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Jim67 · Sep 21, 2006, 06:34 PM

Just found this site. Looks like a great place to get some help. I am remodeling a bathroom built in 1965. It has a corner shower with tile walls, floor, and ceiling. I wanted one of those shower stalls that has a seat in it and handrails, but the drains will not match my floor drain which is 15 1/2 inches from each wall. I would like to get rid of the tiles. It seems I heard about some product you can spray on the whole shower and it would overcoat the tiles and be smooth. I think there are colors you can put in it. Has anybody ever heard of a product like this.. If not,any suggestions on how to get a new shower?. Thanks for reading and any help you can give.

bubbandmargie · Sep 26, 2006, 07:39 PM

Assuming the new shower is a different length, if the current shower has a mortar bed base, it would need to be taken out first since the rubber pan underneath is made to fit the shower you now have. There are a couple of options. You could take out enough tiles around the bottom to remove the pan, then put in either a tile base the desired length and custom build a seat and handrail of tile, or you can remove all of the tile and start from scratch. If the seat/handrail type you are talking about is fiberglass, most are mounted direcly to the studs. So you would need to check the install instructions and if necessary remove wall covering also. It's not likely you would be able to find a drain that would line up with your current one, but you could check the rough in dimensions to see before purchasing. Then you would know if the drain would have to be moved also. And don't forget if you go with a one piece fiberglass, getting it into place may be a major issue. A two or three piece is much easier to place..

Jim67 · Sep 26, 2006, 09:43 PM

Thanks for getting back to me... I have checked with several stores and on the internet, and I don't think there are any modern day showers that will fit my drain. I really don't want to move the drain, it is the old cast iron type pipe.. I think I will just try to replace the tiles.. As I mentioned before, it seems I heard about a product of some kind that can be sprayed over old tile and it makes a new surface which is smooth and without grout seams. I haven't found anyone yet who knows what I'm talking about.. Maybe I never heard it, just thought I did.. Anyway, thanks so much for trying to help me.
Jim

bubbandmargie · Sep 27, 2006, 11:54 AM

I don't know of a spray over material, but moving the cast drain is really not a big deal. If you cut the old cast of beyond the trap with a grinder, then you can use a rubber boot to transition to pvc on the new drain trap. Good luck.

Jim67 · Sep 27, 2006, 02:38 PM

You wrote about cutting of the old cast iron drain. I'm trying to get a picture in my mind about what is under the shower.. I know there is a shower pan, but I thought the drain would be level with the concrete slab.. Do the plumbers leave a space for the pipe without the concrete around it so they can put a trap in... I'm probably not making myself clear.. When you take the shower pan out, is there solid concrete around the pipe, or would there be dirt, and room enough to work on the pipe.. I thought if I wanted to work on the drain, I would have to bust the concrete out from around the drain...
Again, thanks for your help!

bubbandmargie · Sep 27, 2006, 07:37 PM

I'm assuming by this that the shower is on a slab or in a basement. If that is the case, it would be a little more involved, but regardless there will still be a trap under the pan and probably in a gravel bed. There may or may not be concrete around the pipe itself, but if you replace with pvc and a fiberglass unit, you would not have to concrete it back in.