I had a tub drain in the wrong place and was able to use this technique to fix my problem. I used the link you provided to buy the parts and it worked out great. NO LEAKS. Thank You so much for this information!!
Just bought a house and the floor joist was notched like 5 inches. Smh. The joist now sags. I’ll tell my plumber when they remodel to offset the tub drain and sister the joist.
We always get an education from all your videos. You explain things so well. So many little details that we don’t really think about that goes in to a new house build. It’s going to be so nice once you have it all done! Great work, sir. God bless.
Thank you for being so concerned about doing your job correctly! Others need to follow your lead, as I just found an I-joist's top flange completely hacked out where our shower drain pipe drops through the subfloor. In addition, the pipe was so close to the remaining joist web that they were making heavy contact when the shower base flexed, which over the years broke the pipe off right at the shower drain. Fortunately, I found this while doing some weatherization in the crawl space, so there wasn't any real damage yet. I'm working on cutting the joist the rest of the way out and installing headers to transfer the load to the adjacent joists. I did a quick and dirty replacement of the broken pipe, so we can use the shower, but I'll cut it back and redo the piping once I get the joist work squared away. We bought the home new 17 years ago, so the inspector, plumber and contractor really boned us here! Dang cut out joist flange was lying on the ground in plain sight too. Looks like there was a leak during the pressure test, so the plumber went back in and did the joist hacking and rerouted the pipe to get the leak stopped. I wish everyone had your integrity!
I was able to observe the 3-month construction of my home in 1987, almost weekly. I took lots of pictures of electrical wiring and of plumbing, before any drywall went up. That way, if in the future I had to fix things that became hidden from view, I could consult my numbered photos that matched numbers on a master copy of my floor plan. A lots of effort, considering that in the 18-years that I owned the new home, I only needed those detailed photos about 5 times. I see many exposed areas that Paul could photograph now, before drywall goes in. Of course, he will also have his videos which may be all the views that he wil ever need.
Man I get really excited when I see Marshall posts a new video. I always learn something useful for my trade and love seeing the progress of this project. I literally force my girlfriend to watch these on the Big screen and now she's interested lol. Thank you for sharing this knowledge and experience with us. I want to build a post frame home for my family in the future and I'll be blessing you and your family the whole time!
Two things for anyone using this video for guidance. 1) If the tub you are installing is a freestanding soaker tub or a built in tub like this one... "and" if it is made of acrylic / plastic, read the installation instructions carefully. Some manufacturers will void your warranty if you use Plumbers Putty on the top drain flange as he shows here at 1:34 because Plumber's Putty can have an adverse effect on the Acrylic finish. In this case its best to use 100% silicone caulk. Then again. if the plastic/ acrylic tub you are installing doesn't specify a specific caulk and you want to use plumbers putty you should at least make sure the brand says "stainless" or "non-staining" on the label, (like the brand shown being used in this video) to prevent discoloring the plastic. 2) Not shown in this video... if your tub has an overflow drain the upper flange piece may have several large holes in the tube just below the top part of the drain flange.These holes allow water from the overflow to escape down the drain even when the drain is closed. When overflow style tub drains leak most of the time it's the threads where the large rubber washer and nut below the tub are allowing water past. In these scenarios you should put a ring of silicone caulk between the gasket and tub as well as applying teflon tape and/or pipe dope to the threads. Here's a video showing where the threads can leak.- ua-cam.com/video/pj65UHvwKLY/v-deo.html
This little ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxVoi3B4CB6Oygq1-vo4OTL1M_M5JkrXif tub works perfect in our 6 x 6 shower and is easy to get in and out. Also easy to drain.
@@TortureBot: Primer is not required in all applications. However, if you are joining two pieces of pipe that will be pressurized, you definitely want to use primer. Primer preps the pipe for solvent. Solvent then "welds" - not glues - two pieces of pipe together. Weld joint is stronger then glued joint. For glueing PVC drain for tub - as shown in this video - primer is not really necessary. Hope that explains. Thank you
Under my tub when I remodeled my bathrooms I put 2” rigid foam on the floor and then 2 cans of large gap expanding foam. When you do that, you need to fill the tub at least half way with water to counter the pressure of the expanding foam. The tubs basins are rock solid.
