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“Low clearance” shower pan?

PaulBinCT | Posted in General Discussion on July 6, 2004 05:48am

Hello gang…

As I mentioned earlier, I’m in the middle of laying out a bathroom that has no room for plumbing in the floor.  Found a suitable horizontal drain toilet and figured out the sink plumbing, but I’m stumped on a shower solution.  Anyone know of a shower pan that slopes and exits to the rear vs the center, ideally with a corner configuration?

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  1. Scooter1 | Jul 06, 2004 06:41pm | #1

    The pan is not the issue. The issue is a plumbing one. A custom pan can be fit onto any 2 part shower drain.

    Every shower drain I have ever seen is a floor mounted model. Traps are Code here, so I think you'll need at least 6 inches below final elevation. Maybe others have some ideas, however.

    Regards,

    Boris

    "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

    1. User avater
      PaulBinCT | Jul 06, 2004 06:46pm | #2

      Quite right Boris, I was just "oversimplifying" I suppose, but I'm trying to avoid a custom pan... I guess you all get the idea anyhow ;)

  2. Sasquatch | Jul 06, 2004 08:21pm | #3

    You could raise the shower off of the floor enought to enable installation of a trap.  When we live in Korea in a concrete apartment, all the wiring was surface-mounted and the bathtub was built a foot above the floor.  It was different; but it worked.

    Les Barrett Quality Construction
    1. User avater
      PaulBinCT | Jul 06, 2004 08:32pm | #4

      I'm sorry Les, I wasn't specific enough.  In addition to not having any clearance in the floor there's no extra headroom.  I guess I'm thinking along the lines of extending an arm off of the drain and having the trap mounted on the far side of the wall if i can find a shower pan that has a drain mounted to the rear ...

      1. CombatRescue | Jul 06, 2004 11:05pm | #5

        That's a tough one.  I think the only people who would make something like that, besides a custom fabricator, are some of the barrier-free "home improvement" companies.  You might try some of those.

        I'd check with your building inspector to make sure you can even run the drain this way.

      2. Scooter1 | Jul 06, 2004 11:49pm | #6

        Paul you have me curious. What kind of structure is this? What State and City are you in? Is this upstairs or downstairs? Why such a lack of headroom? What is below the shower?Regards,

        Boris

        "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

        1. User avater
          PaulBinCT | Jul 07, 2004 12:12am | #7

          OK, this is in a summer cottage on the Connecticut shoreline.  They want a very small bathroom added to the guest bedroom where there is currently a closet.  It is an old place, and although updated certainly not up to code for this application.  The floor is above a porch, and the room includes the peak of the roof on the gable end of the house.  Framing is 2x4's (which of course I will increase).  It's a very wierd layout and there's going to have to be some creative thinking involved.  I'm going to meet with them again tomorrow and make sure they understand some of the limitations that are going to be involved.

          1. DanH | Jul 07, 2004 12:14am | #8

            Can you add a fake beam to the porch ceiling to hide some of the plumbing?

          2. Scooter1 | Jul 07, 2004 12:23am | #10

            If this were my project, I would get a plumbing sub involved in "design build" I would certainly want to talk to Building and Saftey before embarking on much of anything in the way of plans.

            I can tell you that most old homes have plumbing lines going outside the exterior walls and under the roofs and all sorts of other places. One paints them the same color as the house and calls it a day. So I like the idea of just doing a conventional P Trap and dirty arm to a vent (where is the vent going by the way?) and boxing the stuff in from below.

            A prefab marine shower may or may not be suited for residential use, but I'd look into this.

            Whatever you do, get B&S to sign off on it, or you'll buy a lawsuit down the road.

            Regards,

            Boris

            "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

          3. DANL | Jul 07, 2004 12:19am | #9

            Hate to say it, it, but you may have to do a tub on a platform--hand held shower--one of those Japanese style sitting tubs (called "Furo"?).

          4. User avater
            PaulBinCT | Jul 07, 2004 12:25am | #11

            Well, what the HO proposed that I think is the only viable method is to run the plumbing through the exterior wall and down (remember this place is winterized every year, actually the town turns off the water in the Fall).  And then box in and shingle the whole shebang to match the house.  I'm planning to put in a soffit sort of arrangement in the back corner to conceal the piping where it comes together, I'd just love to come up with a solution to the shower drain that doesn't require the trap protruding through the porch ceiling (I suspect they would too ;) )

          5. brownbagg | Jul 07, 2004 04:27am | #12

            just me thinking out load.

            (1) If the drain does not go to septic tank but a grey water disposal a p trap would not be needed ( P trap for sewer gas)

            (2) install the p trap in the wall. Have a hortizontal pipe from drain to wall into ptrap then down.

            (3) make a custom pan slope to rear then install p trap in wall

            (4) Do it normal but build a box/ channel hiding plumbing from bottom.

            (5) remember shower drains are only 2 inch lines. you could hide a 90 then 2 inch line in the dept of 2x4, instead of shower drain use floor drain.

            I have no answer just thinking out loud

          6. User avater
            PaulBinCT | Jul 07, 2004 03:08pm | #13

            Well, it empties into a cesspool, so I imagine gas would still be an issue.  I'm chewing on this and trying to come up with some brilliant idea (uh oh Homer...) ;)

          7. DanH | Jul 08, 2004 03:04am | #14

            Put a dummy light fixture over the trap.

          8. caseyr | Jul 08, 2004 06:28am | #15

            If nothing else works, you might have them revert to the "Sig Ep shower" of my college days - otherwise known as a quick application of a stick deoderant...

          9. User avater
            PaulBinCT | Jul 08, 2004 02:38pm | #16

            Not sure they'll go for it Dan (this is in a million dollar easily "cottage" with the nicest view I've ever seen) but damn clever idea ;) Thank you!

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