One day, I noticed some staining on the unpainted plywood panel I installed after I fixed the last leak. I knew the drain was leaking again, but my problem would be bigger. Again, out came the dishes, but this time, I did not support the cabinet. It was a big mistake as I sat my heavy butt on the cabinet. When I heard the sound of wood cracking and creaking, I was off. Fortunately, the cabinet did not move. After a couple hits with the hammer on the nails that supported the cabinet, everything was fine. Time to support the cabinet.
I pulled down the plywood and out came some yucky, dirty water. Not much water, but definitely a leak. The upstairs floor where the shower was located overhung the first floor by two feet. The drain was located close to the top plate of the wall so most of the water from the leak probably drained into the soffit outside.
I had Efiwym turn on the shower and I watched for leaks. There was a steady drip coming from the drain. I pushed up on the drain body and it did not move. The drain seemed tight. I used my Sears Craftman® channel locks to tighten the nut, but it still was leaking. I was at the point where I had to take the drain apart. Not fun!
I loosened the nut, and the flange gasket was fine. No tears and what I could see, it looked in good shape. I went upstairs and grabbed the drain by the flange and looked under it. The gasket was gone. (Now, you experienced DIYers and plumbers are saying, “You big dummy, there is no gasket.”) At that time, I thought there was supposed to be one. The only thing I needed to do was (1) install a new layer of plumber’s putty, or (2) install a new layer of silicone. I decided I needed to tear out the drain and replace it instead.
Since everything was glued, I could not remove the drain without cutting the pipe. With my cheap, no-brand handsaw, I cut the pipe. Off to the hardware store to pickup all the necessary parts and supplies.
Once I got home and looked at the new drain, I noticed there was no top gasket for the connection between the top of the shower floor and drain. At that time there was no Youtube® videos to view. Time to read some directions. I discovered, what everyone already knew, that I needed to put a bead of silicone under the flange. That is all I had to do to fix the leak and I sawed off the drain for no reason.
The next day, I assembled and dry fit all the parts before I glued them together. Prior to installing the drain, I cleaned up the opening around the drain. I then installed the drain, the p-trap and the connecting pipe making sure I had the gasket and nut under the drain body. I went back upstairs and put a generous bead of silicone under the flange and then went back downstairs to tighten up the drain body.
I waited until the next day to test the drain and no leaks appeared. Even though we put most of the dishes back into the cabinet, I left off the plywood panel to peek at the drain for a few days. After a week, I gave the panel a coat of white paint and screwed it back on.