[Melanie]

Ok, I'm not sure if this is a problem or not, hopefully the later. I have absolutely no plumbing experience so please forgive me if I use the wrong descriptions for things..

We have a fiberglass shower and I have noticed that the strainer is not the same size as the preformed hole in the shower floor. It is flush on one side but on the opposite side it is approximately 1/4 an inch away from the edge of the preformed 'hole'. I took off the strainer and it looks like our builder caulked all around or possibly under the rubber gasket(I think that is what is called). My two concerns are, water tends to collect in this small gap after showering and I don't want it to start leaking, will the caulk prevent it from doing that? And the caulk looks like it has some mold in it and is starting to come up just a little bit so I would like to recaulk, what would be the best way to do that? I hope this make sense, if not I can take some pictures. Thanks for any help! :D

Ooops, I did some more researching, I think what I am seeing is the drain cover and not the rubber gasket, it's black and not chrome so that is what is throwing me off it looks like there is an O ring just inside it, does that sound right? So I guess my question is, does it matter if the drain cover isn't flush with the preformed hole in the shower floor and how can I remove the old caulking and recaulk? Thanks again!

[speedball1]

Ok, i'm not sure if this is a problem or not, hopefully the later. I have absolutely no plumbing experience so please forgive me if I use the wrong descriptions for things..

We have a fiberglass shower and I have noticed that the strainer is not the exact same size as the preformed hole in the shower floor. It is flush on one side but on the opposite side it is approximately 1/4 an inch away from the edge of the preformed 'hole'. I took off the strainer and it looks like our builder caulked all around or possibly under the rubber gasket(I think that is what is called). My two concerns are, water tends to collect in this small gap after showering and I don't want it to start leaking, will the caulk prevent it from doing that? And the caulk looks like it has some mold in it and is starting to come up just a little bit so I would like to recaulk, what would be the best way to do that? I hope this make sense, if not I can take some pictures. Thanks for any help! :D

Ooops, I did some more researching, I think what i am seeing is the drain cover and not the rubber gasket, it's black and not chrome so that is what is throwing me off it looks like there is an O ring just inside it, does that sound right? So I guess my question is, does it matter if the drain cover isn't flush with the preformed hole in the shower floor and how can i remove the old caulking and recaulk? Thanks again!

Good morning Malanie,

The drain should cover completely the hole in the shower floor. Pictures would help a lot. If the drain was installed by a plumbing company call them back to do the job right. If not then you have a potential leak on your hands that should be addressed soonest. I'll wait on the pictures. One with the strainer on the drain and another with it off. Regards, Tom

[Melanie]

Thanks for the quick reply. I keep referring to it as a hole, but it's the part of the shower floor that dips down slightly where the drain goes. It was put in by our builder about 2 1/2 years ago. Here are the pics;

[speedball1]

Thanks for the quick reply. I keep referring to it as a hole, but it's the part of the shower floor that dips down slightly where the drain goes. It was put in by our builder about 2 1/2 years ago. Here are the pics;

Hey Melanie,

You're going to be OK. The ABS drain was a just tad undersized for the discharge hole in the shower base. Take a good look at it. Had he centered it you would have had about 1/8" open all the way around. If it were me I'd leave it be, however if it bothers you make very sure that it's dry and grout it with White Dap Tub and Tile Caulk. Cheers, Tom

[Melanie]

Thank you so much Tom. My husband said he thought it was OK, but I wanted to be sure. We plan on selling our house in the next year and I definitely don't want to pass on any problems to the new owners. Thanks again! :)

[labman]

Thank you so much Tom. My husband said he thought it was ok, but I wanted to be sure. We plan on selling our house in the next year and I definitely don't want to pass on any problems to the new owners. Thanks again! :)

Yeah, may as well fix it now. A new owner can require you to pay to have something fixed you put up with.

[Melanie]

Hi Labman, do you mean move the drain or fix it by recaulking? Is that something a home inspector will ding us on? I would prefer to wait until we sell the house and see if the new home owners say anything, because obviously we never noticed it until I spotted the mildew.

I did have one question about recaulking, it looks like the old caulk isn't going to come up all the way. Can I recaulk over it as long as it's not pulling up? I play on using a razor blade to get out any mildew. Thanks!

[speedball1]

Hi Labman, do you mean move the drain or fix it by recaulking? Is that something a home inspector will ding us on? I would prefer to wait until we sell the house and see if the new home owners say anything, because obviously we never noticed it until i spotted the mildew.

I did have one question about recaulking, it looks like the old caulk isn't going to come up all the way. Can I recaulk over it as long as it's not pulling up? I play on using a razor blade to get out any mildew. Thanks!

Good morning Melanie.
I'm sure Labman didn't mean for you to replace the drain. You may recaulk over the old caulk without removing it. Just make sure it's dry with no moisture. This is not considered a major defect and I see no reason you should be called on it. Cheers, Tom