I have a second floor acrylic shower stall that apparently has a drain leak, based on a wet spot in the ceiling almost directly below the shower drain that has gotten progressively bigger over a few weeks. I've taken the strainer plate off, but am at a loss for what to do next. I'm presuming there is some type of gasket or other seal that has gone bad (house is 11 years old), but it is not obvious to me how to disassemble further to see just what needs to be replaced/resealed. The drain fitting is PVC and appears to join the PVC drain pipe a few inches below the top. I assume it is either leaking at this joint or between the top flange of the drain fitting and the shower stall floor. Any suggestions for what to do? Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Jim

Hi Jim, PlumbRite Inc. has just what you're looking for. Their WingTite Replacement Shower Drain for plastic, acrylic and fiberglass showers is installed without having to open up your ceiling . This replacement drain comes with instructions on removing your old drain and installing the new one. Check them out at http://www.plumbrite.com/ . If I can be of any further help just click on back. Regards Tom

Thanks for the reply, Tom. Just a follow up question...
Does that mean the ONLY fix is to replace the existing drain? Is it just not practical to reseal the leak in the existing drain?
Thanks again...

Good morning Jim, This will depend on the type of drain you shower stall has.  Remove the strainer /cover.  If you can see two bosses on the inside of the throat that means it's threaded in.  If not,  then it's glued in and you must use the replacement drain.  However if it's threaded you can pull against the bosses and back the upper half of the drain out counterclockwise.  Once out clean the lip of the drain, remove the neoprene gasket,   toss it and run a ring of plumbers putty around the open hole and reassemble the drain tightening the drain as much as you can squeezing out the putty and making a water tight seal.  Good luck,  Tom

I have this same problem, however how can I tell if my drain is glued in or a threaded one. What are bosses? What do they look like? Also, I can see that the drain lip has broken away slightly from the body so I think this is where my leak is coming from. I need to also do this from the top since it is my second floor shower. Any suggestions to help me out would really be appreciated. I haven't been using the shower for 3 weeks now.

Susan

I have this same problem, however how can I tell if my drain is glued in or a threaded one. What are bosses? What do they look like? Also, I can see that the drain lip has broken away slightly from the body so I think this is where my leak is coming from. I need to also do this from the top since it is my second floor shower. Any suggestions to help me out would really be appreciated. I haven't been using the shower for 3 weeks now.

Susan

Hi Susan,

If the drain lip is metal then it screws in. If it's plastic then it glues in. Bosses are little bumps on the inside of a brass drain that you can put a wrench against and turn it out. Before I can get more specific I'll have to know exactly what you have. Regards, tom

Thanks for the quick response. There are no screws or bosses so I'm thinking it is glued in. The drain is black I guess plastic or ABS. The shower is on the second floor and has leaked before. We were able to stop the leak by caulking around the drain. It started leaking again onto my 1st floor ceiling which we just had repaired from the previous leak four months ago by a drywall guy. So when we inspected the drain it looks like the black lip is breaking away from the drain body. We were going to fix it with some ABS glue and putty, but it looks like a little piece disintegrated or flaked off. I think we need to replace it. I was looking at the wingtite shower drain replacement, but I'm leary that it won't be a tight enough seal and am not real sure how it works. Also, I'm afraid that cutting into my drain might create more problems.

Susan

Thanks for the quick response. There are no screws or bosses so I'm thinking it is glued in. The drain is black I guess plastic or ABS. The shower is on the second floor and has leaked before. We were able to stop the leak by caulking around the drain. It started leaking again onto my 1st floor ceiling which we just had repaired from the previous leak four months ago by a drywall guy. So when we inspected the drain it looks like the black lip is breaking away from the drain body. We were going to fix it with some ABS glue and putty, but it looks like a little piece disintegrated or flaked off. I think we need to replace it. I was looking at the wingtite shower drain replacement, but I'm leary that it won't be a tight enough seal and am not real sure how it works. Also, I'm afraid that cutting into my drain might create more problems.

Susan


Instead of ABS cement and putty why not dry everything off real good and caulk the drain lip with silicon jell? Cheers, Tom

Thanks. I'll try this and let you know the outcome.

Susan