So it is a dumb idea! :-) Ok, no problem. I guess the picture confused me a little, but then I'm easily confused since I'm new to these kinds of issues.

I guess we are back to hacking the slab then, eh? Is this task pretty straight forward? Score the concrete and start chipping away at it? If so, how far under the surface will I have to expose to do what is necessary to investigate?

I understand on the drain size, thanks!

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Originally Posted by damadake

So it is a dumb idea! :-) Ok, no problem. I guess the picture confused me a little, but then I'm easily confused since I'm new to these kinds of issues.

I guess we are back to hacking the slab then, eh? Is this task pretty straight forward? Score the concrete and start chipping away at it? If so, how far under the surface will I have to expose to do what is necessary to investigate?

I understand on the drain size, thanks!

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If it were me, I would start at the shower drain and work my way back to the vent and expose the drain line that the vent and shower drain tie into.

When you get this far, upload some photo's of the exposed piping and we'll take it from there.

I'll work on the shower floor tomorrow and see how far I get. Thanks again for your time and experience. I appreciate it! :-)

Should it take much to get to it, or will it be down a ways?

My wife had another idea on the tub. If we change the location of the tub to the back wall, then build a partition between the front and where the existing pipes are located, could we re-route only the drain from the tub to the existing shower drain location, leaving the vent in tact, or does this present other issues? See attached

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Originally Posted by damadake

My wife had another idea on the tub. If we change the location of the tub to the back wall, then build a partition between the front and where the existing pipes are located, could we re-route only the drain from the tub to the existing shower drain location, leaving the vent in tact, or does this present other issues? See attached

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Well, you're still dealing with an oversized trap and trap arm, the trap arm is the pipe between the trap and the vent, although you could buy a reducing coupling and bush it down to 1-1/2" at the start of the trap arm.

Another thing to consider is that you are allowed only one 90 degree turn on a trap arm, and you would need at least two to do what you suggest -- And the maximum allowed length of a 1-1/2" trap arm is 42".

It would work, but if your concern is meeting plumbing code requirements, then you'll still need to reconfigure the drain, vent and trap arm.

As you stated, it just ain't easy. :-) Thanks for the reply. I'm going to demo the shower floor and see what I find, then take it from there. Still nervous about the concrete. Any pointers to share on the best way to approach this? Is there a worry about damage to the slab?

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Originally Posted by damadake

As you stated, it just ain't easy. :-) Thanks for the reply. I'm going to demo the shower floor and see what I find, then take it from there. Still nervous about the concrete. Any pointers to share on the best way to approach this? Is there a worry about damage to the slab?

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I'm hesitant to suggest you score the floor with a Skil-Saw and diamond blade, because this can be very dangerous in inexperienced hands -- The saw could bind up and push back at you.

For a novice, I would suggest renting a Bosch 60 lb jack hammer.

Seems like a scary tool! I've got the floor tile out, and it seems there is another layer of concrete or bedding there. Seems too soft for concrete. I thought there was a pan under all that?

Made some headway. Actually under the floor tile, there was another slab of something, not sure it was concrete, but I was able to break it away. Still need to go farther down though, correct?

Growler. I'm going to have a plumber come out and have a look and probably he'll do the work. I'm chickening out on cracking the slab.

I do appreciate you and the others advice on this particular problem. Thanks a million!
:-)

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Originally Posted by damadake

growler. I'm going to have a plumber come out and have a look and probably he'll do the work. I'm chickening out on cracking the slab.

I do appreciate you and the others advice on this particular problem. Thanks a million!
:-)

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No worries -- Upload some pictures when he or she is done and we'll crack wise about how *WE* would have done it.:D

Will do. Found some other problems after the demo, the shower pan was leaking and hasn't been used for years, but must have been bad for a while. Some of the outside studs are toast. Anyway, will get to it. :-)