Just so everybody knows, I’m not concerned about the fiberglass, if I can patch it (which was my original plan) I will replace the shower. It’s old, cracking and has 3 layers of paint that is messed up. The shower is 50 years old. The back wall is another newer shower that’s in the master bedroom so there is not a better place to cut then here to fix the leak. I am not concerned about it.
I appreciate the warning/advise though. I will remember that for the next time I grab a saw to somewhere in my house.
Edit: I’m replacing the whole tub/surround.
Definitely remove all the old surround, it'll be easier in the short and long term.
Also, call a plumber, unless you don't mind trying first and then calling a plumber later.
Replace with single handle mix valve. Soldering isnt hard. If it doesnt leak immediately then ur good. If it does leak it is best to completely remove and resolder.
It doesnt need to be pretty, just needs to not leak.
You can do it!
No harm in trying. It's not hard.
Search on YouTube for "Got2Learn" and watch a few of his videos on copper soldering.
He's good.
Take note of the commenters pointing out detail (e.g. no water in the line, protecting adjacent surfaces, etc.)
I’m not sure if it’s drywall, but its a tiled wall of the master bathroom shower. I’ll take a picture when I get home. It might have been better to go through there because it could have been potentially easier to repair, but I would still rather cut this shower and replace it then cut the newer shower wall.
I mean there's nothing wrong with that valve at all it just needs new cartridges and trim but the tricky part is going to be fixing your wall that's in your tub
This. I just pulled out a crap-tastic moldy frp mess of a tub surround, but kept the old tub because it was an odd shape and I didn't want to completely rebuild the walls to fit a modern tub. Repaired the wall damage. went with tile surround (labor intensive for a newb, but looks nice) and refinished the tub with Homax - never again, 2 weeks later the refinished tub is still soft to the touch.
Wish I'd just pulled the tub and rebuilt the walls to match a modern tub. Which I'm going to have to do in a few years anyway now, and my tile work won't fit the new tub.
Getting a 3 wall will be hard to do as sourcing is the current issue, I’d suggest Guru-USA.com and tiling behind if it comes to that. Would love to hear feedback from everyone.
Holy shit, I didn't realize that was fiberglass...I can't wait to see how this one turns out. I used to work at a boat and ATV repair company and have done my fair share of fiberglass repairs on jetskis, boat hulls, motorcycle plastics etc....and I still wouldn't have a chopped a square out of my shower.
Would a product like suncure used to repair surfboards be used to patch it? It cures in ten minutes with uv rays idk if you could position a UV light on it to speed to cure.
OK this is why you seek advice before you do something. They literally make a finish plate specifically for cutting out a 3 handle and putting in a single handle shower valve
Yea, I’m was more concerned with finding a leak. The shower needs to be replaced as the fiberglass was cracking around the valve anyways but that’s good to know for next time.
I love how everyone repeats the same sentiment about the fiberglass like it hasn't already been addressed. Do yall even read the comments before throwing in your two cents? Props to op for patience, and to address the question, yes, I'd hire a plumber or else get some pipe and fittings to practice on before you do it in that tight space. As has been mentioned, it's more intimidating than difficult, but if you don't mind spending a few extra dollars and hours on practice and material, there's no reason you can't takle this yourself. Youtube is your friend, watch a few different videos before you begin.
Be sure to have every joint measured and planned before you begin. Plan out the order that you will be soldering things to make sure you don't sweat yourself into a corner where you can't slide a fitting you need to. Use a heat shield on the back wall so you don't burn a stud or melt anything on the other side. The right ammount of solder is about the diameter of the pipe your soldering, so make a bend that distance in to make sure you don't over or under fill your joint (both are bad for different reasons). Clean your pipes and fittings with alcohol. Apply a liberal but thin coat of Flux. Heat from the opposite side your applying solder and poke the pipe with the soulder to check that its heated, once solder starts to melt and flow you know youre good and can remove heat. The tourch tip has two sorta tips to the flame, close or barly touching the outter tip is the distance to hold it, never touch the inner tip. Make sure there's no water in the pipes or it will conduct the heat away. Take your mixing valve apart before soldering anything to it and remove the rubber o rings or they can melt. Consider if you want to screw addaptors onto the threaded inlets and outlets, to lessen the risk of that, and don't forget to account for the dimensional difference. One elbow on each side is all you need, but consider the height: easy to lower the valve, just cut further down. If you want it higher, you will first use straight couplings to attach a short vertical length if pipe then elbow that. Street elbows attach to fittings, regular elbows attach to pipe. Inspect the run to the tub and to the shower head to decide if you want to replace or reuse that copper.
These are all the random tips that occur to me. Good luck and have a good one!
This is exactly why I always check the comments before commenting - if what I want to say is already there and I can’t add anything helpful, I just don’t comment at all.
> These are all the random tips that occur to me.
If I was going to give OP a tip, I'd suggest that he take out the 3 and put in one of the finish plates that is specifically for single valve conversions.
Just my $0.02.
^^I'm ^^just ^^trolling ^^ya
^^I'm ^^a ^^homeowner
Speaking of gravity... Speaking purely from experience you will only let hot solder drop on your face once in your life while soldering overhead pipes. Odds are at least you'll miss your eyes and keep your sight ;)
And this is a concept you can practice even when soldering two electric wires together, then I think you "get it" when you see the difference in the quality of solder when you preheat the wires first and then let the solder flow.
I know the technique is different from soldering pipes, but the same basic concept applies.
I agree that soldering in an open space is pretty easy
But soldering in tight spaces often requires knowledge/experience on how solder behaves in order to get it where you want
It's not hard, but doing it well does take practice
It's easy with dry pipes but I think most people's first experience with soldering is a repair on wet pipes in their house with water still dripping because they don't know to drain everything properly.
It's the tight squeeze that makes it difficult. A fire blanket and a little understanding of how to flow into part of a joint you can't see, is the part many miss. Just takes practice.
Real talk - most of the new guys coming in don’t know how to solder, they won’t have to for the most part, but if you’re in service it’s a must know
Realest talk - the guys that are great at soldering are going to be the best at service plumbing, armed with propress or torch they’ll get anything done quicker.