Good work my friend. I too am starting the process of my pole barn home. Lots of obstacles so far. Rewarding work for sure. Love watching your videos and seeing how you made it work. God bless you and your family.
Great video! As you’re looking at doing this plumbing, what room are you in? If it’s a closet put yourself a door there for future work. My first home had this, what a great idea. If you have to do some work or replace a faucet this works great. Thanks….
Then you would obviously have to go to the builder and explain the issue and let him or her decide if they want to get a different tub or get the engineer to draw a revision on that truss showing where it had to be notched and what has to be done to repair it once it is notched for the tub shoe
We’re you using clear primer? I am installing a new tub. It is a little more narrow than the old cast iron tub that was in it. I got a little stumped today when I check the alignment of the old cast iron drain pipe snd the new drain and P trap. That and there is joist/support across the front that is crowding the overflow where it connects to the drain. The old drain is about 2” off from where I need it to line up with the new drain. I might give this a shot. I had figured maybe using a 22 1/2 degree fitting and recutting some pipe. This might be simpler.
Slowly learning and came to this video. The previous owner notched about 4 inches into my floor joist joist now has a bend in it. Figuring I’ll sister the joist and do this offset.
If the tub has a floor level bottom, you're kinda screwed. When I remodelled my house, I just reframed the joists. Had to. Besides, the original joist had an 8" notch in it for the drain.
Any tips for when your only off by a small margin? I’m putting in a tub and my trap is about 5/8 off from where it needs to be. It seems like I can’t figure out what the best route to do with having to redo the whole trap as well
How did you hook up underneath, to go around the floor joist? I have a beam in the way of my shower, that is 8 " steel. Can I make my own P trap as long as the entrance and the exit are the same approximate height ?
Retired plumber....purple primer required and tub to be filled up with water to overflow drain on tub where I came from... we taught framers not to put joists where toilets and tubs go...chain saw works wonders to remind them
He’s fortunate, I received a stern warning from the plumbing inspector. He didn’t want to work that hard to determine if primer was applied. Where I plumbed clear primer did not have a UPC label (united plumbing code) which was required.
Depends on local code, not all states require purple primer. I know Massachusetts and Illinois allow clear but I know there's still local districts within these states that want purple. In my state (New Jersey), it's all purple. And here if you started cutting joists out of the way to fit your pipe in, you would be fired immediately and you'd never be working in that town again. The joists are there for a reason, it's your job as the plumber to work around it and not be lazy and take the easy way out of every problem.
There's a lot of state's that is code to use purple primer the state I used to live in it was code, I moved to another state and it not code in this state so I use clear it makes for a cleaner job for sure, different state's different codes it's a pain when you go to a different state sometimes.
I assume that when you plumb double basin sinks you also do that in schedule 40. I started out doing apartment maintenance and I constantly ran into people breaking the cheap thin wall tube double basin sink kits that you can get at the home creepshow. I would redo those in schedule 40 and they would never break again. This served me well in 2 ways, one the people wouldn't break them shoving stuff under the sink and two the plumbing for the sinks were back to back with the adjacent apartments and I had an incident with a rotor rooter guy shoving his power snake threw to the other apartment and busting threw the trap and putting about 6 feet of snake line into the persons kitchen. By the time I realized what he had done and went into the apartment , I seen 6 feet of drain snake whipping around the persons kitchen with all her grocery bags wrapped around the end, it had sawed threw her cabinet base door and was standing upright in the kitchen as it spiraled around.
That short pipe between the drain and the sanitary Tee needs to slop down toward the Tee, otherwise you will always have standing water in that section when you drain the tub.
I doubt that tub does. I think it is usually for the deeper tubs without a lot of room underneath. I'm sure that is what he will address later because that foot won't keep it from flexing or cracking.
I wish the person that built my house 30 something years ago knew this little trick instead of cutting halfway through the floor joist which I had to replace recently because the floor started sagging.
Think he was using clear primer which works but some call for purple primer for inspectors to see. Clear primer is usually for under sinks and traps for no mess
Do you have pluming inspections there? Most places require that you use primer and you need to use a color like purple so the inspectors can see it. again, never put glue in the female part of the connection.
Incorrect, you always glue both male and female ends of a connection. Whoever told you that doesn't know the first thing about plumbing. And also no, not all states require a colored primer for inspections.
