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Putty failed on my shower drain after 4 weeks, silicone has held for 14 months
First bathroom gut in my own house, I used plumber's putty on the shower drain flange like my dad always did. Looked fine for about a month, then I noticed a tiny wet spot on the ceiling below. Pulled the drain and the putty had basically washed out because the shower pan flexes just enough when you stand on it. Switched to a bead of 100% silicone around the flange on the second try, let it cure for 24 hours before setting the pan. That was 14 months ago in Tacoma and not a single drip since. Is silicone the standard now for tile-over-pan installs, or do some of you still trust putty if you use a metal drain body?
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wilson.olivia1mo ago
A buddy of mine ran into the same thing a few years back, except his leak showed up in the laundry room wall instead of the ceiling. He had putty on a cast iron drain body and swore the metal would keep things sealed, but the flex in his pan still worked it loose after a couple months. He never could figure out why his dad's old installs lasted decades until someone told him the old pans sat on a solid mud bed and barely moved. Once he switched to silicone and let it cure a full day, that was the end of his problem. So my take is the drain body material matters less than how much the pan moves under your feet, and silicone just handles that movement better.
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