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About a month ago my apartment shifted slightly on it’s foundation and caused a bunch of issues, one is that the tub overflow pipe is off-center now and the plate completely fell off. (I realize the foundation is a much bigger problem but I rent and nothing can be done for that unfortunately).

Is there any kind of temporary fix I can put in place to at least get the tub plate back on? The screw is off-center about an inch and I tried nudging the pipe back but it doesn’t move.

My landlord doesn’t want to fix it because he said he’s just going to redo the bathroom after I leave, but I’m also not allowed to drill or hire anybody else so my DIY options are kind of limited. But I’m learning to become handy and decent at cobbling together fixes and I’m hoping there’s something I can do. I know it’s silly but I just hate that it’s like this, it looks awful. Thank you in advance for any help.

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    Looks like it was fairly off-center to begin with, based on the lighter area where the cover was before.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 14:31
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    Might be something the local health and/or building departments be interested in. Something like that will cause leaks that could lead to mold/rot damage to the building. Maybe they will kick the landlord off of his chair. Be prepared to move, foundation shifting can lead to building condemned.
    – crip659
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 14:46
  • If water leaks, is there anything below that can be damaged? (And this is just my opinion: if the landlord doesn’t care, then you shouldn’t either.)
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 15:00
  • @Ecnerwal It might have been, but the cover was able to stay on before. I can’t even get it to stay on now at all and that only happened after the shifting event. All of the doors on this side of the house are also off kilter now and they won’t shut. Oh and the concrete patio sunk. Good times.
    – Katie
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 15:05
  • @AloysiusDefenestrate This bathroom is on the second floor so possibly. It’s not so much caring as much as I just don’t like how it looks. It’s not the nicest place so I do my best to keep it up and make small fixes here and there when I can, to make it tolerable. I’d even be fine with gluing the thing just so it stays on and I don’t have that large gaping hole there, if that’s even possible with caulk or something.
    – Katie
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 15:09

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The easiest way would be to get a small tube of silicon caulking/gasket maker. Clear will look nicest.

Clean around the hole and the drain cover. Remove the screw. Place the silicon around the edge of the cover and press onto the hole. Might want some tape(duct) to hold the cover on, till the caulking dries. Do the same with the screw and push it into the cover hole.

Spread some of the caulking around the cracks in the tub.

Any leaks, blame the landlord for not fixing. Would try to have to not need the overflow. This repair is just for looks.

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