An interesting repair...with all the twists and turns
I am an engineer by trade and sometimes out of curiosity, I look where I shouldn't have, and this had in the past lead me to some big headaches.
So I have this condo vacant and went around and did a bunch of repairs and I left the last item alone because I hated hated doing it. Which is to fix a slow draining bathtub. I knew I would be pulling other's hair balls out of the drain and it's the #1 thing I absolutely hate. I left it as my favorite last thing to do.
While I removed the bath drain and cleaned it, I decided that it's a good time to change it to a lift and turn style instead of the pop up linkage. The hardest part would be if the old drain wouldn't unthread from the shoe below due to corrosion but I was able to get it out without too much elbow grease. A trip to a nearby plumbing supply, a new lift and turn, some putty, done in 15 minutes.
Now, the lever of the old linkage is still on the overflow. I thought about just leaving that alone, but didn't want to have the next tenant tell me the lever "doesn't work", so I decided to change it to a plain overflow cover. BIG MISTAKE? LOL.
I removed the two screws holding the overflow cover plate, and as I did that and removed the cover I saw the overflow pipe behind the tub literally fell off. FELL OFF, as in disappearing into the wall cavity! So what do you do in this case? Laugh or cry?
I need to somehow get access to the tub drain tee behind the tub. But I don't see a clear solution. Here is a picture.
The tub is on the right. As you can see, no way to access from the front, as it's all tiled.
Can't access from the left even if I pull the toilet and cut the drywall, there would be at least a stud or two in the way. No access from the right either, as on the other side of the right wall is the kitchen and cabinets. No access from the wall behind it as that is another owner and property is vacant in foreclosure.
I toyed with the idea of pulling the toilet and cutting a hole in the front apron of that fiberglass tub, but really didn't want to do that.
Finally, I bit the bullet and went into the kitchen, opened the kitchen sink cabinet, and cut a hole on it's side, and pray that would give me access to behind the tub, and I would be able to reach it and be able to do what I need to do with one hand.
After some wearing and cursing by wedging myself like a pretzel inside the kitchen cabinet, I managed to cut a hole, and it appears I can see the back of the tub.
So first thing I noticed is my neighbor has the same layout, only in mirror image.
I retrived the overflow pipe laying inside the wall, and looked.
Turned out whoever the plumber was who plumbed the tub, he was nice enough to cut the overflow pipe so that it inserts only 1/8" of an inch into the top of the tee. See the dark ring at the bottom of the tee in the picture below? That's how far it went into the tee, and if anyone does any finessing of the overflow cover, it would pull off.
So, no big deal, I took some measurements and put in a new overflow, this time, FULLY SEATED into the tee. A bit tricky to do since I can reach my hand in there, but can't see at the same time.
Now that I am done with my end, I turned my attention to my neighbor's. As you can see, he/she has three problems. First, that overflow pipe may be short like mine; Second, the overflow pipe was not property seated on the back of the tub, so it leaked; Third, those leaks have corroded the back of the cast iron tub, and lastly, once I opened the wall cavity, I can smell a bit of sewer gas. I am pretty sure due to that property being in foreclosure and vacant, the traps are probably dry and gas has been entering that unit, and seeping into the wall cavities where it's not sealed. I made a mental note to find whoever is maintaining or representing the property and have a conversation.
So now all I have to do is to test and make sure the pipes are properly connected and no leaks. I turned on the tub spout and filled the tub to the overflow hole and let it drain. No problem. I see no leaks from the PVC connections.
BUT...there is a leak somewhere. Somehow the bottom plate is getting wet and I am getting a drip from above - slowly. Oh oh.
I can't see up from that hole I cut in the kitchen cabinet. I can't fix what I can't see. I don't even know what's leaking. I can only see where it's dripping on the bottom plate.
I am back on the same boat. I need to get access to what's behind that wall and higher up, and I knew I just opened a can of worms. I have to get creative or bring a sludge hammer.
So I went to a bar and had a few beers. More to follow.