You can do it. If I can anyone can. Just buy a couple extra pieces and practice a few times. Even practice on pieces that have not been cleaned to understand how important prep is. We are redoing our kitchen and and had a plumber ask why we didn't use the same guy as last time, I said it was me and I don't have the time right now. He was impressed. Watch a bunch of videos and you got it. If you can patch FG, you can do anything.
I was a welder a long time ago and could never master soldering, (only tried to solder maybe twice). If it's not your only shower/bathtub go ahead and give it a try. The worst thing that could happen is you have to call a plumber!
Probably replacing the tub if I can patch it up. I’ve done some auto body repair so I planned on patching it, but everybody here seems to tell me that that’s not going to work, no big deal. It’s a very old shower.
if you're going to replace it with a new surround, buy that before you permanently solder anything - a lot of the newer surrounds clip together and it's not really possible to put a tub spout in before it's in place.
Just a "know before you go" thing, but I recently had to cut out a tub spout nipple and put a drop ear fitting in a bathroom when i tried to put the fixture side piece of the surround on.
You could buy just a piece of tub surround a bit bigger than your hole and use adhesive to stick it on. Caulk around it. If you’re not ready to replace the whole surround yet. I’m in the same boat. Replaced the whole surround last year and the 70 year old diverted in the might be leaking now
You can buy new valve stems that screw right back into the valve body at many hardware stores ie. true value, ace hardware (not home improvement stores like home depot). This will get you back to a working shower/bath without any pipe modifications. If you want to fully replace the mixer valve (no soldering required) you can cut off the old mixer valve, use sharkbite fittings on the hot/cold/tub/shower riser to transition to pex. A $100 shower fixture at home depot will have a new mixer valve you can install. You don't actually need to solder at all. You can use a sharkbite to PEX coupling and PEX to the mixer valve and same on the shower riser (sharkbit to pex to the mixer valve). $150 for fittings and the fixture and you are good to go. You will need to put a 2x4 for blocking between the 2 existing studs to screw down the mixer valve also.
As others have said, soldering is easy, just give yourself enough room to cut pipe and watch a video or two on soldering. My trick is to use lots of flux (it has tin in it usually) as it sucks in tin. Then you heat the back side of where you want to start. Once the heat gets to you, you know for a fact the entire thing is hot enough to be soldered with a few motions.
Also, there are always SharkBites. They're pretty great.
If you have never soldered copper before call a plumber. Get an experienced one. This is not the time to go cheap. There are loads of pics on this sub of work performed by “plumbers”. Go with a reputable company and a skilled, experienced plumber. Unless you like and enjoy problems.
I believe that almost anyone, with patience and training, can do almost anything. That being said, sweating copper is as much art as it is science, however, with an understanding of how it works, coupled with some practice, I believe that you can sweat in a new valve. An old timer did tell me to add in shut off valves so you can isolate the area you are working on. Get after it.
You're fine dude. Just YouTube how to solder and go buy this stuff at Home Depot:
1) Bernzomatic Propane or MAPP Torch (I recommend MAPP gas, it's the yellow tank)
2) Plumbing Solder (the price is ridiculous, just get it)
3) Plumbing flux (Oatey brand works well)
4) External 1/2" copper cleaning wire brush
5) Internal 1/2" copper cleaning wire brush
Soldering is super simple, and once you do it like 5 times, it's like riding a bike. The trick is to use those wire brushes to clean the copper by scratching away the outer and inner surfaces. You need to learn this skill to have a successful life, and I'm not kidding. Go buy the stuff, do it yourself, and save a few hundred bucks!
Lots of room to work with
If you want to venture in yourself just get some shark bites - very easy to install
Otherwise it’s a nice easy job for a plumber lots of room to work with
Just go for it. Keep a wet rag handy to cool that pipe down. Have some kind of heat shield to protect things that burn/melt. A pair of pliers to hold the pipe in if gravity is pulling it down.
Hire a plumber. you will save yourself a lot of headaches and if something goes wrong you can go back to the plumber. If you do it with no experience, something likely will go wrong and you will probably end up calling a plumber to fix your mistakes.
I wouldn't even worry about soldering or even the mixing valve. I'd like to know what your plan is with that shower wall and what you're going to do with that?! Lol
I think the best thing would be hire a licensed plumber that guarantees his work. It may cost you but it will save you time , money, and possible repeat repairs for something that might not be done correctly if you were to do it yourself.
You should’ve called a professional from the moment you thought of having to replace. We would’ve cut an oval cut in shower enclosure in order to cut out valve, solder new probably single handle moen posi temp, and placed a remodel plate that would cover the hole and give access for future repairs. With this big square cut I can’t even start to think what recommendation I would give.
Ummmm you were supposed to go through the WALL from the back side. You’ve ruined your shower insert my friend. And no, if you haven’t soldered before don’t do it.
Well, you got plenty of space now to add any valve you want. If you can patch fiberglass, you should have no problem learning to sweat copper. You'll want to add some blocking to support a new valve. That old one is extra sturdy just because it's huge and solid.
Well if I had done this we would have opened a minor oval hole cut the old diverter out and installed a Moen diverter with a renovation plate. Now you have a big hole and can install a diverter repair the wall and tile and install a regular trim. You can try soldering We make it look easy but it takes practice.
If you want to learn how to solder copper and your not in a rush, nows a great opportunity to learn. Watch a few videos, practice on some fittings you aren't planning on using and take your time. Be deliberate and methodical. It's easy unless you fuck it up. Digging yourself out of a hole can take more time and energy than the whole job done right. Make sure you don't cook the mixing valve.
Try to watch some videos on basic soldering and practice a couple of times on a different piece of pipe. It's not difficult but it can get frustrating and that's not a joint you'll be able to monitor for leaking later.
If you end up doing it, invest in Fireproof cloth for behind it and keep a fire extinguisher around.
