Crack P Trap on Upstairs Shower

Could that caulk also lead to the stress on the pipes that caused them to break and crack? Not allowing them to flex properly?

 

You can do it.
Just take your time.

Don’t get frustrated.
It’s difficult going behind someone’s shoddy work.

 

No.

 

I would get up there in a comfortable position and start slowly removing all of the surrounding caulk and Sheetrock and see what you have.

Maybe the caulk didn’t adhere well.

 

Yeah I think I'm going to start chipping away at that section next, luckily the shower only gets used when we have guests staying over so it's not mission critical, but I know it will bother me endlessly unless I fix it correctly so onwards it is

Also want to thank everyone again for the tips and pointers, definitely helped a ton and made me feel more confident on tackling this myself!!

 

Once you get past that mess theeeeeeennnnnn you should have a screw in connection.

But, after seeing, it may be put together with a rubber washer and play-doh.

 

Maybe the screw connection at the tub is also cracked from flexing
If he were to try and support the pan, could you shoot zero expanding foam from underneath to help support things

 

It could be.

I would brace with wood.

While it’s open add some 2xs

 

I'd hate to see how the rest of the plumbing in your house was done.

 

You’re over the garage, so fire block is required by code. The floor is either 3/4” or 1” subfloor, which provides a 1 hour rating but is compromised by the hole for the drain. So the plumber slapped a notched out scrap of 5/8 fire-x sheet rock in there and put some fire caulk on it. Not pretty (and arguably not a correct install), but good enough for the inspector to pass it. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if it was the insulator that did it because they are the ones usually sealing and firecaulking.

Remove that and you’ll have a clear view of the bottom of the tub drain.

Now, one shitty thing you may encounter with going after latent defect warranty claims is the fact you’ve now repaired some of it yourself without them inspecting it and without having a licensed plumber do the work. Did you get the original quote in writing? If so, hold onto it because that’s going to be important in trying to get a claim paid. It’s also good you are taking lots of pictures to post on here. And don’t throw out the broken parts. That broken trap is proof it wasn’t something that “just happened” - I’m sure there are signs of waste/soil in the cracked areas of the trap.

I’m still concerned with what caused the whole mess. As others have alluded to, flex (or lack thereof) is likely the culprit. If you’ve got a relatively long span on your floor joists, thinner sub-floor (but still per code/design), and a poorly seated tub, then you’ve got a potential soft spot cause localized flex/deflection at the drain end of the tub. In contrast, that abomination of fitting-to-fitting joints to connect to the drain main can’t flex because those fittings are essentially “bound” by all the heavily reinforced glue joints. Ultimately, that stress manifested in cracks in the weakest points - the short horizontal in the drain arm and the inside throat of the p-trap.

Some things to consider doing in the course of repair:
Expose more of the ceiling of the garage. Look for compromised joists that might be causing more flex when someone stands in the tub or fills it with water. You have to patch the spot you opened anyway, may as well open it up large enough to work and make a clean repair with a full sheet of sheet rock.

Fill the tub with water BEFORE you make your final joints up. In theory, this may pre-load the flex for the stressed condition. Or fill the tub with heavy objects to simulate the weight (might be easier and less messy).

Look for ways to add some horizontal blocking or even “plating” the joists to add some stiffness to the floor around that area. Boxing 3/4 plywood to both faces of the joists in a 4’ continuous run under the tub will stiffen the floor and help reduce flex. Blocking from one joist to another helps brace them from side buckling and also stiffens things up. Add any blocking or stiffeners with the tub not filled.

 

I am not a plumber but I understand some simple physics. It seems to me that the "support" pipes caused the problem. When weight from above is applied then the support pipes did not permit the pipes to flex. The support straps should be upwards not downwards.

 

Thanks, I hate it.

 

Upon further examination it seems that even the drain itself is leaking, I turned the water on a trickle and you can see the water running down the pipe, the white board starting to get wet and can even see older water stains on it...

 

Residential code does not require fire caulking, only draft stopping, you can use rock wool, spray foam etc. in the garage you do need to use any 5/8 drywall on all areas that attach to the living space of the home, taped and bedded. Fire caulking is only required on commercial builds. But you get an A+ for doing it....
Residential code requires any 5/8” but on commercial builds requires type X on walls and type C on ceiling.

 

That’s actually probably going to benefit you here. Like stated above it should be a threaded fitting. I’m thinking they have just a drain into a larger pipe and used plumbers putty or omitted the putty totally.
Here’s a short video on how to remove the drain and also where the plumbers putty goes. Once removed and you take off the sheet rock below , take some more pictures and collectively we can walk you through it. It’ll take some time but
You’ll save a crapload of money and you can put that towards a new set of kings with remote reservoirs.
https://youtu.be/UI4x9GU-h6E

 

Yes, I was being a little facetious.
I sold fire caulking for 18 years.

Also, I just noticed that spellcheck changed it to Usb as opposed to OSB.

Ha!

 

Yep.
Remove it all and do it correctly.
You’ll never have to question it.

 

Lololol.... now that’s funny.

 

Lol unlike a lot of other people, I could care less about the perfect grammar, I knew what you meant.. spell check is just as bad as most people’s spelling. All good we here to help fellow members not tear them down...

 

You can do this yourself, the hardest part is exposing it and patching the drywall.

Cut that out, take it to home depot or similar and buy what you need to rebuild it. It will take you about an hour. Grab a short stick of abs, a solid trap (not the kind with plastic nuts) and whatever bends are there. Easy job.

Flex on your tub is normal, it doesn't become enough flex in abs piping to cause harm. Those pipes don't likely need that kind of support, I have installed lots of p traps and never supported one like that. The main runs that they connect to are supported and the p trap hangs from the tub shoe, it doesn't carry enough weight in water to demand such structure.

An honest plumber would charge you in the ballpark of $350 and thats just for neck strain and bringing in a ladder.

 

I would expect 250 tops. Whoever quoted 2 grand deserves to have their license stripped.

 

I’ve seen fire caulk required on inspections here. New building and energy codes for single-family residential are getting more stringent. I would argue that in that installation pictured it wouldn’t have actually done anything, but it’s also not the sort of material I’d expect to see in a residential contractor’s van if he didn’t have to use it as opposed to $2/tube latex caulk and spray foam.

 

Dude take take a couple screws out. Hit all that Sheetrock with a hammer and break it out. It’ll take you 5 minutes max. You’re going to end up replacing everything from the shower pan down so just get in there and start removing your obstacles. Easy peasy cheesy.

Look at it this way. Whoever did that is an obvious idiot. You can’t do any worse. Have confidence in yourself!

 

There is so much truth in this...

 

codes change so much.
It’s crazy.

back in 2007 DAP was basically instructed to stop making their latex in “fire retardant red”.
Contractors were buying this stuff by the pallet and sticking it on commercial jobs.
It was the exact same color as the fire caulking.

 

Residential construction is stated 3 family homes or less, if it’s more than 3 family such as apartment complex or town homes, then it’s considered commercial construction. All codes across the u.s. come from the I.C.C international code council. Residential and commercial. If any municipal does inspections they come from these books.

 

No he should be flushed down a macerating toilet.

 

Indeed. I'm no plumber, but what I AM is

a) a guy who has had to do some self-repairs on other crappy jobs
b) a guy who has spoken to plumbers in the past

and even I know enough about plumbing to have yelled "WTF" several times during this thread. Whoever did that install needs to have FiberFix applied to his