Repairing Shower Drain - Not As Easy As I Thought

I had a leak in the shower area last December. I thought it was cracks in the fiberglass in the shower floor. I when the repair man came, he said he thought the leak was around the drain and not the cracks. He cleaned out the putty and then put down a coating on the shower floor where the small cracks were forming. 

It was expensive, but looks good and makes me feel like the shower has a few good years left. However, the problem was the drain. I thought there was a part missing and made a small sink drain ring fit in the center of the shower drain and put putty around it to keep it from leaking through into the laundry room ceiling. 

I decided I needed to figure out how to fix it right as I started having some drain fruit flies of some kind and was getting some allergies in the bathroom so I figured that there was mold growing around the smaller drain inside the bigger drain as moisture would get trapped between the two pipes I had with the one inside the other.

I spent days going to different hardware and plumbing supply stores and finally took detailed pictures of the shower and found that the drain they used was the type to be used in cement basement drains and not second story showers. So, I ended up having to pull up the drain pipe and putting a new rubber gasket between the brass drain and the drain pipe. I couldn't get the ring to fit in between the two and I kept putting silicone on it as that was what the plumber told me to do. I tried to get it on for well over an hour and wasn't able to and said a prayer to know what to do and I put a rubber gloved hand down inside the drain pipe and pulled up and the pipe finally came up and I was able to put the gasket around the pipe and then push it back down inside the brass drain. I sealed the entire thing again on the top with silicone and let it dry.

The next morning I tried the shower and it sounded like it should and kept it on for maybe three minutes. I went down the stairs to check the laundry room ceiling and I could hear water before I was halfway down the stairs! I rushed in to see water pouring out of all the pipe holes for the water heater and dripping around areas of seams on the ceiling in the laundry room. 

I grabbed some towels out of the laundry hamper and tried to soak up all the water that was coming out but enough had already hit the floor, water heater, water softener, and some totes and bins I had stacked in the area. I was up all night cutting the piece out of the ceiling and I guess when I pulled up on the drain pipe, it pulled up out of the "J" trap pipe which in a way was a blessing. If it hadn't come out, I wouldn't have been able to get the new gasket on in the drain. I had been trying over and over. Also, if the pipe was that loose that I could pull it out so easily, the glue obviously wasn't holding and I could have had leaking and then molding over time. 

In the end, I was grateful that it happened as I was able to get the new gasket / flange onto the drain pipe and seal it well into the drain so that it may work well for another 20 years. I was also able to use some ABS black glue on the drain J pipe after sanding down the edges and gluing the existing pipe back into the existing j drain pipe without much problem and the seal is now good and tight and I won't have to worry about that either. 

I have had fans on it all night and today and lifted the carpet and it is nearly dry as well. I will give the drywall another day to dry and then will be able to screw the drywall back up and repair the ceiling and paint as I already have the putty and paint from repairing the ceiling over the washing in January from the first problem with the drain. 

I spent most of the day looking for a gasket to replace under the metal surround that holds the hanging glass doors for the shower as I have been dealing with that leaking now for years and have to calk it every year to keep it from molding and peeling off. 

I figure it is time to repair everything as it should be or replace it in the house as I am thinking of downsizing and have been working hard in the yard and house updating or fixing things as I go.

I am SO grateful that the flooding was contained to one room and that I was able to fix the problem myself and that I know how to fix those types of things and the biggest blessing was that I had the black glue and could do it in the middle of the night rather than having to wait until today to buy it and fix the problem. I did have to use a can opener to get the black glue open however as the top had sealed shut and I was damaging the can trying to get it open. 

Blessings all around as now it is all working well except the door. No one in town had the gasket, so I need to do some research online and find the right one that will seal the door without needing calking every year. It never looks good after a few weeks. 

Have a blessed day!