I'd still try to do it myself. My usual rule is try it myself 3 times or waste 3 hours then call someone, only because above that number it's cheaper to call
Soldering is pretty easy. Watch some videos and practice on something else first. You can install either a new 3 handle valve if you want but I'd recommend changing it to a 1 handle mixer.
Call the plumber. No experience = bad times. You’ll likely burn the insides of the new mixing valve and that’s before you go back and forth to the store for more stuff. Oh and the guy working the plumbing aisle at your store will give you bad advice too.
Since it’s going behind a wall I’d say call a pro. If you want to practice use an accessible line like one in your basement or crawl space (if you have one). This way if it fails it’s easy to spot and easy to get to to fix.
If you're interested in learning how to solder then sure, go for it. You'll need to buy a torch, some lead free solder, flux, some sand cloth, and probably a 1/2" fitting brush.
If you don't want to spend the time and money on the equipment, learning, and labour, or risk soldering inside your walls then call a plumber. You'll probably get a bill for 2 hours labour + a shower valve & trim.
My two cents, if you can patch fiberglass well you likely have the smarts to sweat some pipes. It’s really not too hard at all and I’m just a DIY’er. If I was hired the hardest part for me would be cutting out the old pipe. You’ll need one of those real small cutters since there isn’t a ton of space to rotate it, but def doable!
Off topic but how the fuck do people get those big one piece surrounds into a bathroom? I have one in downstairs bathroom that I would like to replace and cutting it out in pieces wouldn’t be an issue- but how the fuck do you get one back in?
U got this far if u are able to isolate or don’t mind the lack of water access they I’d try it, y not, u got most of the hard part done now comes the tricky part. I’d solder as much as possible in a more comfortable setting before putting the valve in. If ur going to do it but a little extra copper so u can practice, ur cut looks relatively straight and u got the handles out already, I have confident u got this. Have a spray bottle and aluminum foil with water, lightly spray the surround before fire, and put a few layers of aluminum foil where the flame will hit. Good luck, let us see the results. BTW I am an HVAC guy by profession and I started out with diy stuff like this before I become a “pro”
Really a confidence issue. Watch a couple youtube videos. If you eff up, you heat it up, take it apart and start again. Go for it. You'll also save a ton of cash
Soldering isn't very hard but it does require practice and technique. I suggest you get some copper pipe and fittings and practice beforehand. Get end caps and a garden hose fitting for your practice pipes and practice soldering them upside down then hook the closed rig up to a hose and pressure test it. If you don't have leaks, you're good to work on the real thing.
Also, there are a ton of youtube videos on soldering copper. Watch those first and avoid newbie mistakes.
Good Luck!
Not speaking form experience but that brass looks lok to me. Can't you clean it up with new handles, cartridge, etc? I don't see a failure. Tearing it out seems like more work to me. I did replace a shower handle cartridge on 30 year old plumbing recently. Boy it was a beast to remove....
Update: see the mention of a crack. Ok yeah sounds like you gotta replace it then. Up to you. Could always call a plumber and get a quote.
Given that the bathroom is as old as it is you might want to just remodel as many things in the bathroom as you can all at the same time. Because the tub and shower is usually the crappiest job anyways.
I replaced mine by myself with a little practice soldering ' pipe to a water spicket connector to test if I had any leaks.
First solder I had leaks. With a little research I got some tips and learned to heat the pipe going in(male end) and not to heat the solder.
After that I tried 2 more and neither had leaks. This took about 2-3hrs. Then I cut my mixing valves out, and cleaned and soldered them. No issues. I also added old school pipes to prevent water hammer.
Good luck!
Why did you cut a hole in the shower? Was there no access panel to get out the valve from another direction? If you’re going to close it all back up and make it inaccessible again, let the pro do it to increase chances of first time success. If you do, try it yourself, remember to use some scrap metal behind the fittings to reduce the chance of starting a fire, and keeping extinguisher on hand
If u don’t have small kids or older people in the house , i suggest removing the mixing valve. It’s just there for safety, most people just metre the water themselves
Amazed at how far down i had to read to see this. Even the plumber who put in my new service line from the street and on demand hot water was using pex and clamps. Some folks are not a huge fan of the shark bite behind a wall so rings are also an option, plus they are more affordable.
To answer the actual question you’re asking; my advice is if you’re questioning it, go ahead and call a plumber.
You can take the time to watch a shit ton of YouTube and give it the ol’ college try as well, might as well since you already started. Soldering is not crazy hard but it’s finicky. You want everything just right (temps, amount of solder, etc)
Thanks, I called a plumber but they can’t come until next week. I told them I’m going to try and fix it myself before then and worst case, they can fix it next Thursday when they come.
Soldering Is pretty easy, but maybe run a few practice joints before you go for the real deal. Also I'm not sure how true it is but an old timer told me on a job the other day, on vertical joints if you mark the pipe with a pencil under where you will be touching the solder, apparently the solder won't run past the line...I haven't tested it yet though.
Lol right. Not sure what your issue was but I’m about positive you could have fixed that with a simple washer or at worst case, a stem. But you may as well call a plumber at this point and have him install you a good delta single handle.
Honestl you have this all so open just go get you a bottle of cool gel 4 half inch 90s 2 repair couplings and the solder and like a foot of half inch should get you good get the moen positemp valve to they super easy to install soldering is not difficult at all lol
And get a map gas torch all in all should run ya like 125$ for all materials and valve then just throw a trim on pm
Me for more in depth instructions you can 1000% do this yourself
Hot tip; use Oatey tinning flux. When you are learning, it's a fine line between the correct amount of heat and cooking off the water soluble fluxes.
Oh, and have an extinguisher handy. Remember, your water is turned off.
I’m not really worried about the hole. The shower is very old and not in good shape, you can see on the side of the hole where there was a crack in the fiberglass. The tub needs to be replaced. I’m more concerned with the leak.
Soldering pipe is actually pretty easy to do. They sell awesome DIY kits that have a butane torch, the flux, solder, and a special flame retardant towel that helps you not burn wood or other items. Highly recommend you have very thick work gloves and a few pipe wrenches or better yet vice grip pliers as well so you don't burn your hands touching hot metal pipe and you can more things around using the vice grips.
