[mechanickid]

Hey mark,

I will get that pilot bit... :)

With the shower, how do I know once I assemble it and morter in in that I'm getting a water tight seal? Is there any way to really test it?

I'm thinking pour some water in the pan, but then when I take it apart and look, if there is any water on the inside of the drain it will drip down... or no?

[massplumber2008]

Hey hey..

You will dry fit the base first and cut pipe down so it is about 2 inches higher than needed.

Play with it and examine how much tilt will be needed to achieve a plumb base from side to side and from front to back. How much do you have to raise each side to achieve perfect plumb? Make note of it on left and then on right sides of wall. Then you want to take a pencil and trace the level base where it is perfect.

Now is a good time to dry fit the donut at the drain and mark the pipe for cutting. If super confident in all this then you can cut the pipe to the right height, but be sure to study the drain with piece of pipe in it first by playing with drain and pipe and the brass ring to tighten it (remember to tie a string onto the flat wrench).

Now, examine the base and with information gained from above determine how much mortar you will need to set the base. You want base plus lift needed to level base plus an inch or so extra to squeeze out to edges. Then install mortar so that it is about 4 to 6 inches away from the center of the base (so won't squeeze up through drain hole) and set the base to match the pencil line on the wall.

Double check with the level and then screw the base to the studs. Don't be afraid to set temporary shims from front to help support the front of the base while base mortar dries (front has a tendency to drop overnight so shim this). Then, before mortar sets, install the drain as required... install pre-soaped rubber donut, then install ring, then tighten appropriately. Then pour 1/2 gallon of water into drain (not in pan... just into pipe to reduce sewer gasses from coming up). Then snap cover over drain. Do all this without moving/falling into base... ;)

Let base dry overnight and then set walls according to instructions. If mortar happens to squeeze into drain area just take a pencil and thin rag and remove propmtly.. then proceed.

You should not really need to test the drain at this stage if you do all this correctly... study the drain with piece of pipe in drain and be sure to get good understanding of a tight seal.. then go for it. You can test the whole job next day or two but I have never seen one of these no-calk drains fail if person understands how they work! I think you'll see what I mean.

On the walls... if just 1/8" panels that get adhered to wall then one trick is to install as usual but then after setting panel in place you want to pull it off the wall, let air dry for 3-4 minutes and then readhere the panel. This will help keep panels in place better than if you don't do this.. ;) Don't forget to fill the space we discussed earlier.

Let me know what's next??

MARK

[mechanickid]

Sounds good... what about the dirt down in the hole? Should I throw a small amount of morter down there?

[massplumber2008]

Not necessary as excess mortar will fall in if you space mortar only 4-6 inches away from drain and then set the base (better it fall in and fill this void then to squeeze up through hole).

[mechanickid]

Hey mark,

So I am still here,, still working,, haha

Couple of things... I think I might have messed up, I thought I had enough morter down but after a day, I came back and put some weight on the shower,, and I kind of got a squishy sound and herd some air squeeze out,, :-/

Also I'm worried about the drain,, it seams as though I can't tighten it all the way, it will get so tight then slip out of the threads... and be uneven... maybe I'm just tighting it too much,,

[massplumber2008]

Hi Brian... see if possible to unscrew the pan and see if can pull it up. If not... fine, but if can would be best too and start over.

The slipping of the threads is most likely due to the rubber not being pushed down deep enough into the drain assebly. Take a 1/4" nut driver or similar blunt tool and tap on this with a hammer to see if can set the donut deeper... let me know... ok?

[speedball1]

82 answers on this thread! Got to be a new record for a single thread!

[massplumber2008]

Funny stuff huh, Tom. This guy is actually working closely with me and together we're going to finish it!

I'd hire this guy in a heartbeat!

MARK

[mechanickid]

I will see if I can't get it up... actually I stuck my hand down there last night through the open wall side,, and it was still mostly wet... so hopefully I can,, one thing, you said thin set morter was OK right? I thought I remembered you saying it was...
Could I just put some more down over the stuff now? Or should I try to get most of what's there up?

Haha Tom we were going for a record,,

Funny Mark,, I was thinking I should go into plumbing ;)

I always had respect, but this is definetely a new found greatness for Plumbers

Thank you thank you thank you

Have a great day

[massplumber2008]

Brian... try to get it up and clean all... then post back... thinking maybe structolite may be best here (sold at home depot in my area).

Let me know...

[mechanickid]

Got it up easy... wasnt even sticky... wasn't even dry, I don't know if it's the stuff I got or what... its premixed thinset from home depot, it says for tile, will it be OK for the tile??

Anyway I don't think I'll have a problem getting it up, definitely going to go get some structolite... :)

I forgot to say about the seal... I think I am getting it down all the way it looks kind of slanted in the drain also... did I mess it up? Or is it problay just stuck will try again when I reset the shower base.

Talk soon

Thanks mark

[massplumber2008]

Stick with the structolite... stuff dries overnight... see picture below. This is all I use... squeezes out nicely too.

If donut looks crooked then it must not have been set deep enough? Double check the fit again when base is up and then try again.

Let me know...

[mechanickid]

Hey mark,,

Just finished with the structo,, I have to say, that plus the brass drain unit, I feel 100 times better.

:) thanks

[massplumber2008]

That structo-lite is great stuff to work with huh.. Wait'll the morning then let me know what you think...

[mechanickid]

Lol yea it wasn't too bad, I opted for the manual hand mixing... wasn't bad at all, and that brass drain made all the difference, it's a lot better.

So is there a maximum horizontal run for my vent pipe? Because I have a way but it would require an L shape would be 22ft in one direction then a right turn and about another ten ft, then straight up to the roof... is this allowed? Otherwise the other way is a little more complicated.

Let me know

[massplumber2008]

Brian...

You want to take shortest route possible...

As Iamgrowler (on-site plumber) so perfectly posted to me back at an older post... "Most codes allow only 1/3 of a vents overall developed length to be run horizontal. On a vent with a developed length of 60 feet, only 20 feet of that run would be allowed to be horizontal -- If the horizontal run exceeds 1/3 of the developed length, then you must increase the pipe size of the entire vent by one pipe size."

That means that if you go the route you presented that you would need to increase your vent to 2.5" minimum... not readily available either...

OR... find a shorter horizontal route... ;)

Let me know

[mechanickid]

I can do a shorter horizontal route :) I could cut it down to something like 20 ft , then straight up

P.S. That shower base is awesome, its solid :D

[massplumber2008]

:D Back at you!

Keep 'em comin'...

[mechanickid]

So if I were to have a horizontal L at 20ft total that would be OK?

[massplumber2008]

Borderline, but I think this will work just fine for you! Go for it!