Good Morning All, I changed the faucets in the bathroom sink and am contemplating the bathtub, what scares me is the drain replacement in the tub, if there is no way to reach it underneath, can it be changed? Is there a special tool ? Any advise ? thanks
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Why would you want to change the bathtub drain, is it leaking?
You can do it, but you have to pull the tub up.
Weellll, you don't HAVE to lift the tub, that is of course if you can cut out the cieling below. Anyway you look at it, its a PITA. That's why I asked if its leaking. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If she just wants to change the valve, then its a different story.
I guess we need a bit more info.If you didn't have time to do it right the first time, how come you've got time to do it over again?
Well, she said there's "no way to reach it from below".What exactly that means I don't know. More info would help, if the lady stops back in.
Those nicotine patches seem to work really well, but I heard it's kinda hard to keep em' lit.
She said " reach underneath"
So, maybe your right, I didn't get it that way.
Yeah, Susan, clear this up! Bosshog and I are argueing about,,,,,,,,,,NOTHIN'
Bye the bye, they do have special tools that you stick down the strainer to loosen the drain assembly. Works better than wedgeing in a big screw driver.If you didn't have time to do it right the first time, how come you've got time to do it over again?
She said, "if there's no way to reach it from underneath". So tha means it could be accessable, or not.My brain + his brawn = a perfect team
So, Bosshog and I are both right?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,OR NOT!
Now there's 3 of us fumbleing around in the dark.
What do you think, Ladyfire, lets tell Susan to rip out the tub and tile, change the drain and valve, put in a new tub, re-tile with some of that fancy new glass tile, and toss down a new floor while she's at it?
It's still gonna be a PITA to hook up the tub.
What was the question?
Oh brother, its Monday and I'm grumpy.If you didn't have time to do it right the first time, how come you've got time to do it over again?
Hey , nothing to fight about ! I live in Fort Myers Fl , and we don't have basements. Anyhow, its not leaking, but if i change the faucets to a different finish I'd like it all to match. And my hubby grumbled when I had him change the drain in the sink. I'm just wondering how in the world to take it apart. We have the ugliest white one in a black cultured marble tub, and I thought I'd ask you pros your advise on how to remove it without tearing walls apart.
You don't need to replace the drain, only the visible trim pieces. There is a tool to remove the drain trim. It fits over the "cross hairs" so you can twist it out. You can also use the handles of some channel locks, sorry, groove joint pliers. But if the existing trim is old and set in its ways you may very well tear up the cross hairs. Then you get into a mess of trying to cut a notch in the trim and using a cold chisel or screw driver beating/turning the trim out. Go to the plumbing dept and take a look at the repair parts to see what your dealing with. That will help a lot since you sure can't see under the tub through the slab.TFB (Bill)
You don't need to change any of the drain assembly to change the faucets, of course. And if you want to change the faceplate for the drain actuator lever, that's generally standard (more or less) and can be changed without replacing the parts under the tub.
SOMETIMES you might get away with replacing the ring around the drain hole without access to the plumbing below, but it requires a bit of luck. (Supposedly most such trim rings can be unscrewed from above with a special tool, but a good percentage of the time the "web" in the ring rips out and it gets messy.)
Don't assume that because your tub is on a slab, though, that you don't have access to the drain plumbing. It's fairly common for there to be a small pit in the slab, under the drain area of the tub. (Makes it easier to install the tub in the first place.) If you can access the back of the faucet/drain area (through a wall), you would be able to access this pit.
(And, worst case, you can probably paint the trim ring around the drain.)
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
thanks everybody for your insight into the problem, I've decided not to mess with the drain, its just that a new one came with the faucet so I thought I should give it a go. Glad I asked you !
Have a great evening,Thanks from Susan and her relieved husband Jeff