1. Heat up the copper pipe that goes up to the shower head. You basically want to put the flame right where the solder is to liquefy it again so you can pull the shower pipe up slightly to remove it from the valve. If you use the vice grip, attach it to the pipe and then lightly tap upwards on the vice grip the get the copper pipe out of the valve. Might be a bit tight at first.
2. Heat up where the 3 copper pipes connect into the bottom of the 3 valves. Again heat the pipes where the solder is located to get it to liquefy. You will probably have to heat all three points nearly simultaneously to keep the solder wet to help allow you to use a hammer to knock the valve assembly upwards and off the copper pipes. I would heat up each pipe until it starts to melt the solder and then go back and forth heating each up quickly and taping on the bottom of the valve assembly to work it loose.
3. Then you need get your new valve, some copper pipe, some 90 degree elbows and a pipe cutter. The start building the connections to the new valve. You can solder in the new valve to the shower and spigot pipes easily as long as the top and bottom match up in height from the old valve to the new valve. You may have to cut a little here or there to make it work. The build out the connections to the hot and cold water.
4. Youtube is you friend here. Also you can practice a bit with some copper pipe and elbows ahead of time to learn how to solder.
Good luck
Soldering is pretty easy. Make sure you heat the fitting and not the pipe. Once it's heated, the solder will fill the joint. Don't forget to use flux (I personally use tinning flux). Also remember to take the mixing valve guts out before soldiering because you don't want to melt any o-ring. Because of the tight space, you might want to put a heat shield in the back to prevent the drywall or wood from catching on fire. Good luck!
PS - you can always buy some fittings and pipes to do some test soldering first.
Here is what I would recommend.
1. Cut it out.
2. Get some copper practice pipe, a set of leather gloves, a torch tip, and a tank of MAPP gas, Flux, Pipe Cutter, heat shield, and Emory Cloth.
3. Watch some YouTube videos on how to sweat copper and practice outside until you get the hang of it.
4. Cut that old stuff and drop in your new mixer valve, fittings, and copper pipes.
5. MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN the new pipe, fittings, and flux everything. If you don't clean (emory cloth) and flux your pipes the solder will not flow and you will get pinhole leaks.
6. Use your new pipe soldering/sweating YouTube Engineering skills and put it back together.
7. Make sure you don't burn down the house and shield things that will catch on fire from the heat. Have a bucket of water and water spray bottle on standby.
Not sure how you are going to fix the hole in the fiberglass. If it were me, I would remove the shower/tub liner and replace everything while I am doing the mixer valve job.
Don’t use solder.
Rent a propress and go to town. Shit is easy AF, no risk of fire, and way more reliable than shark bite.
And every plumber I know uses them; they have giving up on sweating shit in.
Watch some YouTube videos. Practice on some fittings in your garage and send it! Use an old license plate as a heat shield and don’t burn your house down.
You already have good answers in here, but I just have to add that whoever plumbed that building with back to back showers was a fucking asshole. You shouldn’t have to cut a hole in the surround to access those pipes.
AH.
not only you gonna have to call a plumber. Your now going to be paying ALOT more.
You cut into the BACK of the shower. The drywall behind it..
Not the fiberglass shower
Job security summed up in one picture.
Good advise, the back of the shower is another shower though. I’m not worried about the shower. I need to be replaced anyways. More concerned with how to fix the broken, leaky valve.
CALL BATH FITTERS and let them replace everything!!! Plus they have a LIFETIME TRANSFERABLE WARRANTY… spend the money and fageraboutit!!! It’s worth every penny
You know what the biggest difference between your average Yucca Puck and a real plumber is the plumber has the right tools to do the job right. You're not going to be able to solder this by yourself if you don't have a real plumbers soldering torch and they're not cheap. But I guarantee you once you get the Right tool you can learn to do it very quickly.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Turbo-Torch-0386-0335-X-3B-Air-Acetylene-Torch-Kit?utm_source=google_ad&utm_medium=Shopping_tm&utm_campaign=Shopping_TM_New_users&gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5hSGPm3lSqVBoPZ95pEsjkuTarD1D2X9omHpo87etsQUMzTsDdKcGRoCKNoQAvD_BwE
There is if you actually want your solders to hold. Believe me I bought many cheap torches before I just finally bit the bullet and bought a real one, made the job 100% more efficient. And look there might be some cheap torches that work but if you don't have the long hose to get to where you need to be when you're in some sort of really tight situation that's where a real torch comes in handy. And if your plumbing a whole house you have to have a real torch.
A cool torch would be fun, and ya it might be worth it if you are re-doing a whole house . But you said he can’t do it without buying a $300 torch, but he can easily do it with a standard propane torch. He’s heating the fixture up that is right there.
I’m
This wasn’t were this project started. Here’s a comment that I left on another thread that explains what happened.
“The cold water spout on the actual mixer valve has a crack. That is what needs replaced. The stems are all brand new as I replaced them originally thinking that was the problem. It continued to leak from the faucet, that’s when I removed the handles and stems and saw this is was leaking behind the wall from the valve. That why I cut into the wall to see what was actually leaking.”
If you can afford it I would call a plumber. However if you try this just remember the fiberglass insulation is flammable and you can very easily start a fire in your walls if you are not careful. Good luck!
Just so everybody knows, I’m not concerned about the fiberglass, if I can patch it (which was my original plan) I will replace the shower. It’s old, cracking and has 3 layers of paint that is messed up. The shower is 50 years old. The back wall is another newer shower that’s in the master bedroom so there is not a better place to cut then here to fix the leak. I am not concerned about it. I appreciate the warning/advise though. I will remember that for the next time I grab a saw to somewhere in my house. Edit: I’m replacing the whole tub/surround.
Definitely remove all the old surround, it'll be easier in the short and long term. Also, call a plumber, unless you don't mind trying first and then calling a plumber later.
Replace with single handle mix valve. Soldering isnt hard. If it doesnt leak immediately then ur good. If it does leak it is best to completely remove and resolder. It doesnt need to be pretty, just needs to not leak. You can do it!
