Shower drain question - is it broken?

[chrisntam]

While cleaning the hair clog from our shower drain, I discovered the "down pipe" separated from the perimeter of the drain.  I don't recall it looking like this the last time the shower grate was removed.  House is on a slab, built in 1985, original install.  No apparent leaking outside the shower, no water damage seen.  I do see standing water in the crack.  The tile shower is generally in good condition, I don't want to tear it out to fix this.  I thought I'd put a liberal amount of caulk in the crack, sealing it and forcing all the water down the drain, putting off a correct repair for a few years. Thoughts?  The house has settled in this area, due to us being on expansive clay soil...

Is the shower drain broken?  I can't see where the two were previously connected.

Thanks for the opinions.

chris.

   

   

   

[sleepy hollow]

Cannot be sure, but does not look right to me.  I would suggest looking at some shower drain configurations online to see if any match this.  What concerns me is that I am not sure how water can weep out of the tile into the drain with the waste pipe apparently up that high.  I remodeled a bath and built a Schluter shower stall using their shower pan and Kerdi-drain system.  All water from the shower floor will find its way to the drain.  None of it will be standing like I think I see in your photos around the pipe.  

Again it is hard to gauge the depths of the various components in the photo, but it just looks wrong and also could be broken based on the ragged looking plastic edges around the two concentric circles.  Possibly the inner pipe was connected to the outer pipe lower in the drain but is now separated with the inner pipe rising up above the bottom of the drain enclosure.  Since you indicated this is in the slab, then probably not a big problem, and a "bush fix" may work for quite awhile.  I would certainly be looking at that vs. major surgery for sure.

[joe1086]

You may want to post that photo and question to the folks at the JohnBridge tile forum. They are a go-to place for DIY questions regarding tiling/drains/etc. A lot of tiling pros there that gladly help anyone who asks for it.

[crokett™]

Is there a seal around the pipe? The last shower drain I did the drain flange fit around the pipe. There was a rubber seal that sealed the pipe.

[Bob10]

correct me if I am wrong but the drain is 2 pieces and the 2 screws compress a rubber seal around the pipe IIRC.  So there is a chance water is sitting outside the pipe yet on top of that seal

[MstrCarpenter]

correct me if I am wrong but the drain is 2 pieces and the 2 screws compress a rubber seal around the pipe IIRC.  So there is a chance water is sitting outside the pipe yet on top of that seal

I think Bob is right. I prefer solvent weld, but I have seen the slip on type used, especially on slabs. I couldn't find a pic showing all the pieces as an assembly, but I think this is what's wrapped around the pipe.  https://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-Shower-...100175929. If the shower drain is well sealed to the tile floor system, and the pipe isn't broken, I would clean it well and seal it with 100% G.E silicone. " Rain ready in 20 minutes" and good for 50 years? That works for me!

I know they've been around for years, but I just can't trust the seal above a ceiling. I've seen a few jobs where the plumber hacked the floor joists so bad that when they deflected it pulled the pipe out of the tub/shower that was still hanging on the walls. This type may have extended the serviceability for a while.

[Bob10]

I think Bob is right. I prefer solvent weld, but I have seen the slip on type used, especially on slabs. I couldn't find a pic showing all the pieces as an assembly, but I think this is what's wrapped around the pipe.  https://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-Shower-...100175929. If the shower drain is well sealed to the tile floor system, and the pipe isn't broken, I would clean it well and seal it with 100% G.E silicone. " Rain ready in 20 minutes" and good for 50 years? That works for me!

I know they've been around for years, but I just can't trust the seal above a ceiling. I've seen a few jobs where the plumber hacked the floor joists so bad that when they deflected it pulled the pipe out of the tub/shower that was still hanging on the walls. This type may have extended the serviceability for a while.

Yeah I had to redo a shower in a rental that is on a slab.  It was the first time I saw anything like that and to be honest I didn't like using it but there were no options I could find for the spot

[chrisntam]

I sealed it with G E Silicone.  Now onto the next problem!  

Thanks!

[NervHQ]

Hi, it's very interesting how exactly you solved this problem. A few days ago, I discovered some damage in my house after the flood, and when I was cleaning it all, I also found a drain under the tile in my kitchen. Because of this, it seems to me that mold forms there, which stinks terribly and interferes with living in my house. My friends advised me to invite a specialist to work with the SPAM LINK DELETED so that he would look at this case and tell me exactly what can and why not to do in this situation. So you can use this advice too if you haven't solved this issue yet.

   

[Philip1231]

Post script: glad you solved the problem, but there may have been no problem in the first place. The OD of the incoming PVC pipe usually has a rubber sleeve attached to it which makes the seal between the OD of the pipe and the ID of the shower drain assembly. In your picture, that black area surrounding the pipe is, I believe, the seal. Its just sitting lower than the top of the pipe: not how I would have installed it, but no big deal. Here is pic of Fernco shower pan drain seal: