I've probably posted about this before but we've got a leaky overflow gasket on our brand new tub in our brand new bathroom.

Our daughter just took her first bath. I pleaded with her not to fill it to the overflow but she did it anyway. (She's 15 - need I say more?) Sure enough we got some water coming into the basement. Below the tub I now have a little 14 x 14 hatch that I can open up and inspect the tub drain and overflow and do repairs if necessary although it is kind of tight getting up to the overflow.

I can see a nice brand new gasket up there. I'm kind of surprised it leaked.

I did have to snake out the drain once since the new tub was installed because it backed up due to unrelated issues. We have one section of old pipe that gets clogged every 6 months or so and the only place I can snake it out is through the overflow. The kitchen sink feeds into that same section but the tub is the low point so when it backs up it comes into the tub.

Is it possible I didn't tighten it well enough after I snaked it out? I tightened it pretty good. I didn't want to bend the metal.

Could I have broken a seal when I snaked it out? It looks nice and tight when inspecting from below.

This is driving me insane. She loves baths and she likes the water level high.

Is it possible to get this thing working properly or are they just prone to leaking.

I still haven't made my last payment so I think I can get the plumber back here to look at it. I just want to be informed before I make that request.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

On Sun, 9 Oct 2016 15:15:20 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I've probably posted about this before but we've got a leaky overflow gasket on our brand new tub in our brand new bathroom.

Our daughter just took her first bath. I pleaded with her not to fill it to the overflow but she did it anyway. (She's 15 - need I say more?) Sure enough we got some water coming into the basement. Below the tub I now have a little 14 x 14 hatch that I can open up and inspect the tub drain and overflow and do repairs if necessary although it is kind of tight getting up to the overflow.

I can see a nice brand new gasket up there. I'm kind of surprised it leaked.

I did have to snake out the drain once since the new tub was installed because it backed up due to unrelated issues. We have one section of old pipe that gets clogged every 6 months or so and the only place I can snake it out is through the overflow. The kitchen sink feeds into that same section but the tub is the low point so when it backs up it comes into the tub.

Is it possible I didn't tighten it well enough after I snaked it out? I tightened it pretty good. I didn't want to bend the metal.

Could I have broken a seal when I snaked it out? It looks nice and tight when inspecting from below.

This is driving me insane. She loves baths and she likes the water level high.

Is it possible to get this thing working properly or are they just prone to leaking.

I still haven't made my last payment so I think I can get the plumber back here to look at it. I just want to be informed before I make that request.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

Ask the plumber, or look to ensure the rubber gasket is in the right
orientation. Some are shaped like a wedge (side view), others may be
flat gaskets. The wedge type need to be positioned in the correct
orientation or they leak. The manual for the new overflow ought to
explain it.

Shine a light up the from below and have a peak.