subject: Shower Drain And Strainer Wrench [print this page] A wrench that includes a handle and a tool head. The tool head is positionable in a plurality of positions relative to the handle. The wrench is useful in installing and repairing shower drain and sink drains and other similar drain arrangements.
Many households currently include showers. When a shower is installed, the shower drain must be tightened at the bottom of the shower to form a watertight seal. The sealing of the shower drain is typically accomplished by the use of plumber'sputty and/or another sealant that is applied to the rim of the shower drain, and the shower drain is then placed in the existing hole of the shower stall. The body of the shower drain includes male threads. A sealing ring, typically formed of brass,having female threads is then threaded onto the drain body and then tightened against the bottom of the shower so as to form the watertight seal.
The sealing ring typically includes small tabs (usually four or more) that enable the installer to grip the ring so that the sealing ring can be tightened on the body of the drain. The tightening procedure is typically accomplished with a set ofpliers. The base of the shower stall is commonly formed of a wood frame that includes attached fiberglass. The wooden frame often extends out past the drain, thereby interfering with easy access to the sealing ring. As such, the tightening of thesealing ring on the body of the drain to form a watertight seal can be very difficult and time consuming. In addition, the limited and/or obstructed access to the sealing ring can make it difficult to properly tighten the sealing ring on the body of thedrain, thereby potentially resulting in an improper seal being formed.
Strainers are also commonly used with sink and shower drains. These strainers are commonly formed of metal or plastic and commonly include a hexagonal shaped nut that is used to seal the strainer to a sink or shower. These hexagonal nuts aresimilar in size to the sealing rings. Similar problems exist for these hexagonal shaped nut as with the sealing rings when attempting to tighten the hexagonal shaped nut when access to the hexagonal shaped nut is limited and/or obstructed.
In view of the current state of the art of plumbing tools, there is a demand for a wrench that can be used to more easily and conveniently access and tighten a strainer and/or a sealing ring of a drain.
The present invention is generally directed to plumber's tools, and more particularly to a wrench, and still more particularly to a wrench, and even more particularly to a wrench for use on sink and/or shower stall drains. Although the wrenchwill be particularly described with reference to a sealing ring or strainer wrench for use on sink and/or shower stall drains, it will be appreciated that the wrench has many other plumbing and non-plumbing applications, all of which are encompassed bythe present invention.
The wrench of the present invention is designed to make it more convenient to tighten a stainer and/or sealing ring on the body of a drain. In the housing industry, prefabricated shower stalls are commonly formed of fiberglass and/or other fiberand/or resin materials. These prefabricated shower stalls include a hole in the shower stall bottom that is designed to receive a shower drain.
The shower drain, which is commonly formed of a metal such as brass, has to be tightened in the bottom ofthe shower so as to form a watertight seal. The watertight seal is commonly formed by applying plumber's putty or some other sealant to the bottom side lip or rim of the shower drain. After the putty or sealant has been applied, the body of the drainis inserted through the hole in the shower stall until the lip or rim of the shower drain engages the bottom of the shower stall. The body of the shower drain is typically threaded so as to receive a sealing ring.
The sealing ring is commonly formed ofa metal material, however, this is not required. The sealing ring is designed to be tightened on the body of the shower drain until a watertight seal is formed between the lip or rim of the shower drain and the bottom of the shower stall. The sealingring commonly includes a plurality of small tabs (e.g., usually four or more) that enable an installer such as a plumber to grip and turn the sealing ring so that the sealing ring can be properly tightened on the body of the shower drain. In onenon-limiting embodiment of the invention, the wrench of the present invention is designed to enable an installer to more easily access and/or tighten the sealing ring and to enable the installer to easily tighten the sealing ring on the body of theshower drain so as to properly form a watertight seal.
Commonly, shower drain have a wooden frame that extends out past the shower drain thereby making it difficult in the past to access and tighten the sealing ring on the body of the drain body. The wrenchof the present invention can be used to at least partially overcomes this past problem In another and/or additional embodiment of the invention, the wrench of the present invention is designed to enable an installer to more easily access and/or tightenthe strainer to enable the installer to easily tighten the strainer in a shower and/or sink so as to properly form a watertight seal.
