@Leslie Crosten Hi, Leslie, just a moment: Calling all cars, calling all cars: @Bill Kramer @JD Martin @Randy E. @Matt R. @Steven Ko, @George W.
Hi, Leslie, I am a long-service handyman who handles almost all the plumbing in his own properties. I'm asking others to take a look at this and add to, verify, or contradict what I'm saying here about it, as I am not a professional plumber and I've been wrong plenty of times.
First of all, @Account Closed, sorry to contradict you by 34%, but I think that's actually a brass drain/overflow assembly (brass is 66% copper). Brass overflow assemblies are common in older installations and still used in modern high-quality plumbing installations, although polypropylene drain/overflow assembles are largely taking over the market. So so far, so good. The reason brass assemblies are still holding on is that they control the sound of draining water better than plastics do, they are "quieter."
There should be no dirt in that box, unless it was added as some kind of makeshift sound control. Being that the drain is brass, I am puzzled that there is dirt in that box, and yes, that may be a cause for concern. I suspect, however, that it isn't dirt. I think the whole thing is buried in concrete with a thin mortar topping. I can see that the tub is resting on a naked joist, without some kind of platform supporting it. That's how they used to mount cast iron tubs, so I think that's what we're looking at here. The joists were lowered and a thick mortar and later concrete bed was put in, with tile installed on top. I own a number of older properties with this kind of tile installation, and I've smashed up a number of cast iron tubs to remove them.
You clearly believe the drain is leaking at the point where the assembly connects to the tub. That is thankfully pretty easy to verify, since you can actually see and illuminate the connection.
Nicky has also pointed out that below the drain assembly p-trap may be copper. Yes, the water outflow looks pretty thin there, and since plumbing codes have insisted that drainage be 1 1/2 inches in internal diameter for a very long time, I suspect he's right. Copper drainage piping was unusual in most places but I've seen it in the past, usually in high-risk situations. Specifically that would be, the upper level drainage plumbing of an over-under duplex. embedded directly in a concrete, mortar, or hybrid bed.
I once saw a place with a full copper stack here in the 'Burgh -- never forget that one.
The hypothesis that this tub is really is leaking out of a corroded p-trap is further strengthened by where we see the water coming out. That's flat-out-weird, Leslie. Water's not supposed to channel and come out there. There have clearly also been makeshift repairs previously done to this area, indicating that this is a long-term problem.
OK:
IF all or some of the things that I have hypothesized are true, Leslie, this is going to be a moderately expensive plumbing fix. If it's leaking from the connection between the tub drain and the assembly, that will be cheap, but I suspect it isn't, not with those symptoms.
Diagnotics:
1. Run the tub while watching the connection with the drain in the beam of a flashlight. If you see water, you're right. If not, it's leaking elsewhere in the drainage assembly, perhaps the p-trap.
2. Don't run the shower for the day and leave the bathroom door closed. Does the bathroom stink up? If it does. that's a dead giveaway that the p-trap is leaking out and sewer gases are coming out the drain. That's going to cost money to fix IF I'm right and that isn't dirt in that drain box.
3. If you don't smell anything, or just notice a very slight smell, then the leak is happening further down than the p-trap. That is also a possibility, and again, that will also be expensive news.
Final observations
If it was me buying this duplex, I wouldn't back out of the sale. If you're planning on demoing the bathroom, I wouldn't back out of the sale. But from what I understand, this is a simple househack. You expected this apartment to be livable from Day One, it was sold to you as such, and it isn't. Mr. FSBO is trying to sneak you a lemon, which sadly happens pretty frequently around here. You're in a bind.
If Mr. FSBO was willing to try to sneak this clear existing chronic problem by you, there could be a large number of other things wrong with the duplex just waiting for you to find them. This happens pretty frequently with older duplexes. The deferred maintenance piles up and up, and much of it is like this. Finally, the owner finally realizes he doesn't want to keep up with the maintenance and sells.
How deep do you want to get into real estate rehabbing, Leslie? If you're willing to start your rehab learning now, I would stick with this. If not, well, you're going to need to think hard about buying duplexes of this age in the future. This property is at least sixty years old, I can guarantee that. If that's all that's available in your area, as it is mine, definitely, start learning.
Whatever you choose to do, there's going to be some pain with this one, both pocket pain paying for plumbing and learning how to deal with rehab. Think about what you want as an investor going forward and make your decision. But if it's not to deal with property issues like this, don't buy anything built before 1970.