Really. Smh instead of the normal waste and overflow you get what youve got a schedule 40 glue together one then you can do anything you need to do this is where 22.5 deg fittings come in handy for the overflow sometimes or 45s anyway
Why do you say that I used to actually prefer the schedule 40 waste and overflows to the tubular ones that are much much cheaper a glued joint when done right is much better than a slip joint w a nut and a washer granted the slip joints are easier to install and much easier as well but this is a much better design in my opinion that anyway
Great idea, poor execution. You can't reliability dry fit. Build from the bottom up. Also, you should always be twisting the pipes while using the cement.
When you dry fit the pipes you don't always get them to seat totally because of the dry friction. The glue acts as a lubricant so they will tend to seat a little further when pushed in. The marks keep you from pushing them in any further than you need. A few 1/4" off here and there can case you cut out and redo the entire line. Plus it's just a good easy habit. Measure twice cut and do once.
If you're doing offsets like this, it doesn't hurt to put in a reference mark so you're not fighting it when gluing when you've already had it all dry fitted perfectly. The fittings themselves also have reference marks on them that you could use so you don't always need to actually pencil one on. The primer eats the graphite right off anyway. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to get a precision cut and you cut it too short and have to re-do it. If you mark the pipe accordingly and do it right the first time, you don't have to worry about that.
I had a tub drain in the wrong place and was able to use this technique to fix my problem. I used the link you provided to buy the parts and it worked out great. NO LEAKS. Thank You so much for this information!!
Just bought a house and the floor joist was notched like 5 inches. Smh. The joist now sags. I’ll tell my plumber when they remodel to offset the tub drain and sister the joist.
We always get an education from all your videos. You explain things so well. So many little details that we don’t really think about that goes in to a new house build. It’s going to be so nice once you have it all done! Great work, sir. God bless.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank you for being so concerned about doing your job correctly! Others need to follow your lead, as I just found an I-joist's top flange completely hacked out where our shower drain pipe drops through the subfloor. In addition, the pipe was so close to the remaining joist web that they were making heavy contact when the shower base flexed, which over the years broke the pipe off right at the shower drain. Fortunately, I found this while doing some weatherization in the crawl space, so there wasn't any real damage yet. I'm working on cutting the joist the rest of the way out and installing headers to transfer the load to the adjacent joists. I did a quick and dirty replacement of the broken pipe, so we can use the shower, but I'll cut it back and redo the piping once I get the joist work squared away. We bought the home new 17 years ago, so the inspector, plumber and contractor really boned us here! Dang cut out joist flange was lying on the ground in plain sight too. Looks like there was a leak during the pressure test, so the plumber went back in and did the joist hacking and rerouted the pipe to get the leak stopped. I wish everyone had your integrity!
Wow, thanks for sharing and sorry that you had a poor install!
I was able to observe the 3-month construction of my home in 1987, almost weekly. I took lots of pictures of electrical wiring and of plumbing, before any drywall went up. That way, if in the future I had to fix things that became hidden from view, I could consult my numbered photos that matched numbers on a master copy of my floor plan. A lots of effort, considering that in the 18-years that I owned the new home, I only needed those detailed photos about 5 times. I see many exposed areas that Paul could photograph now, before drywall goes in. Of course, he will also have his videos which may be all the views that he wil ever need.
Contractors fix hidden things all the time without photos. You do this long enough and you pretty much know what’s in the walls.
Man I get really excited when I see Marshall posts a new video. I always learn something useful for my trade and love seeing the progress of this project. I literally force my girlfriend to watch these on the Big screen and now she's interested lol. Thank you for sharing this knowledge and experience with us. I want to build a post frame home for my family in the future and I'll be blessing you and your family the whole time!
Thanks for the comment! Appreciate it... the interior finishing is coming up and that's where things will get even more exciting to watch!
Just like my Dad taught me! Great tutorial, as always. You are a natural teacher.
