On 2 Oct 2009 15:24:26 GMT, David W.E. Roberts wrote:

Hi,

just removing an old foam filled shower tray which has started to crumble
internally.

I have a whole world of grief waiting anyway because all the drainage is
solvent welded together and comes out of a hole cut in the side of the tray.
It also disappears into a wall and is located so there is no room to get
behind it. Yecht!

However my first problem is to undo the shower trap which will in turn (after
some butchery) allow me to lift the remains of the old shower tray out.

Does anyone know how these traps are usually fixed?

I have probed down the centre and there is no sign of a retaining screw.

I have tried a bit of uncsrewing but nothing seems to want to move.

I have a vague hope that if I can get the trap apart I can fit the new tray
over the old pipework, so I want to get the trap apart without breaking
anything.

I guess it rather depends on the make, mine is a MacAlpine.

http://www.mcalpineplumbing.com/productlist.asp

Working from the top down....

First there is a simple grid at the very top. This is held in place with a
series of grooves at the top of the body and just lifts out.

Next there is a removeable seal. This has a single cross piece at the top,
and you have to grip this and turn anticlockwise, then the whole thing
lifts out.

Put the top grid back in place, and locate the removeable seal over the top
of the grid using notches on the bottom of the seal. Then use the seal tube
as a spanner to undo the flange.

Have a look at the illustrations on the product page and you can see the
grooves for seating the grid and the notches at the bottom of the seal.

Be warned, though. If you've got years of crud built up around the flange,
there's a very real risk you're going to bugger the trap anyway.

--
The Wanderer

It pays to buy things you dislike. They last much longer.