Oh, The Joys of Home Ownership (Tub Leak)

Status
Not open for further replies.
gathermewool

gathermewool

Site Donor 2023
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Messages
10,194
Location
New England
My wife called and emailed me at work yesterday, saying that there was a condo emergency, apologizing for some reason for a leaky ceiling on the first level of our towhouse. She was so worried about what she might have done to cause it, that it took a few minutes to calm her down and figure out that the tub was leaking and was dripping through to the ceiling in kitchen, which is directly below.

I couldn't get home, so we used a plumber recommended by our condo manager, who came over within an hour. He cut into the ceiling and immediately diagnosed the problem very confidently as the overflow line from the tub. He replaced the gasket and said that there were no other repairs needed.

One of the first checks I did was turn on the water in the shower and check for leaks. The leak was still there, right at the main drain fitting; it was where the first straight run of pipe threaded into drain elbow beneath the tub, not at the fitting itself. Come to find out, he didn't check for leaks at all before or after the work!
33.gif


I'm not the handiest man, and while I would have torn into this if it were shipboard (way back when) I'm less inclined to screw something up that would leave my wife without a shower for any period of time. As such, I've got really handy buddy coming over to help me out. I'm hoping that the fitting is threaded, because there are no indications of brazing...

I'll take more pics of what we do, but I figured I'd post this up to solicit any advice, and to maybe help someone in the future, if they're as green with plumbing as me and find themselves in a similar boat. On to the pics!





 
I don't see any trace of solder around the bath drain fitting to the copper pipe?

I do remember some of those fittings being threaded, perhaps the sealant dried out?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Copper drain pipes....omg.


Copper AND PVC!


My first thought when I came home was, "[censored] is this Frankenstein-looking setup!?"

Originally Posted By: expat
I don't see any trace of solder around the bath drain fitting to the copper pipe?

I do remember some of those fittings being threaded, perhaps the sealant dried out?


My buddy said that newer fittings are all threaded (I assume taper-threaded.) Does this mean that something like teflon tape wouldn't be needed, because the threads are the sealing surface? Or is there a thread compound that's used that might have vibrated apart or degraded?

I can see where the ceiling was repaired in this general vicinity. I guess that was when they fixed the last leak, replacing the first elbow, and the T, resulting in a mismatch of leftover parts. Maybe they used a section of PVC as a fill-in for the copper pipe that no longer fit? My novice brains thinks that when they did the job, it was only after forgetting the extra tubing, the pipe cutter or something, so they shoved PVC in instead!
crackmeup2.gif
 
Simple. Now that you have the ceiling opened up (however crudely), fix it, fix it right, and then close the ceiling.

On a side note, this might be the perfect excuse to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.
 
buy a new drain body, plumbers puddy and pipe dope. it unscrews from above. any hardware store should sell the tool to unscrew the drain.
 
At least it's the pipe and not the tub. In college I rented a mid 1980s house with some friends that had original cheapo fiberglass tubs. One of them had visible spider web cracks, but didn't leak at first. I came in one day and water was pouring down the light fixture in the dining room, and I could hear the shower going upstairs. The cracks had given way while my roommate was taking a shower. I used some silicone to "temporarily" seal the tub, then called the landlord. The landlord figured the silicone was good enough and never did anything about it. It leaked again a few months later, so I gooped more silicone on and it stayed that way until we moved out.
 
Originally Posted By: Plumber
buy a new drain body, plumbers puddy and pipe dope. it unscrews from above. any hardware store should sell the tool to unscrew the drain.


Thoughts on using needle nose vise grips?

I like the idea of using this as an excuse to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
On a side note, this might be the perfect excuse to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.


Haha, I made the same comment to my wife. To think, people used to do this on purpose!

Originally Posted By: Plumber
buy a new drain body, plumbers puddy and pipe dope. it unscrews from above. any hardware store should sell the tool to unscrew the drain.


I plan to do that, as well, but that's not what is leaking. The (what appears to be) threaded joint between elbow (which the drain body threads into, as well) and the pipe is where it's leaking. If I grab that section, I can see it wiggle around.

