[TheForge] lead seal removal or the nightmare remodeling job has begun ;-)

[theforge@mailman.qth.net]

It sounds like what you are encountering is a shower pan.  The concrete 
"floor" of the shower is probably a mortar(sand mix) bed.  
Vitreousgrouted  tile, mortar and concrete are not typically impervious 
to water, so under the tile and mortar shower floor lurks a shower pan.  
This actually redirects water that seeps through the tile and mortar bed 
to the drain .   Old pans were made from lead or copper.  Modern 
practice is a pvc material or CPE.   The link below will show you how 
they are constructed.    Are you on a slab foundation or pier and 
beam?     If you are going to replace the shower you will have to 
replace the pan as well.    I generally now put a sheet metal barrier 
around the studs and then follow with the cpe pan ever since I replaced 
a leaking lead pan with plastic pan only to have it leak and destroy 
another carpet.  Turns out, mice love pvc and had chewed the corner out 
of my new pan.   I have noticed in my barn that rodents will strip 
plastic romex wiring in no time, but the nasty fabric covered stuff has 
been left alone for decades.   As far as removing the mortar bed, an sds 
hammer is the easiest wat to go.   Building showers is fun--not.


Charles

http://www.oatey.com/apps/catalog/instance_assets/assets/Shower%20Pan%20Liner.pdf

terry l. ridder wrote:

>hello;
>
>well as we all know once a project is started there are bound to be
>those little 'gotchas' just waiting to jump out and bite. well, the home
>remodeling job has started and has all ready been bit. while tearing out
>the one bathroom i discovered that the shower drain is lead sealed to
>the 2inch copper drain pipe. the shower floor is concrete. cutting the
>copper pipe is not a viable option. short of using the oxy-propane torch
>anyone have suggestions on removing the lead seal so the concrete can be
>lifted out. i did search the internet and found a couple sites that had
>the same problem. using a weed burner in this room is also not a viable
>option. i could shield the wall studs with kaowool blanket ( i have an
>entire box of kaowool 8lb density blanket in the shop. ) if i absolutely
>had to. rough guess is the lead seal is 4 to 5 inches tall and 0.5
>inches thick. the mapp handheld torch did not even begin to heat the
>lead, the copper drain pipe transfers the heat away to quickly.
>using a brick/concrete chisel and a sledge hammer is also not a viable
>option. a concrete saw is also not a viable option. 
>
>ascii picture:
>
>--------\__+----+__/----------
>         | |    | |
>concrete | |    | |  concrete
>         | |    | |
>         | |    | |
>         | |    | |<-- lead seal between concrete and copper drain pipe.
>---------+-+    +-+-----------
>           |    |<-- copper drain pipe
>
>
>btw: despite my strong protests, this project is being done while  we
>attempt to live in the house. i did not build a yurt. :-(
>
>  
>