What Is the Cost to Move a Shower Drain

Plumbing

• The first, and most important, aspect of moving a shower drain involves the physical drain components. Most shower drains consist of a drain that is attached to a drainpipe. When it comes to moving a shower drain, you have two options. You can either do it during the initial building of the home when there is nothing but the subfloor in place, or as a remodel project. While the first is relatively simple, the latter can cost thousands of dollars given the complexity of the surrounding issues. Plumbers charge between $40 and $80 per hour as of publication, but they are only one of many problems.

Shower Pan

• Moving the shower drain involves the shower pan. This is either a plastic shower pan that is premanufactured, or a custom-built shower pan that is installed along with the tile, created out of cement and sand. In both cases, moving the shower drain means completely demolishing or removing and reinstalling a new shower pan. Tilers charge the same as plumbers, between $40 and $80 per hour as of publication, and they will charge you for the demolition work as well as the installation of the new pan after the plumber has finished his work.

Tile Installation

• After the plumbing has been finished and the concrete shower pan has been installed, the natural stone tile or ceramic tile needs to be installed, assuming you don’t have a premanufactured plastic pan. While a plastic base can be installed relatively simply within an hour, a concrete base for your shower pan can take a full eight-hour day. When you are being charged between $40 and $80 per hour, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars for a properly installed tile shower pan.

Subfloor

• Moving a shower drain is more than just dealing with the shower pan, however. There is also the subfloor to consider. While a wooden subfloor is relatively easy to deal with because you can just cut a new hole and move the drain, a concrete subfloor is another story. You not only have to cut out all of the concrete around the drain, but you also have to completely re-plumb and then re-concrete the area, which will cost hundreds of dollars at least as of publication. Concrete work costs the same as the rest, between $40 and $80 per hour depending on the contractor and the area you live in.