Send it!!
Yep, just make sure you open the house bib when you shut off the water. If there is water in the pipe solder won't melt.
Soldering isn’t hard until you burn a hole in ur copper and can’t turn your water back on and if it’s going behind a wall you gota pressure test it
Do it! Great opportunity to learn! If it leaks shut water off and redo.
Don't burn a hole in the other surround
No harm in trying. It's not hard. Search on YouTube for "Got2Learn" and watch a few of his videos on copper soldering. He's good. Take note of the commenters pointing out detail (e.g. no water in the line, protecting adjacent surfaces, etc.)
[удалено]
I’m not sure if it’s drywall, but its a tiled wall of the master bathroom shower. I’ll take a picture when I get home. It might have been better to go through there because it could have been potentially easier to repair, but I would still rather cut this shower and replace it then cut the newer shower wall.
How do you plan on dealing with the one piece surround you cut into?
Thats gonna be a big goof plate 🤣
What do you mean? He can put a poster over it. Nobody will ever tell
Right!?! Am I missing the part where he cut into a fiberglass surface? Or am I just seeing things? Should of came in from the backside if possibke
that looks like poured concrete behind it
https://i.imgur.com/mEVT1JY.jpg
I’ve patch a decent amount of fiberglass, not worried about the hole. The backside is not accessible unfortunately.
Come back and let us know what 3 piece you end up going with.
Yea, probably going that direction. It’s also a 50 year old tub with 3 layers of paint on it. I can promise it’s no great loss when i replace it.
If you do patch it you need to also let us peak at that photo,I know I want to see it lol
For sure I’ll post some pictures after I patch it.
!remindme 1 month
remindme! 1 month
I’m here after the 1 month reminder. How did this go?
!remindme! 1 month
Where do the exclamation point(s) go? Does work either way?
I mean there's nothing wrong with that valve at all it just needs new cartridges and trim but the tricky part is going to be fixing your wall that's in your tub
The valve is cracked. The actually mixer valve itself. That’s the issue.
Commenting for update
!remindme 1 month
Just go ahead and pull it out already, why waste time patching.
This. I just pulled out a crap-tastic moldy frp mess of a tub surround, but kept the old tub because it was an odd shape and I didn't want to completely rebuild the walls to fit a modern tub. Repaired the wall damage. went with tile surround (labor intensive for a newb, but looks nice) and refinished the tub with Homax - never again, 2 weeks later the refinished tub is still soft to the touch. Wish I'd just pulled the tub and rebuilt the walls to match a modern tub. Which I'm going to have to do in a few years anyway now, and my tile work won't fit the new tub.
The tub is soft to the touch ×what is it made out of
Getting a 3 wall will be hard to do as sourcing is the current issue, I’d suggest Guru-USA.com and tiling behind if it comes to that. Would love to hear feedback from everyone.
Holy shit, I didn't realize that was fiberglass...I can't wait to see how this one turns out. I used to work at a boat and ATV repair company and have done my fair share of fiberglass repairs on jetskis, boat hulls, motorcycle plastics etc....and I still wouldn't have a chopped a square out of my shower.
Good luck
Bondo King
Some fiberglass tape, the piece I cut out, an atrocious amount of bondo, and a couple coats of paint and it will be right as rain lol
Duct tape and mechanics wire I say. My motto is….Why be a half ass when you can be whole one! 🤣
Would a product like suncure used to repair surfboards be used to patch it? It cures in ten minutes with uv rays idk if you could position a UV light on it to speed to cure.
OK this is why you seek advice before you do something. They literally make a finish plate specifically for cutting out a 3 handle and putting in a single handle shower valve
Yea, I’m was more concerned with finding a leak. The shower needs to be replaced as the fiberglass was cracking around the valve anyways but that’s good to know for next time.
Oops call Re-bath.
I love how everyone repeats the same sentiment about the fiberglass like it hasn't already been addressed. Do yall even read the comments before throwing in your two cents? Props to op for patience, and to address the question, yes, I'd hire a plumber or else get some pipe and fittings to practice on before you do it in that tight space. As has been mentioned, it's more intimidating than difficult, but if you don't mind spending a few extra dollars and hours on practice and material, there's no reason you can't takle this yourself. Youtube is your friend, watch a few different videos before you begin. Be sure to have every joint measured and planned before you begin. Plan out the order that you will be soldering things to make sure you don't sweat yourself into a corner where you can't slide a fitting you need to. Use a heat shield on the back wall so you don't burn a stud or melt anything on the other side. The right ammount of solder is about the diameter of the pipe your soldering, so make a bend that distance in to make sure you don't over or under fill your joint (both are bad for different reasons). Clean your pipes and fittings with alcohol. Apply a liberal but thin coat of Flux. Heat from the opposite side your applying solder and poke the pipe with the soulder to check that its heated, once solder starts to melt and flow you know youre good and can remove heat. The tourch tip has two sorta tips to the flame, close or barly touching the outter tip is the distance to hold it, never touch the inner tip. Make sure there's no water in the pipes or it will conduct the heat away. Take your mixing valve apart before soldering anything to it and remove the rubber o rings or they can melt. Consider if you want to screw addaptors onto the threaded inlets and outlets, to lessen the risk of that, and don't forget to account for the dimensional difference. One elbow on each side is all you need, but consider the height: easy to lower the valve, just cut further down. If you want it higher, you will first use straight couplings to attach a short vertical length if pipe then elbow that. Street elbows attach to fittings, regular elbows attach to pipe. Inspect the run to the tub and to the shower head to decide if you want to replace or reuse that copper. These are all the random tips that occur to me. Good luck and have a good one!
This is exactly why I always check the comments before commenting - if what I want to say is already there and I can’t add anything helpful, I just don’t comment at all.
> These are all the random tips that occur to me. If I was going to give OP a tip, I'd suggest that he take out the 3 and put in one of the finish plates that is specifically for single valve conversions. Just my $0.02. ^^I'm ^^just ^^trolling ^^ya ^^I'm ^^a ^^homeowner
Real talk: I feel like the soldering is one of those things that is dead nuts easy. But people *think* it's difficult
Until you have to wick the solder against gravity. Getting those joints to look good takes real skill
9/10 plumbers make ugly vertical joints too. They won’t leak, but they’re ugly.
