Shower Waterway Valve Plumbing Help

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Jul 10th, 2021 10:22 pm

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Jul 2nd, 2021 8:06 pm

skyline518 [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 26, 2006; 905 posts; 37 upvotes

Jul 2nd, 2021 8:06 pm

Shower Waterway Valve Plumbing Help

Our shower setup contains 1 rain shower on the ceiling and 1 hand shower with waterway valve attached on the wall. The hand shower has been dripping for a while, and it turned out the waterway valve, the square knob, is the culprit.

When I opened up the cover, it appears that the valve should be replaced by simply turning out of the female copper fitting. The problem is that when I tried to unscrew the waterway valve, the entire pex/copper fitting assembly rotate with the turning effort. I only found this out after opening up the wall behind the shower.

Can you see the reason why this would have been installed this way? I would think that the portion of the 90 degree elbow connecting to the wall and the valve should be rigid, in order to faciliate future replacement. Now I am stuck with a mysterious pex and copper fitting assembly.

What is the best way to rebuild this connection? I was thinking to use a proper drop ear style elbow that can be mounted on the 2x4, which by the way is installed at an angle, so not vertically straight.

Then weld a sliding coupling, then weld a female adapter, and the valve with a 1/2" male NPT can be installed.

For the other portion connecting to the pex from the shower main assembly, I cant seem to find the right threaded / pex adapter to connect the other part of the elbow to the existing 1/2 PEX pipe...

Last edited by skyline518 on Jul 10th, 2021 9:55 pm, edited 3 times in total.

5 replies

Jul 2nd, 2021 8:45 pm

MrFrugal1: Deal Addict; Jan 2, 2012; 4478 posts; 3664 upvotes; KINGSTON,ON

Jul 2nd, 2021 8:45 pm

Unfortunately Bobo the Clown installed your faucet assembly. It was installed this way because the installer had no clue.

You are on the right path.
Use the 1/2" female NPT (I prefer a brass fitting rather than copper) to attach the valve. Solder a short piece of 1/2" copper into it, then a copper elbow, and then a 3"-4" piece of 1/2" copper. Solder a female PEX adapter onto that piece. Use copper clamps to fasten the assembly to the stud. Essentially you are duplicating what's there, only with copper to stop the rotation.

The drop ear won't work in this situation since it's at right angles to the stud. You could scab in a chuck of 2x4, but it's not really worth the effort. Clamps and screws will actually provide more rotational resistance, especially if you use a longer length of copper.

+2

Jul 2nd, 2021 9:36 pm

1chinaman: Sr. Member; Jan 19, 2013; 689 posts; 603 upvotes; Ottawa

Jul 2nd, 2021 9:36 pm

Just an idea
What if you undo/cut the pipe support then push the pipe into the shower area. Looks like there enough slack in the pex pipe.
Maybe enough would stick out and you can put a backup wrench on the copper fitting.

+1

Jul 2nd, 2021 9:49 pm

MrFrugal1: Deal Addict; Jan 2, 2012; 4478 posts; 3664 upvotes; KINGSTON,ON

Jul 2nd, 2021 9:49 pm

1chinaman wrote: ↑ Just an idea
What if you undo/cut the pipe support then push the pipe into the shower area. Looks like there enough slack in the pex pipe.
Maybe enough would stick out and you can put a backup wrench on the copper fitting.

That's a Bandaid solution. It just needs to be redone properly. OP has a firm grasp of what the problem is, a materials list, and is willing to correct it while the wall assembly is open.
Doing a half assed repair is as bad as, if not worse, than not doing right in the first place.

+1

Jul 10th, 2021 9:59 pm

skyline518 [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 26, 2006; 905 posts; 37 upvotes

Jul 10th, 2021 9:59 pm

MrFrugal1 wrote: ↑ Unfortunately Bobo the Clown installed your faucet assembly. It was installed this way because the installer had no clue.

You are on the right path.
Use the 1/2" female NPT (I prefer a brass fitting rather than copper) to attach the valve. Solder a short piece of 1/2" copper into it, then a copper elbow, and then a 3"-4" piece of 1/2" copper. Solder a female PEX adapter onto that piece. Use copper clamps to fasten the assembly to the stud. Essentially you are duplicating what's there, only with copper to stop the rotation.

The drop ear won't work in this situation since it's at right angles to the stud. You could scab in a chuck of 2x4, but it's not really worth the effort. Clamps and screws will actually provide more rotational resistance, especially if you use a longer length of copper.

Thanks for your suggestion and providing all the details. With your explaination, I have learned a lot and confirmed my understanding of some basic plumbing!

Jul 10th, 2021 10:22 pm

MrFrugal1: Deal Addict; Jan 2, 2012; 4478 posts; 3664 upvotes; KINGSTON,ON

Jul 10th, 2021 10:22 pm

skyline518 wrote: ↑ Thanks for your suggestion and providing all the details. With your explaination, I have learned a lot and confirmed my understanding of some basic plumbing!

Glad to be of assistance. I have seen the exact issue you have on more than one occasion, unfortunately. You had a better grasp of the issue than the previous guy that installed it.

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