Hello,

I have come to the postings to get some help as I am a novice plumber. I've gutted my ensuite tilled shower down to the floor. In whacking out the cement pan, and I assumed that I've probably cracked the old drain so when I got to the wood floor I cut away the older PVC 2" piping back to a straight piece so that I can rebuild it. I am working through a hole in the floor about 8-10"in dia.

I've already attempted to redo the pvc plumbing once with all new parts, but when putting them together with the pvc cement I ended up with the drain not being level at the floor. So I cut it all out and bought new pieces to try it again.

How do I get all the pieces glued so that I end up with a level drain. Should I rip out the whole floor? Do I cement everything above the floor then work the plumbing in through the hole in order to glue the last joint? Or do I start going joint by joint and hope for the best.

Any guidance would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Hello,

I have come to the postings to get some help as I am a novice plumber. I've gutted my ensuite tilled shower down to the floor. In whacking out the cement pan, and I assumed that I've probably cracked the old drain so when I got to the wood floor I cut away the older PVC 2" piping back to a straight piece so that I can rebuild it. I am working through a hole in the floor about 8-10"in dia.

I've already attempted to redo the pvc plumbing once with all new parts, but when putting them together with the pvc cement I ended up with the drain not being level at the floor. So I cut it all out and bought new pieces to try it again.

How do I get all the pieces glued so that I end up with a level drain. Should I rip out the whole floor? Do I cement everything above the floor then work the plumbing in through the hole in order to glue the last joint? Or do I start going joint by joint and hope for the best.

Any guidance would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Let's see if I under the question. You cut the trap out? Why would you do that? By "not being level with the floor" do you mean that the trap raiser was cocked or that you didn't make it high enough? And if you didn't make it high enough why didn't you cut it back, glue on a coupling and extend the raiser? At this point I don't even understand what it is you wish to accomplish. Another tile shower? A plastic shower base? Install a whirlpool tub? Get back to me with more details and I'll answer ASAP. Signed, Confused in Florida aka TOm

Tom,

My height was good on one side of the drain, the other side was 1/4" above the floor. Thus my drain was going to cause me problems. The cuts I made for the pvc pipes were pretty square. Putting it together under the floor I tried to make sure that they all set pretty well before they hardened, but by the time I put the last piece, the drain on, it was cock-eyed.

Dave

The trap had to go, it was an old threaded one and when I tried to find a match I was not successful. Again, I was concerned about it's intregrity after being whacked around with a sledge harmmer when removing the old pan and plumbing.

The trap had to go, it was an old threaded one and when i tried to find a match I was not successful. Again, I was concerned about it's intregrity after being whacked around with a sledge harmmer when removing the old pan and plumbing.

I still don't know what it is you wish to accomplish but that's Ok. That wasn't your question. How to keep it level? When I run into this problem I do a dry run. I fit the pipes and fittings together without gluing them. CAREFUL! Don't push them together tightly as the fittings have tapered openings and you can get them hung up. You're going for level and that's all at this time. When you come to a fitting that's vertical such as a elbo or the trap put a small torpedo level on it and level it up. Now make a pencil mark on the hub and a ways on down the pipe past where the hub won't cover it up when you glue. Now take everything apart, prime the joints with primer and just match up your pencil marks when you glue. Soums like a plan?
Regards, Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the advice, I'm attempting to rebuild a tiled shower. I'm planning on using a pvc pan liner and with a cement pad for the floor. Was just having problems getting the drain level in order to build from there and I did not want to get to far and realize that a drain that is not leevl will just be a poor way to start.

Thanks for your response, it certainly helps the noobs get back on track with their projects.

Thanks,

David

Alberta, Canada