Two things for anyone using this video for guidance. 1) If the tub you are installing is a freestanding soaker tub or a built in tub like this one... "and" if it is made of acrylic / plastic, read the installation instructions carefully. Some manufacturers will void your warranty if you use Plumbers Putty on the top drain flange as he shows here at 1:34 because Plumber's Putty can have an adverse effect on the Acrylic finish. In this case its best to use 100% silicone caulk. Then again. if the plastic/ acrylic tub you are installing doesn't specify a specific caulk and you want to use plumbers putty you should at least make sure the brand says "stainless" or "non-staining" on the label, (like the brand shown being used in this video) to prevent discoloring the plastic. 2) Not shown in this video... if your tub has an overflow drain the upper flange piece may have several large holes in the tube just below the top part of the drain flange.These holes allow water from the overflow to escape down the drain even when the drain is closed. When overflow style tub drains leak most of the time it's the threads where the large rubber washer and nut below the tub are allowing water past. In these scenarios you should put a ring of silicone caulk between the gasket and tub as well as applying teflon tape and/or pipe dope to the threads. Here's a video showing where the threads can leak.- ua-cam.com/video/pj65UHvwKLY/v-deo.html
Another really good video, anyone would be so happy to have you work on their plumbing, i enjoyed watching you work, 😊👍💕💕💕
Thank you!
Now you should do a video of when a floor joist is in the way and the customer picked a tub that isn’t above floor rough
That's exactly what I'm dealing with. Also, 2x8 joists. Nightmare.
This little ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxVoi3B4CB6Oygq1-vo4OTL1M_M5JkrXif tub works perfect in our 6 x 6 shower and is easy to get in and out. Also easy to drain.
Finally, a plumber who is not using Primer before he applies PVC glue ! PS: dig your work shoes !
Ha…thanks!
I was actually wondering why he wasn't, although I did see 2 different cans sitting there. Is it generally not needed? I've always used it.
@@TortureBot: Primer is not required in all applications. However, if you are joining two pieces of pipe that will be pressurized, you definitely want to use primer. Primer preps the pipe for solvent. Solvent then "welds" - not glues - two pieces of pipe together. Weld joint is stronger then glued joint. For glueing PVC drain for tub - as shown in this video - primer is not really necessary. Hope that explains. Thank you
Really good advice about the line when dry fitting. The worst is when you dryfit then use the glue and come up a1/2" short😭
Under my tub when I remodeled my bathrooms I put 2” rigid foam on the floor and then 2 cans of large gap expanding foam. When you do that, you need to fill the tub at least half way with water to counter the pressure of the expanding foam. The tubs basins are rock solid.
Thank you for writing this. I am ready to set a tub that has no insulation and planned to use foam.
Why?
@@pearlperlitavenegas2023 makes the base of the tub rock solid....might even keep the water warmer longer as a side benefit.
Thanks for all the new uploads! Nice progress!
I see you using PVC pipe here, but some others are using ABS. Why did you choose PVC?
Thank you for the detailed video.
Good work my friend. I too am starting the process of my pole barn home. Lots of obstacles so far. Rewarding work for sure. Love watching your videos and seeing how you made it work. God bless you and your family.
Great video! As you’re looking at doing this plumbing, what room are you in? If it’s a closet put yourself a door there for future work. My first home had this, what a great idea. If you have to do some work or replace a faucet this works great. Thanks….
What do you do when the shower tray waste goes hard to the ground? This example is only applicable if you have a cavity beneath the fixture.
Then you would obviously have to go to the builder and explain the issue and let him or her decide if they want to get a different tub or get the engineer to draw a revision on that truss showing where it had to be notched and what has to be done to repair it once it is notched for the tub shoe
Thanks for activating the subtitles.
My like
Great stuff! Loving the tips for working alone!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I found that very useful to day alone, thanks.
Nice video! Loved to see the process.
Thank you!
We’re you using clear primer?
I am installing a new tub. It is a little more narrow than the old cast iron tub that was in it.
I got a little stumped today when I check the alignment of the old cast iron drain pipe snd the new drain and P trap.
That and there is joist/support across the front that is crowding the overflow where it connects to the drain.
The old drain is about 2” off from where I need it to line up with the new drain. I might give this a shot.
I had figured maybe using a 22 1/2 degree fitting and recutting some pipe.
This might be simpler.
Excellent job, Paul !!!
Thanks!
Push button drains are the best for this situation. Great job.
Yes, thanks!
Great video
Slowly learning and came to this video. The previous owner notched about 4 inches into my floor joist joist now has a bend in it. Figuring I’ll sister the joist and do this offset.
If the tub has a floor level bottom, you're kinda screwed. When I remodelled my house, I just reframed the joists. Had to. Besides, the original joist had an 8" notch in it for the drain.
Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
Question: why fiberglass tub shower. Why not do tile and grout? I can see the kids bathroom. Just my thoughts. You do awesome work.
Great question. Our master shower will be all tile, but we decided on this for the other bathrooms primarily for budget/time concerns.
I liked very much, and i subcribed to see all your videos!
Thank you! We're nearly finished with this house and building a lot more this year!
Any tips for when your only off by a small margin? I’m putting in a tub and my trap is about 5/8 off from where it needs to be. It seems like I can’t figure out what the best route to do with having to redo the whole trap as well
A regular and a street 22.5 degree fitting put together may be the answer
How did you hook up underneath, to go around the floor joist? I have a beam in the way of my shower, that is 8 " steel. Can I make my own P trap as long as the entrance and the exit are the same approximate height ?
Enjoying the show
We have that floor joist issue but on concrete slab. We are renovating. Darn it.
So Same same thing no
Retired plumber....purple primer required and tub to be filled up with water to overflow drain on tub where I came from... we taught framers not to put joists where toilets and tubs go...chain saw works wonders to remind them
He’s using clear primer.
He’s fortunate, I received a stern warning from the plumbing inspector. He didn’t want to work that hard to determine if primer was applied. Where I plumbed clear primer did not have a UPC label (united plumbing code) which was required.
united plumbing code@@joetrippi1603
Depends on local code, not all states require purple primer. I know Massachusetts and Illinois allow clear but I know there's still local districts within these states that want purple. In my state (New Jersey), it's all purple.
And here if you started cutting joists out of the way to fit your pipe in, you would be fired immediately and you'd never be working in that town again. The joists are there for a reason, it's your job as the plumber to work around it and not be lazy and take the easy way out of every problem.
You should be using purple primer the state that I Live in if you don’t use purple primer you feel inspection
There's a lot of state's that is code to use purple primer the state I used to live in it was code, I moved to another state and it not code in this state so I use clear it makes for a cleaner job for sure, different state's different codes it's a pain when you go to a different state sometimes.
Not all states require purple.
Purple is not required in most if not of Wisconsin. Primer is, just doesn't need to be purple.
Tape and dope the threads of the drain shoe... Always
I assume that when you plumb double basin sinks you also do that in schedule 40. I started out doing apartment maintenance and I constantly ran into people breaking the cheap thin wall tube double basin sink kits that you can get at the home creepshow. I would redo those in schedule 40 and they would never break again. This served me well in 2 ways, one the people wouldn't break them shoving stuff under the sink and two the plumbing for the sinks were back to back with the adjacent apartments and I had an incident with a rotor rooter guy shoving his power snake threw to the other apartment and busting threw the trap and putting about 6 feet of snake line into the persons kitchen. By the time I realized what he had done and went into the apartment , I seen 6 feet of drain snake whipping around the persons kitchen with all her grocery bags wrapped around the end, it had sawed threw her cabinet base door and was standing upright in the kitchen as it spiraled around.
Good to wear gloves. Good to use purple PVC primer to enable plumbing inspector to see that primer was used.
That short pipe between the drain and the sanitary Tee needs to slop down toward the Tee, otherwise you will always have standing water in that section when you drain the tub.
What section do you think he should have used?
@@lillithjones993 Same section, just angle it down a little. The pipe is forgiving that way when covered with glue..
You do a great job! Do you have a video of installing you water heater? Thanks.
Thanks ❤❤❤❤
HI I like yout videos a lot can you please tell me what tab brand is that
Thanks for the very good video
Where was tube the primer? Also plumbers putty dries out, we now use high grade clear bathroom silicone now a days.
NICE JOB, QUALITY WORK‼️‼️👍👍. Vinny 🇺🇸
Very useful video thanks
Nice job
Thanks!
A pair of pliers will do in a pinch to tighten the drain down. just slap a rag or something over the end to avoid scratches...
Could you tell me what it is I need to go from a 1 1/4 drain kit to a 2in PVC pipe going down to the trap.
What do you do if your tub isn’t an above the floor drain?
No mortar under tub?
How did you hang the tub so high in the air? There's no explanation as to how to set the tub. Mine sets on the floor.
Is this white pipe the same as the black ABS pipe?
No primer on the PVC joints? The inspectors in my area will want to see that or I will fail inspection.
