i am a definite amateur here, but i bought my toe touch drain without pipes & used regular pvc. we had to have the drain & overflow pipes separate for a rather long stretch (as compared to more traditional setups) because of that joist, so having the traditional pipes wouldn't have worked anyway. at the lowes near me, they had inexpensive toe tap & other drains with the pipes included in the box, so maybe check those out in the store & see how they'd work for you. also, moen was very helpful explaining installation for me over the phone for their toe tap drain i bought... they may be able to help you with these other questions too. also, one thing i remembered while getting my bath ready last night is - my tub is 36 inches wide & the drain is on the far side of an alcove in the center of the far side of the tub. if i had a tub that was any wider, i'd have to climb into it in order to close the drain before i started filling it up. not sure how much a trip lever would help, since it would still have to be far away, but it wouldn't be on the tub bottom, which may help. Here is a link that might be useful: moen toe touch

I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about, and I have seen this happen before. Do you have a screw smack dab in the center of the drain cover? Without seeing pictures, and without seeing behind the tub, I'm going to "guess" and say it's a Gerber waste and over flow. I'm also going to assume you have to lift a lever in order to stop up the water in the tub correct? You can either change out the trip lever for a blank cover plate, and the drain can be changed out to a "lift and turn" style drain. All of this can be done from the front of the tub. If you know the manufacture of the waste and over flow, you can contact them to see if they have different strainer style. If you have access behind the tub and it's Brass...it's most likely a Gerber. But Gerber also make a plastic waste and over flow as well. However, if it's plastic, it could be a number of manufactures. If it were me, I would replace the trip lever with a blank face plate, and install a lift and turn. Since the lift and turn's seem to gather hair much quicker, you can leave it out until you use it for tub applications, and purchase a $2.00 screen from your hardware store to collect the hair. The hack way of doing things would be....concave the strainer yourself by pushing it in. It's very easy to do. : )

All waste & overflow kits that are listed with maximum dimensions are the slip joint type which have telescoping pipes for the drain and overflow riser with a compression type slip joint to adjust the size. The tub you specified is a built in tub, which means the waste & overflow kit will ultimately be concealed under the tub once everything is complete therefore even if you do find a waste & overflow kit listed for the dimensions your looking for it will do you little good when your Plumbing Inspector hangs a red tag on it for being code prohibited. The Plumbing Codes strictly prohibit using compression joint type waste & overflow and P-traps unless you will ultimately have a dedicated 12" x 12" service access panel either through an adjacent wall or up from underneath. For a concealed location you are required to use a glue-in type or if you insist on brass, a solder-in type waste & overflow kit. Personally I fail to see what advantage you might gain from insisting upon a brass waste & overflow in this application. While some people might be lulled into the notion that brass will last longer than PVC, in the real world such is not the case. The brass waste & overflow kits are constructed of DWV grade thin-wall brass tubing which is notorious for corroding through in 25 to 30 years whereas the PVC type are impervious to the acids present in DWV piping and have a nearly indefinite service life expectancy. In addition, the brass waste & overflow kits are about $150 whereas a PVC glue-in kit is generally less than $20. Of course you could get a brass solder in type kit for about $130 to $175 and an additional $50 to $100 labor for installation. The PVC waste and overflow kits principally have three main components; 1. The cast "overflow body", which is the PVC casting that fits behind the tubs overflow hole. 2. The "Tub Shoe", which is the female threaded casting that fits directly under the tub drain hole and into which the tub "Drain Basket" is screwed into. 3. The Tee. The pipes which connect the overflow body and the tub shoe to the tee are supplied by the installer from 1-1/2" PVC stock pipe an custom fit to length. The kit also contains a brass drain basket, brass overflow trim cover and whichever stopper assembly you might desire, whether it is a toe-tap, lift & turn or a lever lift type. The Danze-D490637RB you mentioned above is not a waste & overflow kit, but rather it is a waste & overflow "trim kit", which only contains the overflow cover, drain basket and the lift and turn stopper. It has no pipe or fittings to make the connections below the tub however, The dimensions of the trim kits is an industry standard, therefore you could go to your local hardware or home supply and purchase the cheapest PVC "Glue-In" type waste and overflow kit they have, then you could use the PVC components but discard the trim-out components and replace them with the Danze trim out kit and you will ultimately have the correct waste & overflow to meet code, complete with the "oil rubbed bronze" finish you are looking for all for about $75 in total.

