I have a bi-level home built in 1966 with an existing shower on first level that has a cast floor drain that is 7" wide at the top and drains into a 2" waste line. The depth of the bowl is about 2.5" from the recessed lip at the top of the drain bowl. There are 2 ears for brass screws to hold the drain cover in place - both are plugged by the original screws having been broken off. The original drain cover has been replaced by a stainless steel drain cover previously just caulked into place since the screw holes are not functional. There is also a clean out hole in the side of the drain bowl which currently has a pvc plug which protrudes into the bowl about 1 1/2" - the original plug was brass as I have another floor drain in the laundry area with the original plug.

I am preparing to re-tile the shower and floor and will be using Redgard to waterproof the floor before tiling. But since the tile will raise the level of the floor about 3/8" at the drain, is there a new shower drain that will retrofit this current drain bowl and provide a drain top that is flush with the new tile floor? I've been to Home Depot and only found one option - ABS Drain For Tile Shower Bases by Oatey Casper's. It is 6" across and therefore will not sit into the existing recessed lip of the current drain.

Or should I just stick with the existing drain and caulk around the edge of the tile where it meets the drain?

After doing a Google search on 7" drains, I did find Zurn Shelfline seems to offer a PVC body with a membrane clamp and screw in drain which comes in varying sizes. Would this work? Assuming the outside diameter is 7", I could caulk/adhesive this into the existing bowl and then use the Redgard to waterproof to the membrane clamp.

Other suggestions?

Thanks,

The Zurn drain you suggested does not have a integral trap. If this were my call I would find myself with 2 options. I could open up the floor and install a regular floor drain that's trapped and bring it up to grade, (best) or I could drill and retap the screw holes, screw in another strainer and bevel the floor tiles down to it when I retiled. Good luck, Tom

The Zurn drain you suggested does not have a integral trap. If this were my call I would find myself with 2 options. I could open up the floor and install a regular floor drain that's trapped and bring it up to grade, (best) or I could drill and retap the screw holes, screw in another strainer and bevel the floor tiles down to it when I retiled. Good luck, Tom


Tom, not sure I'm doing this correctly, but hopefully you receive this follow-up. Thanks for your quick reply.

The floor drain already has a trap built into it - I think. There is water in it just below the point where the drain pipe meets the bowl of the drain and when I fish a coat hangar into the drain, it seems to have resistance like there is a trap. Also, the "clean-out hole" (I assume that what it is) in the side of the drain bowl goes downward as if it is meeting up with the pipe on the opposite side of the trap. I'd rather not demo the floor if I don't need to.

Would the Zurn drain work in the situation above if indeed there is a trap already in the floor? Would I need to add an extension of pipe to make sure the drain water goes directly into the waste pipe and doesn't collect in the bowl of the floor drain? And if so, what about the "clean-out hole" and cover? I suppose I would simply lose the use of this option with this type of drain installation.

As for the tapering of tiles, I don't know how I can taper the tiles down to meet the drain lip without doing a lot of demo of the concrete floor. The tiles I am using are 1" tumbled travertine mounted on a fiberglass mat for ease of install. They are 3/8" thick. Are you suggesting cutting the tiles down on a saw to reduce the thickness? That sounds a little tedious with this size tile and would also we a little challenging with the wet saw that I'm using.

Thanks for any additional feedback.