therisinghippo
New Member
So, I'm a new home owner - never owned my own home before. On top of that, I've never had plumbing issues whether at my parents house or in rental spaces I've lived previously. I closed on this home in May of this year and wasn't able to move (about 1,000 miles) until Mid July.
I was contemplating trying to ask for advice here on my own, but I ended up calling a plumber yesterday.
In my basement 3/4 bathroom is a relatively new shower. Home was built in the 60s, I believe the "flipper" who sold me the home renovated the shower sometime in 2016. Long story short, instead of permitting and properly plumbing the shower downstairs, he simply used an old utility floor drain as a shower drain and built a pan on top of it - tiled and everything.
When we moved in after closing, I began to notice the sewer smell associated with a bad P-trap. I pulled the drain cover to see if it was wet - and it was - but there was something off. The PVC flange of the shower drain opened up into about a 2-3 inch gap where you could see cast iron... I knew it was going to be a headache.
The plumber said the cast iron p-trap is an old utility room floor drain with a trap bypass (for cleaning) underneath my tile somewhere... which has likely rotted or fallen out, and the sewer gas is bypassing the trap. Plumber said It's a full demo - have to dig up shower and floor tile to plug hole and replumb as well as vent to code (the shower was obviously not permitted). The quote was around $4,500 for just the plumbing - that doesn't include the retile.
At this point, I'm attempting to contact the seller (who is a real estate agent) to pursue some options. My inspector also missed this... even the lack of venting. Frustrating, for sure.
Thanks for reading. Any advice or WTF is welcome!
I was contemplating trying to ask for advice here on my own, but I ended up calling a plumber yesterday.
In my basement 3/4 bathroom is a relatively new shower. Home was built in the 60s, I believe the "flipper" who sold me the home renovated the shower sometime in 2016. Long story short, instead of permitting and properly plumbing the shower downstairs, he simply used an old utility floor drain as a shower drain and built a pan on top of it - tiled and everything.
When we moved in after closing, I began to notice the sewer smell associated with a bad P-trap. I pulled the drain cover to see if it was wet - and it was - but there was something off. The PVC flange of the shower drain opened up into about a 2-3 inch gap where you could see cast iron... I knew it was going to be a headache.
The plumber said the cast iron p-trap is an old utility room floor drain with a trap bypass (for cleaning) underneath my tile somewhere... which has likely rotted or fallen out, and the sewer gas is bypassing the trap. Plumber said It's a full demo - have to dig up shower and floor tile to plug hole and replumb as well as vent to code (the shower was obviously not permitted). The quote was around $4,500 for just the plumbing - that doesn't include the retile.
At this point, I'm attempting to contact the seller (who is a real estate agent) to pursue some options. My inspector also missed this... even the lack of venting. Frustrating, for sure.
Thanks for reading. Any advice or WTF is welcome!
