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After recently moving into a home (built in the mid 90's and apparently went through a remodel at some point), the guest bathroom tub started leaking. I noticed the leak in the room on the opposite side of the wall of the bathtub drain. I cut away the drywall to figure out where the leak was coming from and determined it is coming from two places. Where the drain meets the gasket due to an incorrect / not aligned drain line with the bottom of the tub, but the main leak which is causing slight flooding is from where the T meets the concrete. The water is coming from the bottom of the T, and because it is right up against the concrete I really don't have any pipe to cut away and replace. I'm thinking I need to remove bathtub, break away some concrete, and complete redo the plumbing. Any advice? Picture is attached.

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Unfortunately I must agree that the entire assembly should be replaced. You will need a completely new "waste and overflow kit". I have encountered similar situations and was able to repair it without removing the tub. It won't be easy, but if you enlarge the hole in the drywall enough to give you more room, you can probably fix it without removing the tub or additional concrete.

Both leaking areas will cause significant problems if not repaired correctly, and I have to say I have never seen a tub shoe that was sliced and offset in that manner. Good luck.

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  • Ok thanks for the feedback ! My only question is what to do about the Y/T that is touching the concrete and how to tie back into the waste line? Do I remove as much of it as possible and use a step down connector to tie into the existing pipe left after I chip as much away from it? I'm just wondering how to repair this without removing concrete due to the Y/T being right up against the concrete which is probably the reason for the leak to begin with. I'm sure when they re-did the plumbing they ran into the same problem instead of removing some concrete to make sure the pipes had a good seal.
    – Julian C.
    Oct 11, 2015 at 13:01
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    You will need to dig out the soil all around the area to get a good look at the assembly, the type of pipe it attaches to, and how it attaches. The "in-ground" waste line could be plastic (ABS- black, PVC- white); could be threaded iron/steel pipe; could be un-threaded cast iron with or without a "hub", a hub is a "belled" socket end. The method of repair will depend on what you find, but could be as easy as using a repair coupling with a rubber sleeve and clamps. There is some room between the pipe and the concrete, it looks like a "mini-hack" saw would work. Start digging it out.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Oct 11, 2015 at 15:27
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I'd be inclined to disassemble everything above the concrete and find out whether that lower joint is even glued properly. It's not outside the realm of possibility that it was simply missed. Even if it was glued, you may be able to clean/buff the exposed pipe enough to get a good cement bond to a new wye fitting.

It's worth a try before you drag out the sledge hammer. I actually did almost exactly that in my family's new home this summer, though it was a kitchen sink drain at the wall.

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It may seem unconventional, but given that it looks like it is leaking at the pipe joint down below the top of the concrete, my first suggestion would be to clean everything up and use several packages of JB Weld putty all around the leaking joint. I personally would then fill the hole in with grout, but that would only be after verifying the leak was stopped and that I had assured myself the repaired joint was built up sufficiently to last in the long term.

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  • Concrete and grout aren't good waterproofing materials, they act like a sponge that absorbs water and eventually let it pass through. This should be corrected by getting to the failing joint and making sure water can't get to the concrete.
    – BMitch ♦
    Jan 31, 2016 at 14:42
  • JB Weld does not seal well against PVC.
    – mongo
    Dec 28, 2018 at 16:26

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