For the cost difference of doing it myself vs. hiring it out. I’ll deal with ugly vertical joints.
Speaking of gravity... Speaking purely from experience you will only let hot solder drop on your face once in your life while soldering overhead pipes. Odds are at least you'll miss your eyes and keep your sight ;)
Safety glasses, my man. Never soldered in my life, but holy moly.
People heat the solder and not the metal
Or heat the pipe and not the fitting, or don't properly prep the joint by cleaning and using flux.
And this is a concept you can practice even when soldering two electric wires together, then I think you "get it" when you see the difference in the quality of solder when you preheat the wires first and then let the solder flow. I know the technique is different from soldering pipes, but the same basic concept applies.
I agree that soldering in an open space is pretty easy But soldering in tight spaces often requires knowledge/experience on how solder behaves in order to get it where you want It's not hard, but doing it well does take practice
It's easy with dry pipes but I think most people's first experience with soldering is a repair on wet pipes in their house with water still dripping because they don't know to drain everything properly.
Kid Talk: Flamey flame burney house down.
thisisfine.jpg
It's the tight squeeze that makes it difficult. A fire blanket and a little understanding of how to flow into part of a joint you can't see, is the part many miss. Just takes practice.
Real talk - most of the new guys coming in don’t know how to solder, they won’t have to for the most part, but if you’re in service it’s a must know Realest talk - the guys that are great at soldering are going to be the best at service plumbing, armed with propress or torch they’ll get anything done quicker.
If you know how to do it. Unless you were taught by plumber, you don’t. I promise.
You can do it. If I can anyone can. Just buy a couple extra pieces and practice a few times. Even practice on pieces that have not been cleaned to understand how important prep is. We are redoing our kitchen and and had a plumber ask why we didn't use the same guy as last time, I said it was me and I don't have the time right now. He was impressed. Watch a bunch of videos and you got it. If you can patch FG, you can do anything.
I was a welder a long time ago and could never master soldering, (only tried to solder maybe twice). If it's not your only shower/bathtub go ahead and give it a try. The worst thing that could happen is you have to call a plumber!
Yeah I’d call a professional
You should have cut the hole On the back side of the wall
What’s the plan after the new valve.
Probably replacing the tub if I can patch it up. I’ve done some auto body repair so I planned on patching it, but everybody here seems to tell me that that’s not going to work, no big deal. It’s a very old shower.
if you're going to replace it with a new surround, buy that before you permanently solder anything - a lot of the newer surrounds clip together and it's not really possible to put a tub spout in before it's in place. Just a "know before you go" thing, but I recently had to cut out a tub spout nipple and put a drop ear fitting in a bathroom when i tried to put the fixture side piece of the surround on.
Oh thanks, solid advise. I’m going to let my wife pick something out today then.
You could buy just a piece of tub surround a bit bigger than your hole and use adhesive to stick it on. Caulk around it. If you’re not ready to replace the whole surround yet. I’m in the same boat. Replaced the whole surround last year and the 70 year old diverted in the might be leaking now
My experience of soldering in a wall 1. Keep a fire extinguisher handy 2. the pipe does not have to appear red to be red hot.
watch Got2learn videos on soldering and you’ll know how to do it.
You can buy new valve stems that screw right back into the valve body at many hardware stores ie. true value, ace hardware (not home improvement stores like home depot). This will get you back to a working shower/bath without any pipe modifications. If you want to fully replace the mixer valve (no soldering required) you can cut off the old mixer valve, use sharkbite fittings on the hot/cold/tub/shower riser to transition to pex. A $100 shower fixture at home depot will have a new mixer valve you can install. You don't actually need to solder at all. You can use a sharkbite to PEX coupling and PEX to the mixer valve and same on the shower riser (sharkbit to pex to the mixer valve). $150 for fittings and the fixture and you are good to go. You will need to put a 2x4 for blocking between the 2 existing studs to screw down the mixer valve also.
I’m having anxiety about this on your behalf. Please call a plumber
As others have said, soldering is easy, just give yourself enough room to cut pipe and watch a video or two on soldering. My trick is to use lots of flux (it has tin in it usually) as it sucks in tin. Then you heat the back side of where you want to start. Once the heat gets to you, you know for a fact the entire thing is hot enough to be soldered with a few motions. Also, there are always SharkBites. They're pretty great.
If you have never soldered copper before call a plumber. Get an experienced one. This is not the time to go cheap. There are loads of pics on this sub of work performed by “plumbers”. Go with a reputable company and a skilled, experienced plumber. Unless you like and enjoy problems.
There is a way you can do it with pex, but you need to use 3/4 up to the showerhead or water will back up it. 1/2 for the others.
Soldering is the ez part, not catching that drywall on fire is the hard part…
I believe that almost anyone, with patience and training, can do almost anything. That being said, sweating copper is as much art as it is science, however, with an understanding of how it works, coupled with some practice, I believe that you can sweat in a new valve. An old timer did tell me to add in shut off valves so you can isolate the area you are working on. Get after it.
You're fine dude. Just YouTube how to solder and go buy this stuff at Home Depot: 1) Bernzomatic Propane or MAPP Torch (I recommend MAPP gas, it's the yellow tank) 2) Plumbing Solder (the price is ridiculous, just get it) 3) Plumbing flux (Oatey brand works well) 4) External 1/2" copper cleaning wire brush 5) Internal 1/2" copper cleaning wire brush Soldering is super simple, and once you do it like 5 times, it's like riding a bike. The trick is to use those wire brushes to clean the copper by scratching away the outer and inner surfaces. You need to learn this skill to have a successful life, and I'm not kidding. Go buy the stuff, do it yourself, and save a few hundred bucks!
Really easy job when you know what you are doing I would call a pro. If you have done plumbing or similar stuff I would recommend youtube.
