Bathroom Remodel - Drain Questions

[sclark]

Success!!!! Was finally able to get to lowes. Picked up a torch + tank combo for about $50, took about 10 Minutes of heating and wiggling.

So 3 drill bits later (doh!) and countless hours, the torch worked the best. Thanks for all the advice and tips.

Just to confirm, I'll need a Fernco or other brand Donut to connect the Cast Iron to new PVC. I measured the opening of the Cast Iron and it is 3". So I need a donut that is 3" for the hub and 2" for the pvc.

So some final questions regarding the drain.
1) Once I get the PVC drain + ptrap built up, How far above / below the floor should I be aiming?
2) Do I need to add any sealant, glue, lube or anything of the sort to connect the donut to the hub or to the pvc?
3) Assuming I need to clean out the hub pretty thoroughly of remaining lead to make sure I have a snug fit.
4) After I have the ptrap and riser in. Assuming I fill the hole back in, getting enough dirt under the trap to support it, pack in the dirt pretty tightly. Also assuming before I build the shower pan, I'll need to concrete over the "pit" to lock everything place and seal up the hole in the floor.

Thanks again for all the help.

[Houston Remodeler]

If you are still doing a kerdi shower;

1- Make the riser way too long. Its easy to cut it off later.

2- soap. its a friction fit and may prove to be a real PITA

3- Yep, see #2

4- Fill slowly and pack often. stop 2 or 3" short of the top of the concrete, then use drypack to fill the rest in. You want it removable for the next time you remodel.

[sclark]

Thanks Paul,

1- Awesome
2 - Regular old Dawn dish soap for lube? (Jeez this stuff does just about anything doesn't it)

4-Not sure what drypack is, is that a type of concrete? Do I need to leave some "wiggle" room around the drain in case my measurements are slightly off or just pack everything in tightly around the drain pipes?

[sclark]

Thought i'd provide an update.

Wife and I talked at length about which way to go with various design decisions. We ultimately decided to back to our original plan of doing a Kerdi Shower Kit (Pan + Offset Drain) to make it a bit easier since this is our first major DIY project.

So we ordered the Kit, it came in today and I put it down just to dry fit things so I know where the drain is gonna fall at so i can get proper measurements. The drain on the Kerdi shower is obviously in a slightly different location than our bathtub drain. So it will fall about about an inch over our concrete slab. I really don't want to have to cut the floor for this, so was curious if I could knock an inch off the front of the pan and use deck mud to make up the difference at the other end (effectively moving the drain forward an inch).

Any gotcha's about doing this?

[Houston Remodeler]

Yes you can do that. The perimeter of the pan will no longer be perfectly level though, if that matters to you. If you put a bench at that end, covering the gap = no harm no foul

[sclark]

Thanks, We've got it worked out how we're going to do that part, so started hanging the drywall, but ran into a problem trying to remove the PTrap for the sink. It's another cast iron pipe that goes into the stack, but looks like it has a Galvanized Nipple. I can't get the nipple off! I'm using a pipe wrench making sure it's snug but this sucker will not budge. I've even hit the pipe with a good heavy hammer but no luck.

So I'm thinking about just renting a pipe cutter (if I can find one), cutting the cast iron pipe in between the studs and hooking it back up to a new pvc drain using a fernco connector.

I tried to heat it up a bit thinking it might need to some heat to loosen up but that didn't work either. Is there a different way i can get this off or should I just resort to replacement?

[Houston Remodeler]

You can do that

or

Take a sawzall and cut the stuck pipe by sawing across the threads. Just be careful not to damage the threads of the CI. Cut almost all the way through the steel pipe. Cut at 5 and 7 O'clock. Break out the small piece, then fold over the large piece to get it out.

Use a wire brush to clean the threads on the CI.

OR

Add a fernco to the steel pipe and work out from there with plastic

[sclark]

Another update, finally had the free time to work on the drain. Lined it up with the drain opening in the schluter pan. I left the top obscenely long in order to help line things up.