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
At least it's the pipe and not the tub. In college I rented a mid 1980s house with some friends that had original cheapo fiberglass tubs. One of them had visible spider web cracks, but didn't leak at first. I came in one day and water was pouring down the light fixture in the dining room, and I could hear the shower going upstairs. The cracks had given way while my roommate was taking a shower. I used some silicone to "temporarily" seal the tub, then called the landlord. The landlord figured the silicone was good enough and never did anything about it. It leaked again a few months later, so I gooped more silicone on and it stayed that way until we moved out.


Right, seeing how easy this might be, my main concern is whether to simply fix it or replace more while I'm in there.

I thought about using silicone as a temp solution, but the ceiling is already cut away, so our temporary solution is a bucket beneath the leak, since the leak-rate isn't too bad.

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Plumber
buy a new drain body, plumbers puddy and pipe dope. it unscrews from above. any hardware store should sell the tool to unscrew the drain.


Thoughts on using needle nose vise grips?

I like the idea of using this as an excuse to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.


I have a decent number of automotive tools and basic household tools (dremel, drill, wrenches, etc.,) but no pelican or pipe wrenches, and no plumbing paraphernalia. I'm going to buy a new drain body (and removal tool) and plumbing putty, and a new gasket for the drain body.

My buddy, who is way handier than I am, is going to come over with tools and hopefully help with what appears to be a simple fix. He'll also evaluate any other issue and potential courses of action.

RE: popcorn ceiling: I'll have to see how hard it is to remove, since it covers all of the ceilings in the condo, unfortunately. I only recall that it's not an easy task to remove. This is our home, but it's only a starter home that we don't plan on living in for more than 3-5 more years, so it really doesn't bother us.
 
Had mine done about three weeks ago.
Fortunately, since I have no ceiling in my basement, it merely leaked on the floor. Plumber PVC'd the whole thing.
Problem solved.
However, if I paid a plumber, I'd make him come back and fix it right.
 
Not much to the job. Fix it and be done, I'd do the whole drain and trap to some good point where the pipe is clean to couple to.

But I think the ceiling repair will be the touchiest item. Why would he open it up like that?!? Should have found joists and cut the Sheetrock around there, either at the halfway mark, or the edge (so you could install blocking and screw a repair into that).

I wouldn't call that plumber back...
 
If you can't unscrew the drain from inside the bath with your needle nosed pliers, you could otherwise cut the neck of the drain from the inside with your dremel.

I would replace the whole drain and trap with PVC or ABS (no special tools required) couple to the cleaned copper pipe with a rubber sleeve union.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool

I couldn't get home, so we used a plumber recommended by our condo manager, who came over within an hour. He cut into the ceiling and immediately diagnosed the problem very confidently as the overflow line from the tub. He replaced the gasket and said that there were no other repairs needed.

One of the first checks I did was turn on the water in the shower and check for leaks. The leak was still there, right at the main drain fitting; it was where the first straight run of pipe threaded into drain elbow beneath the tub, not at the fitting itself. Come to find out, he didn't check for leaks at all before or after the work!
33.gif



Condo manager getting kickbacks from that [censored] hack that calls himself a plumber? I'd let the "condo manager" know about the shoddy workmanship of his friend. LOL
 
The drain body screws into the shoe. Replace them both. Put pipe dope on the threads of the shoe when you tighten it.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Simple. Now that you have the ceiling opened up (however crudely), fix it, fix it right, and then close the ceiling.

On a side note, this might be the perfect excuse to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.


+10
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Jdeere562
Sweet Revenge
2 3
Replies
42
Views
2K
JimPghPA
pezzy84
Selling the condo - oh the joys.
Replies
11
Views
944
pezzy84
paulo57509
Game Warden - Checking out the neighbor's home
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
oilcandave
Zee09
The Check That Bounced
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
Leo99
Brons2
School me on foreign property ownership, from a USA perspective
Replies
13
Views
1K
cptbarkey
Back
Top