Sower drain in concrete

[keith]

I have broken the concrete, installed 2"ABS and connected to soil pipe under existing toilet. I have glued the ABS into the soil pipe ABS attachment. Also I have glued on a P trap. My shower drain attachment is connected to the shower base. Question: How do I set the shower base and drain onto the riser pipe from the P trap without the glue setting too fast and causing me a lot of problems?

Thanks,
Keith

[hj]

You do not specify exactly how you made the 2" connection, but from your description it appears that you should have installed a vent on the 2" line to the shower. Especially since the toilet will be flushing past the 2" opening. Normally you would not use a "glued" shower drain, but rather one with a rubber gasket that is inserted after you set the shower drain over the pipe, which should be the proper distance above the concrete floor. That distance depends on the exact drain you use.

[jdkimes]

Here's the drain that I used. But I found that the brass one worked better for some reason. The plastic ones were to hard to get over the drain pipe. I got mine at HD. I'm really glad that I didn't use the glue because it was very hard to line it all up and slide it on even though I "practiced" it several times and the glue would have hardened.
Also I used silicone on the washer under the shower around the drain pipe and between drain and shower on top. No leaks that I can tell.

[marniew]

We're installing a new one piece shower unit in a "being-finished" basement. The bath area is pre-stubbed for the toilet, sink and shower. I have broken the concrete patch over the shower drain pipe and then got a drain collector similar to this Oatey (link to pic below). I also bought the elbow, p trap and an extra length 2 inch pipe yesterday.

http://www.oatey.com/graphics/products/drains/42050.gif

Correct me if I'm wrong here.......

(1) I get the elbow, p trap and 2 inch stub test fitted and figure out where I want it to end up by hauling the shower over it and seeing where/how they match up. Trial and error to get proper placement. Once done, I'll make markings on the fittings with a Sharpie so I can align them again when using the pipe cement to put them together permanently.

(2) Cement elbow to drain pipe and then p trap to elbow using markings previously made for proper alignment. Finally, cement a length of 2 inch pipe into the open side of the p trap. The stub of 2 inch pipe cemented in place out of the p trap will initially be sticking up about 4 inches above the concrete floor grade before trimming. Test alignment again by putting shower unit in place (without drain collector attached) and making sure that the 2 inch stub is sticking up where I want it.

(3) Once satisfied that the piping and trap are where they're supposed to be, I mix up some quick-crete and pour into the floor cut out (pea gravel in the bottom first), smooth it out and let it set up overnight.

(4) I attach the drain collector to the shower pan by taking off the nut, washer and rubber gasket. Drain goes into shower pan from above and the rubber gasket, washer and nut go onto the bottom of the pan (in that order) - tighten into place after setting a bed of silicone on the top side for the drain collector to snug down into. Wipe off excess silicone after tightening and let set up over night.

(5) The next day after drain and cement are set up, trim the stub to the proper height to mate with the inside rubber gasket in the drain collector and ease the shower unit (with mounted drain collector) on top of the 2 inch pipe stub making sure to seat properly (Check for level, shim underneath unit where needed). I tested the 2 inch pipe and the drain collector, they mate up pretty darn tightly but the weight of the shower unit should help push the collector down onto the pipe stub. (I read something that said if it's too tight to use some mild soap like Ivory to help it seat and it will gradually wash away with the draining water. Is that OK to do?) One other question here: The length of the rubber gasket on the inside the drain collector is about 1 to 1.5 inches......how close to the top of the rubber gasket should the top of the pipe stub be when the unit is seated firmly? In other words, looking down the drain (when the shower unit is seated as far as it will go onto the stub and resting evenly on the floor), how much rubber gasket should I see before the top of the drain pipe begins? I guess I figured a quarter inch but that's speculation.

(6) Checking level again and adjusting shims if need be, attach shower unit to the studs surrounding the unit with drywall screws and then greenboard around it.

Anything I'm missing?

[marniew]

I actually found the catalog page from Jones Stephens that shows the no caulk drain I bought: http://www.plumbest.com/catalog/e79.htm

It's the one on the bottom half of the page and is PVC with a stainless snap in strainer. This model drain has a built in "wrench" that you access through the strainer with a flat blade screwdriver. Since the nuts on the bottom of these types of drains sometimes work loose over time, should I use pipe dope when initially installing the nut or......since I have the ability to tighten it (I will have access to the rear of the shower once the basement is finished. It abuts the storage area and I will leave an access panel.
), should I leave it alone and install the nut as is without the pipe dope?

I also forgot to mention testing the drain for leaks and blockage BEFORE cementing over the slab cut out. I guess that was implied since no one would cement over freshly plumbed pipes without testing them first.

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions!

[jdkimes]

I'm not sure how the pros do it. But it sounds pretty much like you have it right, that's how I did it and it worked great with couple of minor differences.
-I did not cement in around the pipe sticking up through the floor. The soild and and gravel under the floor holds it very firmly and when putting the shower in I really needed/wanted a little bit of flexibility. Maybe that's not the way I was supposed to but I didn't want to have to break up the concrete again because I was off by 1/8".
-The Oatey shower drain I used required that a big nut on the back be tightened to seal up a rubber gasket between the bottom of the shower and the drain before you put the shower in place, then the drain is tightened around the pipe after it's all in place with the screw driver in the slot like you described. From the link you sent that looks like how yours works.
-I put topping mix cement under the fiberglass shower I had to make it more solid and the mfr. recommended it although not required for warranty. Put mounds of the stuff on the floor when I was all ready put the shower on the drain and smashed it all down and screwed it to the wall studs. Tighted down the drain gasket.
- I had my drain pipe pretty close to the top of the gasket around it, after test fit tightening to see how far down the rubber would slide when tightened.
- Instead of using soap or water or something to make it easier to slide on I used silicone caulk which makes it really slippery for the first couple minutes before it starts to cure. I also put caulk between the rubber gasket on the bottom and the bottom of the shower. Not sure if that's the best to do but works for me. I just put caulk all over the place where I think two rigid surfaces meet and might leak.