Does your tub require concrete support under it? The manufacturer will specify if it is self-supporting.
Great job!
I doubt that tub does. I think it is usually for the deeper tubs without a lot of room underneath. I'm sure that is what he will address later because that foot won't keep it from flexing or cracking.
I wish the person that built my house 30 something years ago knew this little trick instead of cutting halfway through the floor joist which I had to replace recently because the floor started sagging.
Thanks for watching! Sorry you had to replace stuff
Just a reminder to use "purple" cleaner before gluing.
gosh man. I sure wish that only certified plumbers and journeymen made plumbing videos. All these half cracked DIY guys doing trash work.
Primer and glue bond the pvc not just glue.
Good job, most plumbers just cut the joists.
Thanks for watching!
yes.
💪💪💪👌 Perfect! ✌
Thanks!
Ever heard of a drain tool?
I have never seen a plumber who avoids cutting a joist.
A street 45° would have worked better on the tub overflow
Other than the part where if the tub is sitting on the subfloor the bath shoe will go thru the joist. Good try though
I need this for a shower pan where there is no room between the pan and the floor
Are you gonna insulate around the tub?
Insulate what? The walls or the tub itself? Tub, no. Walls, yes for sound.
My Cool Moral Lay Ha why would you insulate around a tub?
@@heknows5418 it keeps the heat in
OSHA approved sliders
I have seen so many idiot plumbers just cut joist out. LOL.
It would be much harder if you don't have proper access from the back
why no primer?
Think he was using clear primer which works but some call for purple primer for inspectors to see. Clear primer is usually for under sinks and traps for no mess
Gonna have to use this method on my bathtub
why is the floor so dirty
*3-1/4
Yo where the mud that belongs over that tub
We'll get to that in another video. Thanks for watching!
11:38--surprised there is no gasket for the overflow....ah....15:56....never mind... ;p
Haha thanks for watching!
Just hack it out. That is what gramps did! Never lived it down.
lol
:)
Do you have pluming inspections there? Most places require that you use primer and you need to use a color like purple so the inspectors can see it.
again, never put glue in the female part of the connection.
That is not true. You do both sections to ensure a good bond.
Incorrect, you always glue both male and female ends of a connection. Whoever told you that doesn't know the first thing about plumbing.
And also no, not all states require a colored primer for inspections.
T K not all states require that awful purple shit, and you glue both pipe and socket of fitting. Also a 1/4 turn at least
Really. Smh instead of the normal waste and overflow you get what youve got a schedule 40 glue together one then you can do anything you need to do this is where 22.5 deg fittings come in handy for the overflow sometimes or 45s anyway
I hate when that happens smh😒
That mi friend is a MICKEY MOUSE JOB The title of your video should be how to mickey mouse a tub shower
Why do you say that I used to actually prefer the schedule 40 waste and overflows to the tubular ones that are much much cheaper a glued joint when done right is much better than a slip joint w a nut and a washer granted the slip joints are easier to install and much easier as well but this is a much better design in my opinion that anyway
Great idea, poor execution. You can't reliability dry fit. Build from the bottom up. Also, you should always be twisting the pipes while using the cement.
Making marks on pipe made no sense waste of time you dont need a reference mark . It just made no sense to me am i wrong?
When you dry fit the pipes you don't always get them to seat totally because of the dry friction. The glue acts as a lubricant so they will tend to seat a little further when pushed in. The marks keep you from pushing them in any further than you need. A few 1/4" off here and there can case you cut out and redo the entire line. Plus it's just a good easy habit. Measure twice cut and do once.
If you're doing offsets like this, it doesn't hurt to put in a reference mark so you're not fighting it when gluing when you've already had it all dry fitted perfectly. The fittings themselves also have reference marks on them that you could use so you don't always need to actually pencil one on. The primer eats the graphite right off anyway. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to get a precision cut and you cut it too short and have to re-do it. If you mark the pipe accordingly and do it right the first time, you don't have to worry about that.
Yes you’re wrong
Very wrong!
Its just good work partice to mark the fittings more to what. Angle they need to go than depth in the fitting but to ea their own
An imperial tape measure! How Quaint. :-D
Shouldn't there be a rubber gasket between the overflow fitting and the tub wall??? Use the gasket for dry fit alignment...