plumbing help

**Levelwind** · #1 05-08-2008, 03:20 PM

I've got a broken shower drain line under the floor, Gonna suck it up and fix it. The break is apparently (according to my regular plumber who doesn't want the job) only about two feet outside the shower pan. From a little research, it seems as if it MIGHT be that that's about right for the pea trap. I'd like to break/dig it out myself, perhaps repair it myself or hire that out to a pro. This is on the first floor of a Stilt house (bayou vista).

Any idea how thick the concrete is going to be? Will it be reinforced? Will I need any special tooling (jackhammer, concrete saw) or will a nine pound hammer and a spud get'er done?

Anybody know of a good plumber who'd work with me on this kind of a deal, as in I supply the unskilled labor (son) and he helps supervise and repairs the plumbing?

OR would like to just check this thing out and give an estimate?

Any help is appreciated, tips, recommendations, etc. I'm fairly handy but since my heart attack I am pretty weak and can't do a whole lot.

Thanks

**Profish00** · #2 05-08-2008, 03:31 PM

First don't tackle all this at once. Go get a roto hammer and 2' 3/8 bit and drill close to the area of repair. That will tell you how thick the concrete is. Newer construction they place a bucket filled with dirt around the pipe so the concrete wont be so thick in case of repair.

**Levelwind** · #3 05-08-2008, 04:26 PM

Thanks Profish, anyone else?

**twwp** · #4 05-08-2008, 04:53 PM

how from the outside wall is the shower? If its a stilt house you shouldnt have any piers or beams to get thru. might be easier to tunnel if its not to far and that will avoid any damage to the bathroom. How old is the house? what kind of piping? Did they run a camera or is that as far as the cable would go? We run a small plumbing company in town and sometimes older houses have a drum trap instead of a p-trap and you cant get a cable thru it. send me a pm and maybe next week I can go and give you a second opening. Wouldnt cost you anything just hate to see you bust up floor for nothing.

**millertym_1978** · #5 05-08-2008, 05:05 PM

If the house is up on stilts do you think that all of your drain lines connect together and leave the house as one line. That is the way our bay house in Sargent is. I had a leak in my shower at the house which is on a foundation, I went to Home Depot and rented a Hilti with proper bits and chipped down through my foundation and fixed mine myself. With the right tools it will not be hard to get through the concrete.