Up the drain

Now that the tub's back in the place and the tile around it finished, it's time to install the supply and drain lines. Imagine my surprise when I realized we don't have any supply or drain lines! All the other parts, but not those...

Lowe's wasn't much help, except to tell me that their special order parts were too pricey - though I quickly realized that for myself. Fortunately, my lovely wife directed me to Just Faucets, a store she'd visited before and one that was only about an hour away.

Before heading down there, I drove back home and took lots of photos and measurements of the pipes and their locations, but (of course) the guys at Just Faucets needed two important measurements I did not have. They also said it would be best to remove the drain, which I had hoped to keep in place and not have to deal with.

Here's the drain from above.

And from behind.

This tub is a pedestal tub, not a clawfoot or a built-in, so fortunately I didn't have to move anything or get underneath. Initially, my tools were just a hammer and a thick screwdriver, which I used to bang around the pipe and drain with so I could (hopefully) loosen up the works.  Of course, that didn't work. (Lubricant wouldn't have helped, either, because there was no way for it to get into the threads.)

Fortunately, I found a helpful article from (naturally) This Old House that helped me work it out without any fancy tools. I'd definitely suggest using their advice, but I've got some extra helpful suggestions - especially if you're working on a pedestal tub...

You'll need the tools they advise (a pair of slip-joint/channel-lock pliers and a beefy screwdriver), but I'd also recommend having two more: a heat gun and another screwdriver.  (The second screwdriver can be substituted with something else bulky enough to fit inside the drain pipe, but you'll see more about that below.)

First, insert the plier handles into the drain.

Okay, that was easy.

Second, use the beefy screwdriver as a handle/lever. You've made a homemade pipe wrench! Now you just need to rotate it. I tried to keep the pointy end within my fist to avoid gouging the tub. You may want to also wrap the pointy end of the screwdriver with cloth or thick tape as an additional protection. (Be sure to take off any rings or other jewelry.)

Now we just rotate!

If that works first time for you, great! It wasn't that easy for me. Even with lots of elbow grease, that drain simply wasn't turning. That's when you pull out the secret weapon: the heat gun. This should loosen up the old putty.

Draw, pardner!

Turn on your heat gun and blast some hot air around the back of the tub where the pipe comes out. If you are very careful, you can put the nozzle down into the drain hole and blow some heat that way, but only very briefly. (I don't know how easily you can mar the surface with a heat gun, but I wasn't taking chances.)

Otherwise, use the heat gun as directed in the instructions (i.e., not too close, moving the air around a bit and not focusing just in one spot). The metal held the heat well and I could still feel the warmth well over a minute later.

Before you go back to your homemade drain wrench, though, be sure to put your second screwdriver (or some similar long tool or object) into the outlet pipe. Otherwise you might have the same problem I had...

Another set of hands.

I spent at least a couple of minutes turning the drain, then looked back behind the tub and saw the pipe was in a new position.  That's when I realized the pipe was turning along with the drain above! The screwdriver was perfect to fix this problem, since it was long enough to act as a bar and hold the pipe in place.

Finally, I went back to turning my homemade pipe wrench.

Hey, I can see a gap!

After that, it went pretty quickly.

Ugh - look at all that old adhesive!

And that's that!