It appears from the photo that the shower drain isn't connected to the roughed-in plumbing, but rather sits on top of the concrete... so no surprise then that the water just runs along the floor.

Without any details to back it up, I'm going to make a guess that the laundry drain was done in 1.5" instead of 2" plumbing that is called for in code. Other options include that the drain is partially clogged someplace downstream of where the shower and laundry connect.

If the main is clogged, you will have water showing up at the lowest points, and that wouldn't be the upstairs plumbing.

I've seen the water in the toilet moving when there's been a wind storm, but it shouldn't do that otherwise... unless it was improperly vented.

What I suspect is that you will need to take the shower out to fix the drain issue (do that soon... the water will cause rot, mold and all kinds of problems).

You may be able to open up the wall a bit to see how the plumbing was done to the laundry / bathroom.

I would also do some work to see if the previous owner pulled a permit. I don't know what legal recourse you have if it turns out that the plumbing is seriously defective.

Thanks a million for your detailed response!

Would the dirty water coming up the shower drain from time to time be any of the following, and if so, one more than the other:

impropertly venter basement plumbing (laundry, toilet, shower;

too small of a laundry drain;

partial blockage.

inguess I'm just trying to figure out where to troubleshoot first.

The seller is politically connected in the small town I live in. I'm not sure how much going to town hall and asking for old permits would do.

This photo is a picture of the piping that leads out of the bottom of my slop sink, of which the washing machine drains into.

I'm assuming that this plumbing is in the basement. This would probably make the shower the lowest point. Here's what I would do:

1.) I would have a drain cleaning company clean and run a camera through your main drain (are you on septic or sewer?) I would also ask them to snake the drain from the shower. Laundry water often contains a lot of lint which can partially clog up a drain line. That may resolve your water coming up in your shower.

2.) You have no real options other than removing the shower base and fixing the drain alignment.

3.) I would assume that most of the work that was done was not done to code, but was half-assed based on the photos you have provided so far. Not done to code doesn't necessarily mean that the world is going to end in this case, but it does mean that you should anticipate re-doing things as the opportunity arises.

4.) I would try to map out the venting (at least in my head) for the rest of the downstairs plumbing.

If you have reason to open the wall with the plumbing, be prepared to re-do the drain lines.

This is in the basement and the shower is the lowest point. When the water comes up it does resemble lint one th base once the water goes down. I have exposed the walls on the backside of th laundry room, which were framed in in plywood. I'm does some pipe tracing now. The water is pretty simple in my home. The kitchen and bathroom upstairs share a wall, and that same wall is what the bathroom and laundry room share in the basement. There is one main drain stack that goes through the concrete floor in the basement. I'm assuming that runs out to the street.

im having a difficult time finding the vent. Could it possible branch off the piping in the upstairs bathroom and up to the roof?

We are on a sewer system.

Upstairs bath

Basement bath with the shower on the left

Laundry room. The shower water connection is exposed on the right and the plumbing for the upstairs in straight ahead

I will let you know how it works out. You have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you enough.

I removed the shower walls and base and here is what I found.

The drain cover is one piece and it slightly off set. Then there is a stub that is glued to it. When I removed the base of the tub this piece was just simply floating in the floor drain.

Further, by the looks of the old trenches in the concrete it seems as though this was just a simple floor drain for the entire basement. Would it be ok or code to use this drain for a shower?

The drain wasn't set up the way I thought based on the original photo, nonetheless, we understand now why the water ran along the floor.

I haven't had to re-do a floor drain like this - so I'm starting to get out of my depth on what exactly that looks like under there. I've only dealt with older floor drains.

What I suspect is that you would want to rent an electric jack hammer (Not as bad as it sounds) and bust up enough of the concrete around the drain that you could install a trap and proper connection to the shower base as well as proper venting.

The other option, of course, is to remove the shower from the basement and keep that as a floor drain.

You will still need to determine why the water is coming up in the shower (floor) drain. At this point, I think you need to make sure the shared floor / laundry run is clear and not partially blocked.

These were all my thoughts exactly. I have the rodder in my car ready to go later. Thanks again.

So I had a plumbing company come out and rod the drain. They got about 40 feet and then discovered tree roots once they remove the line. There is no more blockage at this time but the roots will probably grow back. Any advice moving forward regarding the roots in the line. I will not be reinstalling a shower in the basement since I don't have the time or the money to do it the right way right now.

No advice other than run the drain every 5-10 years. Glad you got to the root of the problem (pun intended).

When I installed a Dreamline pre-fab shower base, the directions were to leave an opening in the concrete that had about 3-4" open around the drain pipe. I got the pipe aligned as well as I could, and then set the base in place and pivoted/moved the trap and pipe slightly so it would line up with the hole in the shower base. We then cemented the pipe joints so they would stay in place and the pipe would stick up through the hole in the base.

When we set the shower base it had thinset under it to keep it level and supported, but directions said we did not need to fill in the area around the p-trap with cement. That part of the base was reinforced and it was just left with a base of sand.

The drain fitting in the shower base was installed before it was set in place, and as we set the base in place a rubber collar slipped over the 2" pipe that stuck up from the P-trap. There was a threaded inside fitting on the flange in the base, and as you screwed the fitting down with a special tool (supplied) it expanded the rubber collar so that it fit tightly over the PVC pipe. Then we trimmed the top of the PVC pipe and popped the decorative grill into the drain.

My point in explaining all this is that if you use a similar design shower base, and you have a 2" drain line, you would only need to jackhammer a small section of concrete out to install a 2" P-trap, and would only have a very small section of concrete to replace. However, if the shower drain pipe is 1.5", you have a lot more work to do if you want to meet code.

Bruce

This is good to know. You do not have any issues with the drain? I'll need to check my local code to see if this would work.

To fix the leaking drain, screw the strainer body into the drain. For more torque as the drain gets seated, apply your thumbs firmly. Compress the black rubber gasket and squeeze out the excess plumber's putty. Add 1/2 to 3/4 quarters turns extra after it is firmly seated in the molded recess of the shower pan.

Water backup when the main vent is blocked. If properly connected, vent lines will remain free and any stoppages in the drain piping are evident by the backing up.

The water level changes in the toilet bowl are due to venting problems in the drain system.

Right diagnosis and corrective measures are the two indispensable aspects to fixing any plumbing issue. Plumbing problems are often frustrating and inaccessible. But before you jump for some professional plumbing services, research if there are simple DIY measures which would save you hundreds of dollars on repairs.

My friend had a similar problem when she sought the help of toilet repair services toronto who diagnosed the problem and found that the installation was 5 feet from the vertical plumbing vent that is supposed to serve them.

Common vent problems include clogging or broken, missing lines. If vent line is missing, you may need the help of a plumbing come in and install a vent in the correct location of the proper size. Clogging is a very common problem which can be dealt by snaking down the drain line.

I figured as much. Thanks for the infor.