I'm remodelling my 1953 bathroom (found the original City of Phoenix inspection tag on the vent!), took out the tub and putting in a tile shower. I have plenty of tile, carpentry, and plumbing experience, etc., but putting it all together for the first time.
It's slab on grade, so I had to saw, pound, and chisel out the slab to center the drain (much pain there... I don't think they make concrete like they used to!). Here I am, holiday visitors approaching, and I'm stuck at the drain. So, questions:
1. I'm trying to get the 1-1/2" elbow out of the 2" trap so I can connect the new ABS drain. The galv elbow threads into a reducer that's leaded into the cast iron trap. Lots of propane did nothing. Sawzall did nothing. Gonna try drilling out lead and getting a stronger breaker bar to twist. Any other ideas?
2. Since the cast iron is good, i'd like to run an ABS arm over from the shower train and drop into the trap. A (apprentice) plumber friend said that the 30" is too long of a "dirty arm", but I looked at the 2003 IPC, and it just says the trap shall be placed as "close as possible" to the fixture outlet... is 30" OK, or should I remove the whole trap and put in an ABS trap under the drain (very hard... more slab cutting!)
3. Worse comes to worst, and I can't get the 1-1/2 elbow off, is there a good way to commit the cardinal sin and downsize? All of the shower drains I can find are 2", so I would have to bottleneck at some point.
4. Most of what I've read on installing the membrane says it's to protect the subfloor. I have a concrete slab. Isn't the membrane less critical? Can I get away with laying the membrane flat on the floor? Can I avoid the membrane altogether? Who cares if water seeps into my slab?
5. I hear a lot about this Kerdi stuff... is it really the cat's meow (as compared to mud & membrane)? What's the lead time to get it? Do any of the usual places (HD, Lowes, Ace, etc.) sell it?
Thanks for any suggestions!
It's slab on grade, so I had to saw, pound, and chisel out the slab to center the drain (much pain there... I don't think they make concrete like they used to!). Here I am, holiday visitors approaching, and I'm stuck at the drain. So, questions:
1. I'm trying to get the 1-1/2" elbow out of the 2" trap so I can connect the new ABS drain. The galv elbow threads into a reducer that's leaded into the cast iron trap. Lots of propane did nothing. Sawzall did nothing. Gonna try drilling out lead and getting a stronger breaker bar to twist. Any other ideas?
2. Since the cast iron is good, i'd like to run an ABS arm over from the shower train and drop into the trap. A (apprentice) plumber friend said that the 30" is too long of a "dirty arm", but I looked at the 2003 IPC, and it just says the trap shall be placed as "close as possible" to the fixture outlet... is 30" OK, or should I remove the whole trap and put in an ABS trap under the drain (very hard... more slab cutting!)
3. Worse comes to worst, and I can't get the 1-1/2 elbow off, is there a good way to commit the cardinal sin and downsize? All of the shower drains I can find are 2", so I would have to bottleneck at some point.
4. Most of what I've read on installing the membrane says it's to protect the subfloor. I have a concrete slab. Isn't the membrane less critical? Can I get away with laying the membrane flat on the floor? Can I avoid the membrane altogether? Who cares if water seeps into my slab?
5. I hear a lot about this Kerdi stuff... is it really the cat's meow (as compared to mud & membrane)? What's the lead time to get it? Do any of the usual places (HD, Lowes, Ace, etc.) sell it?
Thanks for any suggestions!