I have not previously entered into this discussion because "Homebound" had already given the correct answers, but let me add a bit of information to what Homebound mentioned. Sparklingwater mentioned that the leak is at the base of the stem in the angle stop valve. He/she also asked if there is a way to lubricate the stem to make it easier to turn? I suspect that the angle stop had previously been turned off and the HVAC tech turned it on to check out the humidifier and while doing so the leak was noticed. (see attached photo). If you look at the valve you will note a nut on the top of the valve where the handle stem enters the valve body. Under that nut there is a packing that is made out of graphite, teflon or perhaps neoprene that surrounds the stem shaft and as the nut is tightened the packing is squeezed against the shaft to form a water tight seal. When trying to rotate the handle on an old valve you can slightly loosen that nut (generally about a 1/4 turn) and it will loosen the shaft making it easier to turn the handle and once you get the handle to the desired location, either full open or full closed, you can then tighten that nut again to stop any leak that might form. If you cannot stop the leak by tightening that nut you must then replace the valve. (for larger valves we can replace the packing but since angle stop valves are only about $3 for the complete valve, don't expect your local hardware to carry replacement parts for it). That valve is on the hot water system so if you have to change the valve you don't have to drain the whole house, just the hot water system until it is drained below that valve. To drain it down sufficiently you could turn the cold water supply to the water heater off, then if you have a laundry connection of utility sink that is below that valve you could open a hot water faucet on the floor above to vent the line and open the hot water valve at tne sink or laundry and let it run until the water stops. If you don't have a hot water faucett below that level you will then have to turn the gas off to the water heater and drain the water heater until the water is below that valve. That valve is mounted on the vertical copper stub by means of a compression fitting on the bottom end of the valve. Unscrew the compression nut and let it drop down to the tee, then twist the valve a bit with a wrench to loosen it, and it will lift right off. You will then see a brass ferrule surrounding the pipe about 1/2" from the end. In many cases you can remove the compression nut and ferrule from a new valve, then set the new valve down in place and tighten the existing compression nut to lock the new valve on and seal the joint. If it won't seal using the existing compression nut and ferrule you then unscrew the existing nut again and cut the copper stub just below the existing ferrule. You will find a mini tubing cutter will work the best here, but also keep in mind that you have to cut is high enough on the stub to allow the valve to set down tight without hitting the tee. Once you have the pipe cut. clean the pipe with an emery cloth, then put the new compression nut on the pipe, open threaded side up, then slide the new ferrule on the pipe and slip it down about 3/8". Now place the new valve on the stub and push it down tight, the ferrule will slide down to the correct position as you push the valve down. Now slide the compression nut up and screw it on the bottom of the new valve and while holding the valve body with one wrench, thorougly tighten the compression nut with another wrench to lock it in place. Now in regards to that corroded elbow. First off, I would be curious to know what they are draining with that line? I WOULD NOT be worried about that corrosion because it has nothing to do with the water in the line. That corosion resulted from improper installation of the elbow. That white corrosion is a result of excess flux left on the line when they soldered it, however by now the flux has long since dried out and it is no longer a problem. After reviewing the photos I beleive the entire installation was done as a DIY project. Notice the elbow on the left end of the horizontal line where the angle stop is located. That dark coloration on the outside of the curve indicates that they got the pipe too hot while soldering. The same is evident on the side inlet and pipe on the tee right above it, as well as the excess solder on the pipe directly below the tee. Those are all indications of a very amateur soldering job. Next look at the top of the water heater. The copper lines are connected directly to the water heater, but code has required a dielectric coupling since the late 1970's and code requires a union on both water lines since the mid 80's. Now I would not recommend bothering to add the dielectric nipples or unions now, but keep in mind that the next time you have to replace the water heater, make sure they are installed. For the moment I believe if you just open or close that angle stop, then tighten the stem packing nut a bit you will be fine and their is no reason to spend your money calling a plumber.