Your online resource for all things plumbing - for Homeowners and Plumbers AlikeHow To Make Your Bath Hold More WaterIt's been a really long week and we're looking forward to taking the stress off tonight with a long soak in the tub. Our bathtub is clawfoot and charming, but here's the challenge. As you can see above, the overflow valve is placed so low that the water starts to drain out before the bathtub is anywhere near full. We scoured the web for solutions to this that we'll share, as well as our own happy solution. So most baths have some sort of overflow “safety” drain or hole that is located (depending on your tub) somewhere under or near near the faucet. While this IS good for safety, it is horrible for getting the water level of your bath tub very full. Our tub also loses so much hot water that its hard to keep the water warm. In an old apartment, I once caulked the hole shut but for the life of me can't find that product which worked pretty well (but was permanent and couldn't be removed).

After googling pretty much every word combination I could think of, it came down to a few options to try: Porcelain or chrome plates. You can screw over the overflow drain (if you have one that fits exactly). Not ideal if you aren't handy or sure whether it will fit. But if you own your place, these look nice. They are also permanent, so if you have kids I would not recommend it, but there are some good examples at Vintage Tub and Amazon.Sugru is really cool — it's not made for this purpose exactly and we're not sure if it will work, but we're intrigued with this stuff and would have tried it if we didn't find the next solution. It's also more colorful than we wanted in the tub.This is the product we ended up buying. It's just a piece of 4" diameter vinyl with suction cups that fits over the drain hole. It's perfect because it's a temporary fix and you can remove it — and it also does still have a drain hole which you can rotate to the top. So if you absolutely had to leave the room and then forgot you were running a bath, it would still drain the water out (just at a much higher level).

It looks like it will fit just about any drain because it isn't snug, although it works great. As you can see from the photo above, we gained an insane amount of water in the bath and if we fill it up and get in, it is right at the top of the bath so our knees actually get wet. We got our Deep Water Bath at Amazon for about $7.How to replace a bath tub waste and overflow trip lever, with a new GerberFree Standing Bath Prices South Africa brass trip lever waste and overflowIowa Car Seat CoversThere are many differentPlush Red Comforter scenarios that you may run in to, that may be much more difficult then the example I will be showing on this page. For example, if your tub drain waste and overflow is on a slab, or not accessible

from underneath, or below the bath tub, you would need to open a wall behind the tub waste and overflow to gain access to the trip lever tub waste assembly. following instructions will help you remove and replace your bathtub trip lever waste and overflow with a brass Gerber trip lever waste, from underneathNOTE: Click on any Image to see a larger Image Note: If you aren't experienced, it is often better and safer to find an affordable plumber to complete the job for you. This is what I found when I started, silicone the homeowners best friend, if it does not work, just keep packing itAny way remove the 2 screws The trip lever cover removed, this one did not have any linkage or stopper in it, it was long gone, some handy man may have taken it out. With the trip lever plate removed there is nothing holding the overflow assembly to the bathtub, some handyman may have used silicone to stop a leak

instead of just replacing the washer. The next step is to remove the drain plug or spud from the bottom, there is a tool made to remove the spud but I never used one, a good pair of Channel locks and a screwdriver has always worked for Just put the channel locks into the spud, put the screwdriver between the handles and turn counterclockwise, or to the left if you don't know how to read a Sometimes the tub drain is so old it will not turn and will have to be cut off, this can be a real pain and you could damage the bathtub beyond repair. If you cannot get it to turn This is a picture of the tub trap under the tub, you can see the old tub waste connected to the bottom of the tub on top, the connection of this trap to the main drain is not up to code, but it's an old house. This is a picture of the old bath tub waste and overflow from the bottom up the inside of the wall.

can click on the image to see a larger In this case I was able to loosen the nuts and remove the trap U bend from under the old tub waste with no trouble, sometimes the nuts will not move or will break, sometimes it is soldered and cannot be removed, this can make the job more difficult, you may need to cut the old waste to remove it. Once I removed the old waste I saved it whole because I will need it to set up the new one. With the old waste and overflow removed you will need to clean the port holes, do the best you can, some very old stains just cannot be In this picture you can see the stains I was not able to clean. is now ready for the new Gerber Waste and overflow to be installed. I personally prefer Gerber brass tub waste and overflow with a trip lever assembly, This is it new in the box with all the parts I need. I do not like any type of plastic waste and overflow

assemblies and will not use them. save yourself allot of time and trouble, use the old tub drain assemble as a template to set up the new one. tub waste is adjustable and can fit a verity of tubs, some tubs are extra deep and you will need to get a Gerber Tub waste to fit a larger or deeper bathtub. First I lay the new Gerber tee over the old tee, notice the tees are different, this is not a problem because what needs to line up are the drain shoe and the overflow stand pipe. With the tee set with the overflow inlet sitting in alignment with the old overflow inlet put the nut and washer on the overflow, (the fitting in my hand is the overflow) then line it up with the old overflow, the tee is a slip joint and you can push the overflow tube in or out till it lines up exactly as the oldIn some cases you may need to cut the tubing at the end of the overflow to Once you have the over flow tube