Shower drain clearance

[AJay]

Greetings. I tried searching for the answer to my question but could not find anything.

I'm in process of a complete bathroom remodel having already ripped out old shower, tile, concrete, etc and am down to subfloor with some removed. There was a closet in this bathroom that is now gone to allow installation of tub in addition to new shower, sinks and toilet.

Unfortunately floor joists are spaced in such a way to make drain installation bothersome for location where we want shower. The shower will be oriented with long side parallel to joists. Cast iron shower base we purchased (36x60) will probably be returned as we didn't realize it was cast iron when ordered online ( didn't place the order! ) and are not we can even get it up to the bathroom.

Given that the floor joist is 15 inches from the wall and would most likely be close to any shower drain (which is determined by size of shower base) just how much clearance is needed between the drain and the floor joist. It is my understanding that the drain is installed prior to installation of shower base.

We would actually like to get a shower base that can be tiled and I am seriously considering just going the route with mortar/concrete base, etc... partly because it gives us a lot more freedom with regard to drain placement.

But I would still like to know just how close I dare put that drain with respect to the floor joist.

Thanks.

AJ

 

[LiQuId]

As long as it sits flush and you dont notch the joist then you are good to go. You can butt the drain against the joist if you want... DO not notch the floor joist though.

 

[lordofthepipes]

You can also box out the area of the floor joist to make room for the drain. just cut out the joist in the way (about 14 in) and then header it to the joist right and left of your cut.

 

[AJay]

Thanks very much for the responses.

Boxing out the area certainly makes things a lot easier and makes a lot of sense.

Right next to the shower we'll be installing a 6 ft x 36 inch deep soak tub. This part of the floor actually juts out a bit from the ground floor below it and as the joists were not long enough, there is a extra piece butted up to each one that extends another 4 feet or so. We were worried that a full tub might be too heavy, but considering the old shower was there I doubt it will be a problem. House is 42 years old, so shower walls consisted of concrete spread on wire mess with tiles. The debris was very heavy and there is a brick wall below.

Thanks again.

 

[LiQuId]

water = 62.4 lbs per cubic foot ( 28.34 liters is 1 cubic foot )