How to remove shower trap

[very_pointy_ears]

Hi,

Firstly, apologies if this has been covered before - I've tried searching the forum but haven't found an answer.

Our shower trap has started to leak at the top under the shower tray. After examining it, I can see that this is because the person who installed it had positioned the shower tray so that the edge of the floor board was pushing against the nut that tightens the waste pipe onto it, thus forcing the trap to tilt slightly and strain its mounting. You can see in the pictures where this was because I used a small drill to remove the offending bit of floor board and now it looks a bit ragged there.

I figure the only way to fix this properly is to remove the trap (and possibly replace it). However, I'm not sure how it comes off.

What doesn't help is that the trap just happens to line up with a floor joist. There is only literally about 2mm clearance between the bottom of the trap and the joist. As you can see in the pictures, the bloke who fitted it cut an uncomfortably large notch out of the joist so that the trap could fit. I've only just noticed this today when I removed a section of living room ceiling to gain access. Fortunately this is fairly close to the end of the joist!

View from the top:

Underneath. You can see where I had to hack a bit of floor boarding away at the top of the picture:

Here you can clearly see where it's leaking and how this corresponds to where the bit of flooring would have been pushing the trap across:

While this is a complete pain, fortunately the living room, whose ceiling I had to hack into, is currently being prepared for plastering. Glad this didn't happen just AFTER the plastering!

 

[clf-gas]

Unscrew the center part in first pic, replace with new trap and a dose of silicon to ensure a good seal.

 

[swidders]

You undo the trap by unscrewing the whole of the chrome "plughole" from within the tray - use anything wide enough or a pair of grips to get hold of it.

 

[very_pointy_ears]

OK thanks guys. The only bits that I can get a purchase on are the 8 little prongs that sit in the hole, and they're plastic. Is there a special tool that makes this a bit easier? I can see these just breaking off without anything actually undoing!

 

[swidders]

OK thanks guys. The only bits that I can get a purchase on are the 8 little prongs that sit in the hole, and they're plastic. Is there a special tool that makes this a bit easier? I can see these just breaking off without anything actually undoing!

Nope - just use as wide a chisel or similar as possible so you exert most force where the progs are attached to the edge.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I can see these just breaking off without anything actually undoing

Welcome to the land of plumbers and carp fittings.

 

[seco services]

is that the joist i can see with the chuck notched out ?

 

[TicklyT]

To unscrew the waste, my weapon of choice would probably be a combination spanner. Shove the open end between the prongs in the 'plughole', and a hefty screwdriver through the ring end as a tommy bar.

is that the joist i can see with the chuck notched out ?

I dont think that is a joist, but maybe it was a joist before it was cut

 

[mogget]

To unscrew the waste, my weapon of choice would probably be a combination spanner. Shove the open end between the prongs in the 'plughole', and a hefty screwdriver through the ring end as a tommy bar.

Or a sturdy piece of wood with two carefully placed hefty screws in it.

 

[swidders]

To unscrew the waste, my weapon of choice would probably be a combination spanner. Shove the open end between the prongs in the 'plughole', and a hefty screwdriver through the ring end as a tommy bar.

Or a sturdy piece of wood with two carefully placed hefty screws in it.

Good idea - never thought of that!

 

[very_pointy_ears]

is that the joist i can see with the chuck notched out ?

Unfortunately, yes!

I didn't know he'd done this until earlier today. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if he'd have bolted another section of joist to this one (on the other side) to bring some of the strength back - the trap doesn't protrude on the other side. In fact, I may just do that anyway!

I was quite thankful that this excessively large notch is only about 600mm from the end of the joist, not in the middle! The joist is 12'6" long and fortunately doesn't take much weight.

 

[very_pointy_ears]

I can see these just breaking off without anything actually undoing

Welcome to the land of plumbers and carp fittings.

"carp" - is that an anagram?

 

[swidders]

Unfortunately, yes!

I didn't know he'd done this until earlier today. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if he'd have bolted another section of joist to this one (on the other side) to bring some of the strength back - the trap doesn't protrude on the other side. In fact, I may just do that anyway!

I was quite thankful that this excessively large notch is only about 600mm from the end of the joist, not in the middle! The joist is 12'6" long and fortunately doesn't take much weight.

If you are going to reinforce it, coach bolt through both existing remnant of joist and supporting beam would be best.

 

[Dan Robinson]

"carp" - is that an anagram?

No just a way of circumventing the website censor.

carp = c r a p.

 

[very_pointy_ears]

If you are going to reinforce it, coach bolt through both existing remnant of joist and supporting beam would be best.

I bolted some joists together a while back when I was sorting the floor out in a different room (the whole house was in a state and I've had to gut every single room). I don't know what the bolts were called but they had a 10 or 12mm thread and I put some thick (3mm?) washers on each end before I put the nuts on, and something spiky (that had a hole for the bolt to go through and would have been very uncomfortable to sit on) between the two joists and would have bit into the wood when the bolt was tightened. Is that a coach bolt? I put them at 600mm centres.

I thought maybe in this instance, maybe a bolt where the weakened part is and one either side about 500 - 600mm away from the weakened area would be good.