I've been a plumber in New York for the last 10 years .A super in a building wants me to use a lead wipe shower drain on the lead pan ,I assume it consits of welding the lead to the drain ,is this right? And if so where can I get one of these drains.thank you for your help.

Hi Donalflynn...

A lead pan simply uses an old fashioned strainer assembly that I know of... no wiping strainer/joints here. All just clamps up... but I wouldn't encourage you to use an old lead pan.

That being said, I'll tell you that you would be better off telling the building super that you can do the job if he insists but I wouldn't guarantee the work in any manner!

I'd tell this guy that you guys can do all the work only to find that the lead pan itself is the issue to begin with or it could become the issue shortly after the job is completed. Murphy's law always seems to prevail in these cases... I swear!

You and the super would both be better off ripping out the existing pan and installing a new copper pan or even easier would be to install a completely new vinyl shower pan liner.

Finally, give it a little time so the rest of our team gets a chance to look at this. They may have better information.


Mark