floor drain in bathroom

junejulie19

junejulie19

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we have just bought a house and are remodelling the basement bathroom. I don't know why but there is a floor drain right in the center of the bathroom. I am not sure what the use is for it and am wondering should i worry about how to tile around it and bring it up to the thickness of the new tile so it would be level or just put a cap on it somehow and tile over it...
thank you.
 
Some people would love to have a drain there...makes mopping and cleaning the room easier. The hassle with them is when the trap dries out, it can let sewer gasses into the room.

You can plug the thing if you wish, or leave it.
 
well say I keep it. do I need a flange or something to bring it up to the new floor level, or do I remove that one and put in a new one. how hard it that to do?
 
I'm not too good on installation issues but as a comment, during your remodel you might want to ensure there is a trap primer and the type of trap primer that works best for you.
 
FloridaOrange said:
I'm not too good on installation issues but as a comment, during your remodel you might want to ensure there is a trap primer and the type of trap primer that works best for you.
Click to expand...
I am new at this, so I apologise, but what is a trap primer?
 
A trap primer directs water into the trap of the floor drain preventing it from drying out. Some primers work off of the drain for the sink so when the sink is used a little water is directed to the trap. Mechanical trap primers can "inject" water into the trap primer by means of a timer or pressure differential in the system. Mechanical ones work well for an area that sees little use. The drain type works well for an area that is used often.

Some floor drains do not have trap primers, when this is the case you usually have to pour some water into the floor drain occasionally. How often will depend on how deep the trap is and how fast evaporation occurs in your locale.
 
i wonder how to install a trap primer after the fact. Good to know all about them, though. :)

junejulie, your questions can only be answered fully if everybody knows the height issues. Down to the 32nds of an inch. Either you take a picture and post it or send it to someone who will resize it and post it, or you describe very accurately what the situation is. How thick is the new tile, is it going on top of the old floor or are you ripping out the old tiles, etc. Is the current floor drain cover too high, too low or just right?

While you are at it, tell us if you want to change the drain cover look.

You can always leave the drain cover as is, and let it be "sunken" among the new tiles. You can even have a couple new tiles cut just right so that they fit it over like a cap, without grout. Then, when you want, you life that cap and let your washed floor drain into it. Cut two, to have one as a spare cap.

It is easy to devise other ways to prevent a floor drain from drying out too.


more later. bye for now. I hope your floor tiles are porcelain not "ceramic".


david
 
great idea

That is a great idea about cutting the tile and making a cap! Thank you, Geniescience! I think that's what I will do, it's less work and it's just very inventive! Thank you so much!
Oh, the tile is natural stone, I noticed it chips a lot less on the saw than any other kind I'd used..
 
If you just place the stone tile on the grate, the first step on it will break it...
You will have to figure out a way to reinforce it without making it too thick...
I would be tempted to epoxy it to a heavy piece of brass plate but I have access to that and you probably do not...*sigh* don't know what to suggest...
 
why not jsut get another lid??

I would not worry too much about fooling with a trap primer especially if it is in a used often bathroom..

have you thought about just going to a plumbing supply house and getting some different size brass round grates
that would come close to the size lid cover you have

all you got to do is lay one or glue in place and just tile up to it..

I would much rather have it close to the same height as
the tile or you will always sort of catch your toes on the lip...

you can also just take the lid off that drain and shim it up to
the right height with quarters, or whatever it takes to get it good..

then just screw it back down till its tight...
 
PEI 5 porcelain won't break when stepped on.

Search for information about grades of procelain, and how porcelain is better than ceramic.

At the store, look at the difference in quality between wall tiles (nicely gazed but weak structurally) and floor tiles (some with glazing too).


david
 
Any tile will break under adverse conditions. The PEI rating is for the finish, not the body (but is the same if it is an unglazed porcelain). It is how hard it is to abrasion, not flexural strength. In fact, the harder it is, the more likely it will be to shatter. You might be lucky, but supporting the tile is useful if you want it to survive.
 
If yr drain is round, then cutting a 'cap' to be exact that looks good when not grouted might look unfinished and tacky.

The floor drain at my company is often running dry. We keep a milk jug full of water under the cabinet for periodic, manual 'priming'. It's a pain for the twice a year the floor actually gets mopped.

If it were me, I'd cap it w/pwood and tile over it properly.
 
their is a floor drain for a reason


Just make the thing look good and moveon...

I would neve capp of a floor drain in a bathroom becasue
their is a good posibility that the drain is the lowest point in the room

and when you take a bath or what ever happens , all the water is headed for that drain...

wether it is still there or not...



 
Master Plumber Mark:
I would much rather have it close to the same height as
the tile or you will always sort of catch your toes on the lip...

you can also just take the lid off that drain and shim it up to
the right height with quarters, or whatever it takes to get it good..

then just screw it back down till its tight...[/QUOTE]


^ I realize this is an old post, but hopefully someone will find this -

I'm tiling my basement laundry room floor which includes a 10" floor drain. I'd like to make the floor drain flush with the new tile. What would you suggest using to shim the cover with? It doesn't need to screw down, so I was thinking about just using some kind of rubber strip that I could curve around the existing lip. The trick will be grouting around the cover to create a new 'seat' for it, without it looking rough or grouting the cover down permanently. If I wrap the cover in something like aluminum foil would the grout not stick to it?

It's a basement laundry room with concrete walls, so it doesn't need to be perfect, but I'd like to make it look decent and not be a tripping hazard.

Suggestions?
 
Floor Drain

I wouldn't remove a floor drain for the sake of looks. Every home should have a floor drain. If you have a shower or tub in the basement bathroom and no other drain in your home this drain is your homes basement floor drain.

A little olive oil will keep the P Trap from drying out for a long long time.


If it is an emergency floor drain like I think it is leave it be.
 
johnfrwhipple said:
A little olive oil will keep the P Trap from drying out for a long long time.
Click to expand...

This advice comes up periodically, it may work, but my personal experience is any oil starts to become rancid after awhile...just what you want nasty smells coming out of the drain!

Ideally, you'd have a trap primer. Dump a glass of water in there periodically, or get some RV antifreeze...at least that won't go rancid and will take a long time to evaporate.
 
I agree. DO NOT REMOVE THE FLOOR DRAIN. It may save you $1000s some day.
The old lady next door recently had a $10,000 repairs because the sink plumbing badly leaked in her 2nd floor bathroom, which had no floor drain. Water damaged the adjacent bedrooms, their hardwood floor, the ceiling underneath, the rooms underneath, etc., etc.

As a matter of fact, I want to install an emergency floor drain, which would simply drop into the utility sink below it (like the washer near the sink does). I can always make it fancier later. The utility room has a suspended ceiling that can hide pipes. My house has the same 50-year-old plumbing as my neighbor and can have the same problems.

My problem is I have to make an opening through the ceramic tile(small tiles) and probably 1/2" of concrete and plywood. I decided to use a square floor drain, much easier to install that a circular one. What tools should I use to make a hole through ceramic + concrete ? Thx.
 
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