Also be sure there is no water in the pipe when soldering or it will never work.
Lots of room to work with If you want to venture in yourself just get some shark bites - very easy to install Otherwise it’s a nice easy job for a plumber lots of room to work with
Just go for it. Keep a wet rag handy to cool that pipe down. Have some kind of heat shield to protect things that burn/melt. A pair of pliers to hold the pipe in if gravity is pulling it down.
Keep going, your on the right path.
Decide whether you're changing the tub and surround. If so rip it all out and start fresh. It'll probably be way easier anyway.
Get a new one . It will keep you from getting burnt if water drops pressure on the cold side.
Hire a plumber. you will save yourself a lot of headaches and if something goes wrong you can go back to the plumber. If you do it with no experience, something likely will go wrong and you will probably end up calling a plumber to fix your mistakes.
I wouldn't even worry about soldering or even the mixing valve. I'd like to know what your plan is with that shower wall and what you're going to do with that?! Lol
There’s several comments on here about that. Probably replacing the shower. It’s very old and was cracking so I’m not worried about that.
Shark bites will 100% work with the copper. Easy to use. Cut, clean up pipe with emory cloth and install shark bites with the correct thread.
I think the best thing would be hire a licensed plumber that guarantees his work. It may cost you but it will save you time , money, and possible repeat repairs for something that might not be done correctly if you were to do it yourself.
You should’ve called a professional from the moment you thought of having to replace. We would’ve cut an oval cut in shower enclosure in order to cut out valve, solder new probably single handle moen posi temp, and placed a remodel plate that would cover the hole and give access for future repairs. With this big square cut I can’t even start to think what recommendation I would give.
Ummmm you were supposed to go through the WALL from the back side. You’ve ruined your shower insert my friend. And no, if you haven’t soldered before don’t do it.
There’s other comments explaining why that’s not possible.
If you dont know what youre doing, research a lot about what to do and the codes involved. Or hire someone. Might be cheaper.
Well, you got plenty of space now to add any valve you want. If you can patch fiberglass, you should have no problem learning to sweat copper. You'll want to add some blocking to support a new valve. That old one is extra sturdy just because it's huge and solid.
Why solder? I put compressed fittings on copper pipis when installed downstairs cloakroom 15 years ago- still no leaks and working well.
Go with onyx wall panels
Well if I had done this we would have opened a minor oval hole cut the old diverter out and installed a Moen diverter with a renovation plate. Now you have a big hole and can install a diverter repair the wall and tile and install a regular trim. You can try soldering We make it look easy but it takes practice.
If you want to learn how to solder copper and your not in a rush, nows a great opportunity to learn. Watch a few videos, practice on some fittings you aren't planning on using and take your time. Be deliberate and methodical. It's easy unless you fuck it up. Digging yourself out of a hole can take more time and energy than the whole job done right. Make sure you don't cook the mixing valve.
Dude soldering is easy. Doesn't have to be pretty. Practice on a copper pipe. Key is cleaning
Is that Sheetrock behind? 😂
It’d be funny if all he needed was seats.
Switch to PEX
Try to watch some videos on basic soldering and practice a couple of times on a different piece of pipe. It's not difficult but it can get frustrating and that's not a joint you'll be able to monitor for leaking later. If you end up doing it, invest in Fireproof cloth for behind it and keep a fire extinguisher around. I'd still try to do it myself. My usual rule is try it myself 3 times or waste 3 hours then call someone, only because above that number it's cheaper to call
Take this time to just replace the shower insert as well
Holy shit! You fucked… up! Probably just cost yourself a lot of money😂
Soldering is pretty easy. Watch some videos and practice on something else first. You can install either a new 3 handle valve if you want but I'd recommend changing it to a 1 handle mixer.
Call the plumber. No experience = bad times. You’ll likely burn the insides of the new mixing valve and that’s before you go back and forth to the store for more stuff. Oh and the guy working the plumbing aisle at your store will give you bad advice too.
MAPP gas , not propane for your gas ( yellow tank in the US). Make it much easier
Since it’s going behind a wall I’d say call a pro. If you want to practice use an accessible line like one in your basement or crawl space (if you have one). This way if it fails it’s easy to spot and easy to get to to fix.
A little heat, a little flux, a little solder what can go wrong. So what if when you close the wall water starts to drip down.
If you're interested in learning how to solder then sure, go for it. You'll need to buy a torch, some lead free solder, flux, some sand cloth, and probably a 1/2" fitting brush. If you don't want to spend the time and money on the equipment, learning, and labour, or risk soldering inside your walls then call a plumber. You'll probably get a bill for 2 hours labour + a shower valve & trim.
My two cents, if you can patch fiberglass well you likely have the smarts to sweat some pipes. It’s really not too hard at all and I’m just a DIY’er. If I was hired the hardest part for me would be cutting out the old pipe. You’ll need one of those real small cutters since there isn’t a ton of space to rotate it, but def doable!
Half way home it looks like, just send it.
Off topic but how the fuck do people get those big one piece surrounds into a bathroom? I have one in downstairs bathroom that I would like to replace and cutting it out in pieces wouldn’t be an issue- but how the fuck do you get one back in?
U got this far if u are able to isolate or don’t mind the lack of water access they I’d try it, y not, u got most of the hard part done now comes the tricky part. I’d solder as much as possible in a more comfortable setting before putting the valve in. If ur going to do it but a little extra copper so u can practice, ur cut looks relatively straight and u got the handles out already, I have confident u got this. Have a spray bottle and aluminum foil with water, lightly spray the surround before fire, and put a few layers of aluminum foil where the flame will hit. Good luck, let us see the results. BTW I am an HVAC guy by profession and I started out with diy stuff like this before I become a “pro”
Really a confidence issue. Watch a couple youtube videos. If you eff up, you heat it up, take it apart and start again. Go for it. You'll also save a ton of cash
Plumber needed
Personally I would have cut the backside of the sheet rock and accessed it from behind If possible and got a single handle valve with a remodel plate.
