who are viewing this thread

fisisist

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Houston TX
I am in the process of remodeling my daughter's shower. Will remove tile and morter pan and drain. My concern is how the drain might be connected to the sewer. I have not busted up the floor of the shower yet, but it is on a concrete slab and I"m sure i will need to replace the drain. House is 25 years old.
 

Terry

The Plumbing Wizard
Staff member
Messages
29,942
Reaction score
3,458
Points
113
Location
Bothell, Washington
Website
terrylove.com
When you install a new mud pan, a new clamping drain will be needed.
Below in the slab, you should have a 2" pipe coming up from a p-trap.
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
It's hard to assess the state of the trap and drain lines. If they are plastic, they're probably okay, if CI, they could be fine, or could be about to fall apart.

Check out www.johnbridge.com for help on tiling the shower. I'd look at two alternative methods of building a shower over the 'conventional': Kerdi from www.schluter.com and Wedi from www.wedi.de (can't remember the US website, but this will get you there). Each of these systems use a special drain.
 

AAnderson

In the Trades
Messages
36
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Aptos, CA
I am in the process of remodeling my daughter's shower. Will remove tile and morter pan and drain. My concern is how the drain might be connected to the sewer. I have not busted up the floor of the shower yet, but it is on a concrete slab and I"m sure i will need to replace the drain. House is 25 years old.
If it is only 25 yr old, most likely you have a paper and hot mop pan that is not only thick but frail. depending on codes at the time it was installed hard to tell whether it is plastic or CI. You might have a rubber bushing that has to be removed to lift the drain basket out or it was a male iron pipe thread requiring it be be spun off. If your are unsure, hire a plumber who's experience goes back to at least look at the problem.
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
Hot mopped pans are primarily a southwest thing. TX might be in that loop. Personally, I'd steer clear of them for either a conventional shower, or in Houston area, one that used a surface waterproofing membrane. That way, there's less to get damp. This means the whole shower dries out much faster and there's less chance for mold and mildew to grow. The hot, humid summers there can really benefit from a surface membrane construction technique. There are a couple of other approved systems than the Kerdi and Wedi mentioned. A Kerdi shower is sort of like putting up wallpaper over everything (thinset is the glue), then the tile. Nothing gets beneath the Kerdi, so you only have the thinset and tile - no mortar bed to get saturated (you still need the sloped bed, but that can be either their foam pan, or mortar (cheaper but slower)). Wedi is made from specially coated foam panels that you glue together with a special urethane, reinforce with a mesh, then tile over. Wedi is extremely fast to go together - you can have the bare walls and be tiling it in hours. The foam pans also have another benefit, they warm up almost instantly since there's so little mass. Nice in the winter. But, the best part is that there's so little that can get wet - no cbu on the walls, no mud-bed on the floor.
 
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