Hello all,

I have a shower in my basement that I plan on removing. What would be the best way to close off the drain. I believe the pipes are buried in the slab floor and somewhere in connects to the same drain line for the upstairs shower. I am asuuming there joined under the floor?
Thanks for the help!

Hi David

If you have PVC pipe there I would chip out an inch or two around the pipe and cut the pipe to about an inch below the floor using an inside pipe cutting tool attached to a drill. Then, install a schedule 40 PVC cap using some PVC primer and cement as instructed on the cans. This should leave you with a cap below the floor so you can cover over it with cement if you want.

If you have a copper pipe, then you would be OK if you stuffed a rag in the drain and filled the pipe with hydraulic cement. Just be sure to get the rag intertwined in the cement so it doesn't work its way loose and go down the drain. A better job would be to install a wing-nut type of plug, but the best job would be to solder a pressure cap on and be done with this 100%!

Questions? Let me know,OK?

Mark

I can't improve on Marks answer. But if your slab was sloped to the drain I'd follow his second solution. Jam rags down the drain to close it off and then fill the drain and level off the slop with hydraulic cement to make your cement floor smooth. Since the cement in the drain is just a small part of the pour I wouldn't worry too much about anything sliding back out into the main. Good luck, Tom