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After we install the shower pan liner membrane over the sloped subfloor, an inspection is required before we lay the mortar bed. We need to demonstrate that the system doesn’t leak, so we need to temporarily plug the drain holes (weep holes) in the clamping ring drain and fill it with water. How do we plug those holes?
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Insert a test plug or cap into the pipe below the drain. You can reach this through the drain with the grate removed. This will plug the drain and the weep holes.
*This is an inspection I've never heard of, where are you?
*Mike and Ryan,Thanks for the response. I got the notion that I might need an inspection from http://www.pascospecialty.com where I read about installing a shower pan liner. I also noticed just now when I re-read it that they said just what Mike said about plugging the hole. I thought I had to plug the little holes and just fill to the level of the grate. Here's an excerpt:"The test plug or nipple must be placed in the drain below the level of the weep holes. Fill the shower stall to the top of the dam for a period of time sufficient to establishwater tightness. Local codes require certain time limits for this test. Remove the test plug or nipple and the water will drain through the weep holes of the drain."My plumber said some counties and cities (Portland and Salem Oregon area) require this inspection before the mortar bed and some don't. But I forgot to ask him how I plug the hole. So, I called the inspector, and he said before the mortar. He said to just fill it up sometime before he's due to arrive and he'll check for leaking and proper slope. It's a good thing I read the Pasco info, because I was just going to set the liner and do the mortar all at once.So, Mike...this plug that I need...do I find one at Home Depot or at a plumbing supply store? Is it a special plug just for these types of tests? Is there a special name for it? Maybe my plumber has them; I'll ask.Thanks again.
*Rufus, you can get thin glue-in plastic plugs at HD, plumbing supply, etc. You just pry (break) them out when you're done. Also you can get rubber plugs that expand when you tighten a wing-nut.
*Thanks all of you. I think I'm set now.
*The top of the dam is the step where you enter the shower, i.e. the maximum water level it will hold if the drain is plugged. A test plug aka a dollar plug is a rubber plug sandwitched between two metal washers. It has a bolt run through it and a wing nut so that when you tighten it the plug gets smashed larger and tightens up in the pipe.
*... and HD has the wingnut/rubber ring devices as well.