Shower Drain Shoe

[LooseShoe]

Hello:

A few months ago my shower drain shoe was loose since it was leaking into my downstairs neighbors condo. . A plumber came in and tightened my shower drain shoe and the problem was fixed. Several days ago, my neighbor called me and told me that my shower was leaking from her ceiling again. It is most likely my shower drain shoe that is loose. How does the shoe become loose and how can i fix the problem once and for all so that it does not become loose again and leak through my neighbors ceiling?

 

[breplum]

Bathtub waste and overflow have a "shoe". Showers do not have "shoes".
A diagnosis has to be made before anything.
Tub waste and overflows last many lifetimes under normal conditions.
Even then, the code requires that W&Os with slip joints, must have a permanent access panel.
It could just be putty and a new washer are needed. Easy for a plumber.
If it is a knowledgeable and reputable plumber, they will come back.

 

[Zanne]

To clarify, if it is just a shower it should have a P-trap below the drain. From the top of the P-trap there should be pipe going up to the shower drain. Under the tub there should be a metal or plastic ring, directly on top should be a fiber (looks cardboard) gasket, topped with a rubber gasket (fiber is to prevent the lower ring from rubbing/catching on the rubber one when tightening). On top of the tub you should have a shower drain that is placed over either silicone or plumber's putty. Inside the drain there is a ring that tightens with a key (although I was told it's easier to use two crossed screwdrivers). Some shower drains have a gasket that sits inside underneath that ring, but it depends. If it's not a caulk-free drain then sometimes they put silicone around the pipe inside.

Oatey makes a no-caulk shower drain that doesn't have the top gasket but has rubber inside it's lower part to seal around the pipe & a ring that tightens down from inside (from the top) and the ring that tightens down from the bottom (along with the aforementioned washers).

My uneducated pure guess is that either a gasket needs repair, a pipe is cracked, or they used an ABS or PVC drain that has cracked or is no longer sealing properly. A brass drain may prove to be more sturdy. Of course, it could be a problem with the P-trap.

If you have a shower with tub then the setup is completely different. You would have the tub shoe (unless you had a direct drain) which would then go to the overflow & have a P-trap below that. I still need to research more on how the tub shoes fit on as I've been focusing on how to install shower drains since that is my next project.