My husband and I are attempting our first DIY remodeling project...adding a bathroom in the basement. The drains are all roughed in and we have gotten most of the supply lines in.

My question is....we put in the stringers for the new whirlpool tub and did a "test fit". The drain in the tub does not match up with the drain in the floor that we discovered under the slab. The one in the floor appears too close to the roughed in wall. It looked to be 1.5 or 2 inch pipe going straight down. However we did not chip out all of the concrete around it yet, there may be more below than I can see now.

Now what??? Do we have to move the floor drain somehow??? Is there some sort of flexible pipe that we can use???

Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated!!!

Jaimie

speedball1

Good morning Jaimie,

The tub rough in was for a standard tub and not for a whirlpool. The contractor should have left a open "dap out" hole for the tub connection instead of cementing it closed. You have no choice but to take the cement up and move the trap and stubup into position to pick up the whirlpool drain. Some rough at 18", some at 24" depending of the tub of your choice, check the specifications and instructions that came with the tub.
In the meantime click on this link on instructions and tips on installing a whirlpool tub. http://www.blackanddecker.com/Projec...430_16478.html
good luck, Tom

JaiJaiW

Ahhh this is making more sense now! Thanks so much for your quick reply!

One other quick question, our tub requires a bed of mortar underneath for support. We purchased a standard 50 lb bag of tile mortar (tub manufacturers suggestion)....how large of a "pile" are we looking at putting the tub onto? There is a pretty large distance between the bottom of the tub and the slab so we plan to place a 3/4" piece of plywood on slab before the mortar. This will leave a 1-2 inch space to fill in. Just trying to get an idea if the one bag is enough...our closest Home Depot is 50 miles away, I'd hate to get started and not have enough!

Thanks again!
Jaimie

speedball1

Hi Jamie,

If all you have to fill in is a few inches a 50# bag ought to do the trick. just "puddle" the mortar up and then "squoosh" the tub down on top of it. And then let it set up before doing anything else. Did you check out the tips section of the link as well as the instructions. Cheers, Tom

jnissen

Don't use the plywood spacer as if it gets wet over time it will rot and your tub will loose it's solid footing. Lots of inspectors from what I have seen wil not pass a setup if the installer used wood shims or any material that can potentially rot away.

Use the tile set mortar and mix it up a bit thick. Use a half inch drill with a paddle to help mix it. Add the thin set to the water and not the other way around! Did you completely water proof the tub surround and decking around the tub? If you placed it on top of a plywood platform you need to waterproof the decking prior to tile if going that route. See the John Bridge Forums for all the details on that. A tile setters dream come true!

JaiJaiW

Hmmm, the 3/4 inch plywood idea came direct from the tub manufacturer. At one end of the tub we will need over 3 inches of mortar to hit the bottom of the tub, that is why they suggested the plywood. Is there something I can do for waterproofing the plywood or some other material to use?

This is a tub only, no shower involved so we have no plans for a surround or any tile for now.

Jaimie

speedball1

Hey Jamie,

If you're worried about the plywood then cover it with heavy plastic sheeting.
Since most of our sub floors down here are plywood I guess we can expect to see out tubs come crashing down through the floor in the future. Cheers, Tom

JaiJaiW

Ok we are getting ready to put the tub in today. I just have one more question on the drain. The drain in the floor goes straight down. Will the overflow assembly on the tub attach directly to the drain pipe in the floor or do we need some sort of trap? (this is on a basement slab)

Thanks again!

Jaimie


EDIT: Ok, I just discovered on Home Depot's website that the trap should be under the slab.....

speedball1

Home Depot was correct. The "drain pipe" that you see sticking up is the trap raiser. ALL fixtures that have the drainage connected has to be trapped. cheers, Tom

JaiJaiW

Well we got the mortar mixed up and poured, a layer of plastic on top of the mortar, the tub set in place on the stringers and all the drain pipes attached (what a chore that was!!!)....we are now letting the mortar set. BUT, from a quick peek under the tub, it looks like there isn't enough mortar there to fill all the space between the 3/4 inch plywood we put down and the bottom of the tub. The manufacturer instruction book shows a "bed" of mortar up the sides a little way.

We won't be able to tell if we have any gaps until the mortar sets....any suggestions for filling in any remaining spaces without having to pull up the tub and start over again???? (We used a full 50 pound bag)

Thanks,
Jaimie