I'm thinking I need to cut it before I put the dry pack mortar in? I wasn't sure exactly how far to cut it down though. I put the shower pan down, installed the kerdi drain on top of the pipe (so it stuck way up), and measured from the lip of the kerdi drain down to the pan. Does that sound about the right way to do it?

Here are some pics of the work so far.

[sclark]

actually, I think i found the answer to my own question..

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/...ad.php?t=28637

[cx]

That's just where we woulda sent you, Sean.

[sclark]

Was away on travel for work this week so didn't get to do much in the bathroom. My goal for this weekend was to remove the existing toilet flange since it sits level on the concrete slab, but ran into a surprise with it and not sure how to proceed.

The "flange" appears to be a single pipe? Am I just crazy or does that really happen? I can't see any joints at all. I've scraped away the wax ring and found the interior of it is just a rubber gasket? (See Pics).

So Am I just imagining this and there IS a way to remove this top portion to replace with a PVC one? The main reason I wanted to replace it is the floor will end up being level with the flange instead of underneath it.

2nd Question, If I do still end up replacing it, how do I secure the new flange to the floor? Since it's a concrete slab do I need to buy a concrete drill bit and make some holes for the screws? Any recommendation on screws? Obviously don't secure new one until tile is in place.

edit: I found the lead seal.... I'm guessing that rubber gasket thing was part of the wax seal.

[sclark]

Got it out! Yay!

So, now that I see underneath it, there's no concrete directly around the drain, so not sure how i support the new drain in order to screw it into the floor. Should I just get some patcher or Dry Pack Mud to pack around it and fill in that gap?

Got the new flange here. Wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but was the closest thing they had.

[sclark]

Project Update.

Had more time to work on the bathroom. Swept up all the debris, vacummed up all the dust and wiped all the surfaces of the bathroom down.

Installed the Schluter Shower Tray and Curb and installed the kerdi drain. Laid out the Heated Floor mat ran wires up to the box (luckily the other side of the wall is still open), got all the floor tiles cut and ready to install.

So now for questions.

1) We also got a Schluter Triangle Bench that we're going to put on the far wall. Obviously want this to go up before Kerdi does. Do I have to wait a day for the thinset of the bench to dry before installing kerdi over top of it?

2) How far outside of the shower should kerdi come on the wall? over curb and on floor ?

3) I have a Tile-Redi 16x20 Niche, assuming I just kerdi onto the flange of the niche to cover the gap between flange and drywall.

4) Assuming I don't need to putty the seams between the drywall or the screws since they'll be filled in with thinset?

5) When cutting out the hole for the shower head, my dyslexia apparently kicked in and i reversed the numbers so the hole ended up about an inch in the wrong place (doh!). I've got the hole in the correct place now, but how do I fix this? Just fill it with thinset? Putty it first?

Thanks again for all the help =D

[cx]

Sean, appears you got overlooked here. Sorry about that. When that happens, feel free to make another post to bump your thread to the top of the queue for attention.

Are any of these questions still relevant, or have you proceeded beyond them?

[sclark]

Thanks CX, I've actually proceeded beyond them.

Went ahead and installed the bench before putting the kerdi up. I left the Kerdi full width on the shower walls, so it goes about 6" beyond the curb. Some pictures I saw had kerdi going beyond the curb, some stopped at the curb, so i err'd on the side of caution.

For the tile redi-niche, i roughed up the flange with some sandpaper before putting the kerdi up, and kerdi'd right up to the edge of the niche covering the flange.

For the curb, I took the kerdi right up to the floor, but didn't go "onto" the floor.

For the extra hole for the shower. since it was just a 1" (ish) hole meant for the shower head arm. I put some seam tape over it and just mortered right over it. I don't anticipate this would be a problem since it's basically embedded in thinset; but then again, I'm an amateur.

Since last update, I've gotten the tile floor installed with heated floor elements underneath. Got the new toilet flange installed and toilet installed. New Door shimmed out and installed. Planning on starting tile work this weekend.

I've seen a few places where people attach a 1x2 to the wall as the "first row" of tiles. I was curious though is that OK do do? Actually screw a hole through the kerdi to attach it? I wanted my grout line to be even with the shower bench