Shower drain pipe

[mattheiman]

I am installing a shower kit in the basement of my house. We had asked the builder to rough-in plumbing for the basement bathroom. The vanity sink drain and toilet are fine but I'm a little confused by the shower drain. I have a 3 inch (ID) pvc pipe that is encased in the concrete floor and is cut flush with the floor. Most shower rough-ins I've seen are 2 inch drain (OD) pipes with some gap between the pipe and the concrete floor for a little wiggle room. How do I transition from what I have to what I need? I am hoping that I will not need to remove any concrete around the rough-in that I have. If it helps, I am installing a Delta 400 Classic shower base. Thank you.

[A. Spruce]

Can you attach a picture?

Is it possible that the 3" pipe is simply a form for the concrete and a 2" pipe lives somewhere inside? Shine a light down the 3" pipe, you may find a P-trap without a vertical piece for the shower to connect to

[mattheiman]

I checked the pipe and it doesn't look like the 3 inch pipe is acting as a concrete form. I'll attach some photos. Thanks.

[A. Spruce]

Interesting, I've not run into this before. In my day, a 2" pipe was roughed in, the shower pan set over it, then a rubber donut was pushed in around the pipe and pan to create the seal. Maybe Shannon has seen this and can offer something.

[A. Spruce]

I just did a quick 3" drain google and came up with nothing, so I'm betting that the installer either F'd up or thought you wanted a floor drain instead of a shower drain.

[emtnut]

I agree with Spruce that it was installed as a floor drain.

You could use a 3" to 2" adapter.
Curious to see what Shannon will say.

[mattheiman]

Thank you for everyones feedback. I agree that it looks as though it was installed as a floor drain. I just hope that it is tied to the correct drain system and that with the reducer idea, I can still manage to use it for my shower. Thanks again.

[emtnut]

Thank you for everyones feedback. I agree that it looks as though it was installed as a floor drain. I just hope that it is tied to the correct drain system and that with the reducer idea, I can still manage to use it for my shower. Thanks again.

Good point about the shower drain.
Now that I think about it, it may be unwise to use it if it was intended as the drain for your basement (in case of water pipe leaking of flooding)

Not sure why Shannon wasn't on here yesterday, he's ALWAYS here ... hang on, he'll be back soon !

[Shannon]

I have never seen a 3" used for a shower. I have never seen a 2" shower drain that fits inside a 2" pipe either so Im not sure if the reducer will even work? Can the plumber and see what he intended for that location, maybe he had a plan but never passed it on to you?
Only other option I see is chipping out around it a little so you can cut it off lower and install the reducer and a short piece of pipe.You would have to get down about 3" to do this and you only need enough space around it to get the reducer in. Heck you may be able to just cut the pipe from inside to height and split it and peal it out of the concrete ,then slide the reducer in?
I'd start with calling the plumber first though.

[mattheiman]

Thank you for the reply. I checked with the builder this morning and the intention was to only rough-in a half bath so this truly was designed to be a floor drain. The things you discover when you look back at the original contract. Now I'm looking at the feasibility of converting a floor drain to a shower drain.

[A. Spruce]

The things you discover when you look back at the original contract.

Unfortunately, this is a very common occurrence, and why it is imperative to go through contracts and scope of work very carefully. I think that most of these are miscommunications, as opposed to shady building practices.

[Shannon]

I would say you could use it as a shower drain. A floor drain should still have a P trap and by the look of it that does because you can see water down there.
What do you other guys think? Should still work?

[A. Spruce]

My concern is that the floor drain is not connected to the sewer, which would mean gray water being put into wherever the drainage system goes.

In these parts, floor drains are not allowed direct connection to the sewer due to backup hazards, so, ask the plumber where the floor drain terminates and whether it is legal to connect a shower to a floor drain. If the answer is no, then you'll have to demo the bathroom floor and connect the shower into the sink/toilet waste line.

[Shannon]

My concern is that the floor drain is not connected to the sewer, which would mean gray water being put into wherever the drainage system goes.

In these parts, floor drains are not allowed direct connection to the sewer due to backup hazards, so, ask the plumber where the floor drain terminates and whether it is legal to connect a shower to a floor drain. If the answer is no, then you'll have to demo the bathroom floor and connect the shower into the sink/toilet waste line.

Interesting I have never heard of that. So what are your floor drains connected to? Storm drain lines? So your homes would have a storm drain, sewer drain and water supply pipe all coming in?

[A. Spruce]

You know, I'm not sure. We don't have basements in this area, at least they're not commonly. I have heard from other contractors that it isn't legal, but not directly from a plumber. I'll have to ask my plumber the next time I see him.

Being in a parched area with fresh water increasingly hard to come by, I know that steps are being taken to lower the amount of fresh water usage. One of those methods is gray water plumbing for yard irrigation. Not sure how they accomplish this, either gray water is collected on site for yard use or there's two sewer connections, one for waste, one for gray water. Another question for the plumber, I suppose.