[sknowman]

My shower stall drain is leaking. I'll leave out all the holes I cut to figure that out. Problem is, the shower was installed by the guy that lived here before so it's not necessarily a professional job.
The drain itself looks pretty normal, metal ring with the grate in the middle. But it's totally loose. There's some old ripped up sealant that came out from around it, and a little washer between it and the drain pipe. That's all I can tell. The whole drain part lifts about a half inch but turning does no good, and it's not even attached to the drain pipe. The pipe is no longer centered under the drain and I can't get the drain off to fix any of it. Help :(

[massplumber2008]

See if you upload a couple pictures here... we'll see what we can tell you.

Mark

[ballengerb1]

What is your shower floor, plastic?

[sknowman]

Attachment 47537 Top-down of the drain, that shows the off pipe
Attachment 47538 This is how much I can move it
Attachment 47539 This is the inside of the stall. Fiberglass, yeah?

[massplumber2008]

Sorry... attachments didn't work.

[sknowman]

How about now?

[massplumber2008]

That worked! Any chance you can show us a picture of the underside of this drain... can DEFINITELY tell you more after that!

[sknowman]

That worked! Any chance you can show us a picture of the underside of this drain... can DEFINITELY tell you more after that!

The whole shell is surrounded by wall on 2 sides and a panel wall on the other. I would have to cut another hole at the floor to get to it. But if I have to do that to fix it then that's alright. Is that what I should do?

[massplumber2008]

So, you have no access to the bottom of this shower, right? I'm staying here to work on this with you... confirm access and I'll post back quickly

[sknowman]

So, you have no access to the bottom of this shower, right? I'm staying here to work on this with you... confirm access and I'll post back quickly

Right. The whole thing is closed in. I've already cut two holes on the paneling side, so I don't mind cutting one at the floor

[massplumber2008]

Check out How To Fix Your Leaking Shower Drain | Remove and Replace Leaking Shower Drain | WingTite Shower Drain... play video on the site. This can probably all be done from the top if you are lucky! Review video at wingtite website and then come back and we can discuss removing the old strainer.

[sknowman]

Check out How To Fix Your Leaking Shower Drain | Remove and Replace Leaking Shower Drain | WingTite Shower Drain... play video on the site. This can probably all be done from the top if you are lucky! Review video at wingtite website and then come back and we can discuss removing the old strainer.

Done.

[massplumber2008]

Ok, so to remove that drain from the top you can use a Dremel type tool and cut the drain about 1/3 way down all around the inside of the strainer... should fall apart after that. You could also use a hacksaw blade wrapped 1/2 way in tape... hold strainer with pliers and slowly cut the strainer under the lip of the strainer until cut all the way across.

Once the strainer is removed you should post another picture and order the wing tite strainer and have silicone on hand and we'll see if we can fix this once and for all!

[sknowman]

I have an excuse to buy a new cutting blade for the Dremel! I'll get to work on that and post pictures when I'm done. Thank you so much for your help!

[massplumber2008]

Cool stuff! Glad to help! Be aware that we may need to increase size of drain pipe or adapt a little before installing the strainer, but I have planned for it and will discuss once I see what the pipe looks like underneath! Chat soon

[Milo Dolezal]

I cannot help it - but it sure looks to me like somebody used 3" kitchen sink strainer for shower drain...

[massplumber2008]

I was thinking the same thing as I considered all options here. Maybe this is a shower in a trailer? We'll see soon enough!

[sknowman]

Sorry for the delay, but our well decided to stop working. It's been an interesting week. It's not a trailer, but the whole 2nd bathroom was built by the previous owner, so there's no telling what kind of standard it's built to

[sknowman]

Well suddenly started working again so I got to cutting on the drain. Went through an entire heavy duty cutting disc and it didn't even cut all the way through the side. This thing is like stainless steel or something. I'm thinking I need to just cut a hole in the paneling at floor level and reach in there to unscrew what I assume is a nut

[massplumber2008]

Probably not a bad idea to gain access... I suspect you will need it again before we are through!