# Basement Shower drain rough in question



## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

Hi,

I would like to start my basement bathroom project. The plumbing was roughed in and PEX water lines were put in place. I have decided to do a tiled shower and my first hurdle is understanding the shower drain pipe in this pic.









Here are my questions (feel free to link a way, I'm sure this has all been asked before)

1) Do I need to install a P-Trap? To my knowledge this pipe feeds into my sealed pit which the toilet will feed into as well. Seems like I would need one. 

2) The one example I found online showed this hole being filled with Slag Sand or Paver Base Aggregate Fill..is that cool?

3) Does the drain kit need to be supported by anything else but the backfill material? Meaning, can I install it right in the middle of this square or should it partly hang over the base floor?

Thanks in advance.

Jason


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## BIG Johnson (Apr 9, 2017)

dive_instructor said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would like to start my basement bathroom project. The plumbing was roughed in and PEX water lines were put in place. I have decided to do a tiled shower and my first hurdle is understanding the shower drain pipe in this pic.
> 
> ...



There might already be a trap. Dig out. The pipe sticking up might also be loose. As well as the trap. The correct way to rough in at construction is to leave a big hole like you have there and loose fit a trap and plugged standpipe because the a rough in plumber does t know the exact location you'll need it. 

Is that a 2" ID pipe?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Agree with BigJohnson, pipe must be 2" for a shower. I don't understand the OSB and the gravel. They just don't go together. Is there a subfloor over concrete?? The trap is already in the gravel. You can dig it out and find it.


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## BIG Johnson (Apr 9, 2017)

chandler48 said:


> Agree with BigJohnson, pipe must be 2" for a shower. I don't understand the OSB and the gravel. They just don't go together. Is there a subfloor over concrete?? The trap is already in the gravel. You can dig it out and find it.


It looks like some kind of dry floor product. There's something attached to the bottom. Probably 2x2 T&G panels. I might cut it away from where the tiled shower is going. Maybe it doesn't matter?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Ah, yeah, it could be a prebase for the shower itself. Prior to tarpaper and preslope.


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## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. That makes sense. I will check the pipe size tonight, but im pretty sure it's 2".

That is my basement subfloor and the shower will be built on top of it. I have watched a few videos and their seems to be plenty of examples of building a shower...should be fun.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

:vs_bananasplit::vs_mad::vs_smirk: "FUN" is a word.


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## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

2" pipe and P-trap. Pipe is not glued. 










You can see my home corrugated drain too in the pic.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Yep, that's how it should be. if you remove more gravel the trap will be more exposed and you can move it to where you want it for your shower drain location.


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## hkstroud (Mar 17, 2011)

Don't want to be the party pooper but it looks to me that you are set up for a tub, not a shower.


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## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

hkstroud said:


> Don't want to be the party pooper but it looks to me that you are set up for a tub, not a shower.


Hi, can you explain please...isnt a drain a drain?

Thanks


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

A drain IS a drain. The final positioning and gluing of the pipes and traps will set the location. You can always overlay a piece of OSB with a correctly positioned 2 1/2" hole to go over the pipe and offer support for the packed pan, assuming that is what he is doing.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

If the pipe is in the wrong place, rent borrow or steel a jack hammer and move it.


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## BIG Johnson (Apr 9, 2017)

dive_instructor said:


> Hi, can you explain please...isnt a drain a drain?
> 
> Thanks


As long as its 2" it's suitable for a shower.

Are you doing a fiberglass pan or making your own out of deck mud?


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## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

BIG Johnson said:


> dive_instructor said:
> 
> 
> > Hi, can you explain please...isnt a drain a drain?
> ...


Hi, the position of the drain is fine. I am tiling the whole shower...so if you have a great video or link that shows the right way to do it I will follow that. 

I saw a system from Schulter to waterproof the shower..pre-tile, but it will cost over $1k just for that. Looks neat, but I don't think I want to go that route. I think I'm more handy than that.


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## BIG Johnson (Apr 9, 2017)

dive_instructor said:


> Hi, the position of the drain is fine. I am tiling the whole shower...so if you have a great video or link that shows the right way to do it I will follow that. t.




I sure do. It's a lot of information.


http://floorelf.com/how-to-create-a-shower-floor-part-1



Some people prefer to use a linear drain when it's on the end instead of the middle.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Harry Dunbar with Ontario Tile had a boss method with pictures and word descriptions. He pulled it from the internet, so it isn't available as a link. I'm not sure how legal it would be and I have given full credit to him in the article, but I have it saved in Word format if someone could tell me how to make it available to you, I would.


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## dive_instructor (May 25, 2011)

chandler48 said:


> Harry Dunbar with Ontario Tile had a boss method with pictures and word descriptions. He pulled it from the internet, so it isn't available as a link. I'm not sure how legal it would be and I have given full credit to him in the article, but I have it saved in Word format if someone could tell me how to make it available to you, I would.


Thanks but I think I'm good now. The link Big J provided closely mirrors a home improvement book I have, so I'm pretty confident now. Thanks guys.


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