How to Move a Tub Floor Drain

Remove the screw holding the tub drain cover in place, and then pry off the drain cover. Pull out the stopper and the linkage attached to it from the drainpipe, if the drain does not have a cover.

Insert a drain key into the tub’s drain body, and twist the dial on the key so it expands against the walls of the drain body. Turn the drain key and drain body counterclockwise with an adjustable wrench until the drain body unthreads from the drainpipe below the tub.

Remove the screws holding the tub’s overflow drain cover in place. Pull away the drain cover, removing the attached drain stopper linkage from the overflow tube. Cut away the caulk along the perimeter or the old tub before lifting the tub out of its spot.

Loosen the connections between the end of the shoe drain, or the pipe that runs vertically under the bathtub, using your hands or a pipe wrench, and then remove the shoe drain. Set the new tub in place and then cut an access hole on the wall directly behind the tub’s faucet so you can see the tub’s drainpipes.

Position the shoe drain’s opening below the new tub’s drain opening and measure the overlap between the end of the shoe drain and the pipe tee it connects to. Trim off the excess pipe with a hacksaw and then tighten the connection between the shoe drain and the tee. If the shoe drain is too short to connect to the pipe tee, install a new shoe drain that is cut to fit.

Apply silicone caulk to the underside of the drain body, and then thread it into the shoe drain through the opening in the tub. Tighten the drain body using the drain key. Replace the overflow drain cover and drive the screw through its holes and into the overflow tube.