Ex-Calif
Well-known member
Hello, I'm a fairly handy DIYer, and I'm taking on my first "real" plumbing project - redoing our basement full bath. I've taken out the old fiberglass tub/shower surround, and am in the process of deciding if I'm going to replace it with another surround, or a tub with tiled walls. When I disconnected and took out the tub, I notice the drain assembly appears to be set in clumps of concrete, (see below pics) and the bottom drain portion does not appear to be level. I'm wondering what my options are. Should I try and fit a new tub to the existing assembly, or try and chisel out the concrete and see about replacing the assembly. I'm nervous about opening a can of worms as I really want to do as much of this as I can since my budget is limited and the plumbers around here are expensive. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
What is the original piping? PVC?
You can rent a small jackhammer. If the floor fitting were dodgy at all I would chisel back to "good" PVC and splice in a new section. Better to do it now then put all the work in and find out the shower drain leaks.
Also if it were me and time/money and appearance were of the essence I would definitely go with a full insert. Horizontal tile work isn't terribly difficult but vertical tile work is a few degrees harder. Not to mention a lot more time consuming.