We realized almost as soon as the concrete had set, that all the drains weren't in the right places. The shower drain had to move over 3", and the drain for the kitchenette, could have been moved only a few inches as well, I moved it about 2 feet though, so that it would be up against the wall, and not going through the middle of the concrete. The new concrete is a lot stronger than the old that was ripped out. Partly because it's 3x thicker, and partly because I ordered 3000 psi, to get a little more strength. Even with my borrowed hammer drill, it was really hard to drill through, and the sledge hammer didn't seem to have much effect either. It took me all day today to move the 2 drains. The plumbing part only took less than an hour, so that leaves at least 6 hours of breaking concrete.
This photo shows the shower drain, that was moved about 3.5". I had to do a lot of digging, and messing around with 45 degree elbows, as well as cutting the pipe by hand with a broken sawzall blade.
This is the kitchenette drain, it was really far off. At least it was mostly the old thin concrete. Tomorrow I'll pour concrete to patch everything up. I'll have to wait a few days for it to cure before I can work on the shower stall. Which means I'll be sanding the beams. Fun stuff.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Chipping away at the new slab
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5 comments:
Yikes! I think next time you should rent a jackhammer.
I admire your perseverance though. Six hours is a helluva long time to be breakin' concrete.
Oh no! I thought it was bad when we had to move the drain for the tub, but that seems so simple now. I guess it's better now than after everything else is done. So goes the do-it-yourself home renovation!
It didn't seem like 6 hours, I did have a good hilti style hammer drill. I broke up our back patio, that was up to 6" thick with a sledge hammer, and it only took an hour, even with cleaning up the mess. I think it was because I had to be so careful, and break such a small area.
I can't imagine having to tear up what was just done in order to make that kind of fix. I'm impressed!
Theres a great home improvement site that I've learned alot from Home Improvement Ideas Blog. The guy there had a huge plumbing job but nothing as intense as yours... Good luck with the rest of the work you have to do on that slab!
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