When it comes to shopping for linear drains, the Noble Freestyle Linear Drain is a stellar choice. I’ve been installing tile full-time for nearly 30 years and this is my go-to linear drain.
It’s not perfect but it’s very well-engineered. This post explains why I feel that way.
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Noble Freestyle Linear Drain: 7 Reasons it’s a Winner
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Interestingly, this drain is a bit of a rarity in that it can be used with both sealed shower systems and water-in-water-out shower systems.
However, you need to buy the spacer kit to use it with the latter version.
1. It’s made out of solid ABS or PVC
For starters, let’s look at its durability and build quality. The Noble Freestyle Linear drain is machined out of a piece of solid ABS plastic (or you can order a PVC linear drain if you happen to have PVC plumbing).
You can’t flex the drain nor can you twist it. Compare that to other drains on the market. The others will flex, bend, twist, and fold.
2. Noble Freestyle Linear Drain glues directly to the waste pipe
Because it’s made out of solid ABS, it glues directly to your drain pipe for your shower.
This is one of my favorite features of this drain. Do you know how other linear drains connect to the waste pipe?
Most other drains use a fitting that is ‘attached’ by tightening a hose clamp around the pipe and another around the drain outlet. No glue, just friction.
Why go to the work of gluing every fitting of the drain pipe together only to use a hose clamp around the drain? The Noble linear drain uses the same ABS glue that’s used for your pipes.
3. The waterproofing liner is glued and clamped.
Most bonded waterproofing systems are attached to the linear drain one of two ways:
- Waterproofing membrane is attached to a flange on the drain with sealant
- Linear drain has waterproofing membrane preattached and you bond the two membranes together with either sealant or thinset mortar
The Noble Freestyle Linear Drain uses the first method but takes it a step further. After adhering the membrane with sealant there is a clamping collar that ensures this critical connection stays clamped together while the adhesive cures.
This way, the membrane stays sealed to the drain and won’t unattach or be pulled away during installation. By the way, this philosophy is incorporated into their square Freestyle Drain also.
4. Internally Sloped to Drain
This may not seem like all that big of a deal until you look at how many other linear drains don’t slope to the drain pipe.
That’s right, many are perfectly flat on the bottom. Why? I think that’s a great question.
However, this linear drain is machined with the bottom sloping to the drain pipe.
5. Noble Linear drain comes with an offset drain outlet
This linear drain has the drain outlet in an offset position. This means that it’s not in the center.
The reasoning behind this is that sometimes there is a floor joist in the way of the drain outlet.
With an offset drain outlet, you can simply flip the drain around and the outlet will be in a different location.
With a center drain outlet, flipping the drain around doesn’t relocate the outlet. So you have two chances with an offset outlet whereas center only gives you one shot.
6. Easy placement- no shimming or measuring
If you want the drain on one end of the shower then it’s simple to place. You just place it in the corner of the rough framing. It sits right up against the bottom plate of the wall.
It’s already the correct thickness so you just place it in the corner of the shower and screw it to the floor (if you’re on a wood subfloor).
This assumes that your subfloor is level, of course, and you do want to make sure not to drive the screws too far as the ear of the drain could break off.
7. Hair strainer
Lastly, there are two hair strainers that get placed on each side of the drain outlet. This keeps things besides water from having a straight shot down the drain and clogging things up.
Drawbacks to Noble Freestyle Linear Drain
As much as love the way this drain is engineered, there are a few things that I wish could be improved. These complaints are more from the end-user’s perspective.
Lack of variety of drain grate finishes
If you like the brushed aluminum look then you’re in luck because there are several strainer options in this finish.
On the other hand, if you like any other finish, you won’t be happy with your options. However, they do have a tile-top strainer. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about matching other shower fixtures.
No puller
The Noble Freestyle Linear Drain does not include any tool to aid with removing the strainer. This would be helpful with either the tile-in or metal stainer versions.
Instead, homeowners are forced to find some tool and hopefully, they don’t scratch their new drain cover.
Metal strainer attaches with screws
Finally, the metal strainer attaches with screws. The screws are below the top strainer level which makes them difficult to remove prior to pulling the strainer out.
This just leads to the chance that they will roll around, possibly down the drain, or otherwise get lost. I’d rather see the strainer just sit in place or possibly snap in and out.
The tile-top version has no screws so this isn’t an issue for that selection.
My Verdict on the Noble Freestyle Linear Drain
From an “under-the-hood” view, the Noble Freestyle Linear Drain is the best I’ve seen in terms of its build quality and its role in a shower’s water management.
However, it’s lacking in terms of finishes and could use more attention to detail from the end-user’s perspective.
Overall, it’s a winner, particularly if you are looking for a tile-in shower strainer.
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