# re-routing shower drain PAIN!



## ericosuave (Dec 23, 2009)

Hey guys, im stuck at this point trying to reroute this drain to the middle. As you can see ive already dug out a trench as much as i could, but up towards the current drain the concrete is SOOO thick i cant make it down towards the dirt... i used a hammer drill to drill into the concrete an extra foot at least and it still didnt hit dirt.

What can I do? i need to dig out around that current drain so i can cut it and put a new fitting on it as well as replace it because it is cracked on the side.

the trench is only about 6 to 7 inches deep..


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## GregC (Jan 17, 2010)

Hello, WOW... I feel your pain. In 30 yrs of plumbing and construction I have never seen so much concrete around a drain before. Its usually the contractor skimps on the concrete. This guy must of had a lot of cash or owned the concrete plant to pour his much crete! However, how about renting a bigger electric jack hammer, 40-80#? This will bust things up a bit faster. There is no faster way to bust concrete   Make sure once you bust it all out, be sure not to puncture any pipes below...then you will be busting more crete. After you relocate you plumbing as needed all you need to do is build a box 12"x12" around the vertical pipe and pour new crete to it. backfill rest with good dirt or sand. I have seen alot of basement bath rough ins and the idiot contractors pour concrete tight against the pipe. Goes to show you no one thinks ahead or into the future. I feel fo you...get a BIG  Jack Hammer, call a few friends over for a busting up party...make the best of a bad situation. I also see you have ABS pipe, be careful this tends to be a bit more brittle once exposed to concretes chemicals. Good luck! GregC


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## GregC (Jan 17, 2010)

Hello again, another question? How far do you need to relocate vertical pipe? A few inches OR more? Is the crack in the current pipe down inside below all that concrete? If not, can you cut the pipe just above the concrete, offset the vertical pipe using 2-90's or 2-45's to get you to where you need/ If you are installing a new shower pan, all you need is a stand pipe coming straight up into the pan because you will have a shower strainer that uses a push gasket to see around the pipe inside the strainer. Is this what you have going on? See attached drawing..hope this makes sense. GregC


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