# Relocate shower drain in concrete



## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

you will have to break the concrete, dig and move. lots of work. been there, done that.


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

D'oh, wrong answer.  Any tips, tricks ya wanna pass on?

-JS


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

the only way around is if you want to have the shower on an elevated platform. sorry.

breaking the concrete is not so hard, the digging will be harder. to break, use either a grinder or a circular saw with a diamond blade to frame out the perimeter you want to cut and then do some grid cutting inside as well - the smaller the cut pieces, the easier will be to break. if the area is small enough, a sledge hammer will do. you really want to have a checkered flag cut maybe 2x2 ft grid before you start pounding.


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Thankx for the replies. I was thinking about running a pipe from the tub drain to the floor drain. I'm guessing a few inches should do the trick.

-JS


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

You can't run the shower to the floor drain's pipe. The pipe size on the floor drain will be too small to drain the shower, and you'll probably never get it to vent/drain correctly either. 

Don't be intimidated by busting out a little concrete. This isn't difficult, and is definately something that a DIYer can tackle. Just rent a tool to cut or break the concrete and you're good to go.


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Ok, ya'll talked me into it. I'm guessing break up everything around the old drain location to the new drain location. run pipe from old to new, then concrete back over it.

-JS


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## mstplumber (May 3, 2008)

You can rent an electric jackhammer and it will be done in no time and you get to use a jackhammer. And after all, who doesn't need a little jackhammer time every now and then?


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

mstplumber said:


> after all, who doesn't need a little jackhammer time every now and then?


sounds cute but i would have gladly passed the last time i had one rented. the old concrete i was breaking in my basement was, in some spots, 8-10 inches thick. we're talking about pounding a single spot for like 5 min non-stop.

i am sure the entire neighborhood could hear me two blocks in each direction. if an emergency after-hour building inspection did not show up then, they probably never will.


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Thankx again for the support. This is from another post I have. I am installing a steam/shower/bath "kit". It is mentioned that these come with a flexible drain hose. Why not run drain hose to the floor drain?

-JS


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

devouru said:


> Thankx again for the support. This is from another post I have. I am installing a steam/shower/bath "kit". It is mentioned that these come with a flexible drain hose. Why not run drain hose to the floor drain?
> 
> -JS


Really? A flexible drain? Does it have a trap? 

Any chance you have a web link to the manufacturer's site? I'm curious!


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Attached is a pic I found, but not my setup. Also below is a text clip.

"Almost every steam shower today comes with both flexible water lines and a flexible drain hose, as long as the water lines are on the wall where the steam shower is being installed and the drain is underneath the base the shower can be installed without any modification to your plumbing."

-JS


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Here's my steam/shower I'm installing. The floor drain is about 12" to the left of center.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

That thing looks like it came of the Star Trek Enterprise!

It is a shower, so it must have a trap. I would love to see the installation instructions for this thing.


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## devouru (Jun 23, 2008)

Beam the soap Scotty! The manual is poorly translated. I comes with a video instead. It has a 1.5" drain pipe on it, so I should be able to run flex pipe to the drain. It also will need to be slid into place after it is assembled.

-JS


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## RetiredRon (Feb 26, 2009)

I'm new to your website and I hope someone can explain something for me. I also have a shower drain location problem like devouru's. When I explained how I wanted to use elbows to move the drain position, the local building official said it sounded o.k. However, the unequivocal advice on this website (and others, for the most part), is to relocate the p-trap.

My question is this: As far as the water flow is concerned, how is the "two-elbow" approach different from a regular bathtub "shoe"? Both have two 90 degree turns.

See sketch attached.

Also note that the original rough-in for this future basement bathroom was inspected and approved back in 2004. The IRC governs here in north Georgia.

Thanks for the help.


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## skisouth (Oct 3, 2015)

One problem would be that you have 4 - 90 ells in your line. You would not be able to "snake" out that line. Water would flow, but you could not clean it out if it was stopped up without busting it out. You would think you could do it, but ask any electrician who pulls wire about 4 consecutive "ells".

I know this to be a fact (I've tried it ) on electrical, not sure about plumbing but the condition is there - you are essentially pushing your snake in a circle- which you can't do.


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