Ask Me Help Desk - Low profile p trap?

Has anybody seen one of these? I found them on a wholesaler web site but have not been able to find one at any retailers. Reason I"m looking for one is that I want to install a shower in an upstairs on 2 x 6 joists. The 2" p trap that I found at Home Depot needs about 8" to make it work. I don't know if the low profile would work either. I also wondered if I could make my own trap, making it not as deep but a little longer, thus holding as much water. Would this work?

Thanks for any help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diy'er

I also wondered if I could make my own trap, makeing it not as deep but a little longer, thus holding as much water. Would this work?

The pupose of a trap has nothing to do with holding a certain amount of water. Rather the purpose of a p-trap is to create a water seal that will prevent sewer gases from entering your home. Take a look at this image:

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/odorcontrol/images/sink.jpg

As you can see, the drop in the trap allows the water level in the drain to be high enough to seal off the pipe (if the water gets any higher, it will drain to the pipe in the right side of the picture; however, the current water level would have to "climb uphill" to get into the DWV system, so it stays, allowing the pipe to remain sealed.

Therefore, your statement "thus holding as much water" does not necessarily solve anything; the main issue we're worried about is that the water level in the trap should not drop low enough to allow sewer gas to go over the surface of the water, and into the house.

It would seem to me that your best bet would be to platform the shower, giving you a couple of extra inches for a normal trap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diy'er

Has anybody seen one of these? I found them on a wholesaler web site but have not been able to find one at any retailers. Reason I"m looking for one is that I want to install a shower in an upstairs on 2 x 6 joists. The 2" p trap that I found at Home Depot needs about 8" to make it work. I don't know if the low profile would work either. I also wondered if I could make my own trap, makeing it not as deep but a little longer, thus holding as much water. Would this work?

Thanks for any help.

I found a low profile p trap made by reece plumbing in australia, it's 50mm (aprox. 2")