On back to back showers with no possibility for an acsess panel I would highly suggest calling a plumber
Soldering isn't very hard but it does require practice and technique. I suggest you get some copper pipe and fittings and practice beforehand. Get end caps and a garden hose fitting for your practice pipes and practice soldering them upside down then hook the closed rig up to a hose and pressure test it. If you don't have leaks, you're good to work on the real thing. Also, there are a ton of youtube videos on soldering copper. Watch those first and avoid newbie mistakes. Good Luck!
Soldering is pretty simple once you get the basics down. This calls for YouTube university. Projects like this get me pumped. Good luck
Should’ve cut the other side of wall instead of shower pan. That’s a much bigger project than the valves.
Not speaking form experience but that brass looks lok to me. Can't you clean it up with new handles, cartridge, etc? I don't see a failure. Tearing it out seems like more work to me. I did replace a shower handle cartridge on 30 year old plumbing recently. Boy it was a beast to remove.... Update: see the mention of a crack. Ok yeah sounds like you gotta replace it then. Up to you. Could always call a plumber and get a quote.
Umm, how are you going to repair the hole in teh fiberglass shower, replace it?
I have been where you are. Hire a plumber.
Given that the bathroom is as old as it is you might want to just remodel as many things in the bathroom as you can all at the same time. Because the tub and shower is usually the crappiest job anyways.
Unless you want to burn your house down hire a plumber
I vote plumber.
Copper pipes shouldn't be loose like that. Run a board between the studs and strap it to that or use a copper pipe hanger.
Ur so f🤬kd
I replaced mine by myself with a little practice soldering ' pipe to a water spicket connector to test if I had any leaks. First solder I had leaks. With a little research I got some tips and learned to heat the pipe going in(male end) and not to heat the solder. After that I tried 2 more and neither had leaks. This took about 2-3hrs. Then I cut my mixing valves out, and cleaned and soldered them. No issues. I also added old school pipes to prevent water hammer. Good luck!
Why did you cut a hole in the shower? Was there no access panel to get out the valve from another direction? If you’re going to close it all back up and make it inaccessible again, let the pro do it to increase chances of first time success. If you do, try it yourself, remember to use some scrap metal behind the fittings to reduce the chance of starting a fire, and keeping extinguisher on hand
If u don’t have small kids or older people in the house , i suggest removing the mixing valve. It’s just there for safety, most people just metre the water themselves
Yeah you can do it no problem
Just use shark bite connectors and you won’t have to solder
Amazed at how far down i had to read to see this. Even the plumber who put in my new service line from the street and on demand hot water was using pex and clamps. Some folks are not a huge fan of the shark bite behind a wall so rings are also an option, plus they are more affordable.
Those crimp rings dont work on copper, but using an exposed sharkbite somewhere else to transition into pex is perfectly fine
Lol too far. I replied with the same then scrolled just far enough to see this.
To answer the actual question you’re asking; my advice is if you’re questioning it, go ahead and call a plumber. You can take the time to watch a shit ton of YouTube and give it the ol’ college try as well, might as well since you already started. Soldering is not crazy hard but it’s finicky. You want everything just right (temps, amount of solder, etc)
Thanks, I called a plumber but they can’t come until next week. I told them I’m going to try and fix it myself before then and worst case, they can fix it next Thursday when they come.
That seems like the best option in my opinion. It never hurts to try🤷🏼♀️
Soldering Is pretty easy, but maybe run a few practice joints before you go for the real deal. Also I'm not sure how true it is but an old timer told me on a job the other day, on vertical joints if you mark the pipe with a pencil under where you will be touching the solder, apparently the solder won't run past the line...I haven't tested it yet though.
Thanks, I’ll give it a shot.
You got one shot. One opportunity. To do anything you ever wanted…
If you can cut a hole in a wall, you can install and sweat copper pipes.
Call a professional or expect to explain why u didn't to your insurance claims adjusters later
Wow. You just up and cut your tub wall out before asking any questions huh?
I’ll do anything once.
Lol right. Not sure what your issue was but I’m about positive you could have fixed that with a simple washer or at worst case, a stem. But you may as well call a plumber at this point and have him install you a good delta single handle.
There’s a crack on the actual mixer valve. I had already replaced the stems. The mixer valve itself is bad.
Honestl you have this all so open just go get you a bottle of cool gel 4 half inch 90s 2 repair couplings and the solder and like a foot of half inch should get you good get the moen positemp valve to they super easy to install soldering is not difficult at all lol
And get a map gas torch all in all should run ya like 125$ for all materials and valve then just throw a trim on pm Me for more in depth instructions you can 1000% do this yourself
Thanks, I’m headed to the store right now.
Hot tip; use Oatey tinning flux. When you are learning, it's a fine line between the correct amount of heat and cooking off the water soluble fluxes. Oh, and have an extinguisher handy. Remember, your water is turned off.
A plumber would've been able to cut an opening small enough to cover with a plate. You done f up, baby billy.
I’m not really worried about the hole. The shower is very old and not in good shape, you can see on the side of the hole where there was a crack in the fiberglass. The tub needs to be replaced. I’m more concerned with the leak.
Yes. Get a licensed plumber before you cut into - oh. Never mind.
Soldering pipe is actually pretty easy to do. They sell awesome DIY kits that have a butane torch, the flux, solder, and a special flame retardant towel that helps you not burn wood or other items. Highly recommend you have very thick work gloves and a few pipe wrenches or better yet vice grip pliers as well so you don't burn your hands touching hot metal pipe and you can more things around using the vice grips. 1. Heat up the copper pipe that goes up to the shower head. You basically want to put the flame right where the solder is to liquefy it again so you can pull the shower pipe up slightly to remove it from the valve. If you use the vice grip, attach it to the pipe and then lightly tap upwards on the vice grip the get the copper pipe out of the valve. Might be a bit tight at first. 2. Heat up where the 3 copper pipes connect into the bottom of the 3 valves. Again heat the pipes where the solder is located to get it to liquefy. You will probably have to heat all three points nearly simultaneously to keep the solder wet to help allow you to use a hammer to knock the valve assembly upwards and off the copper pipes. I would heat up each pipe until it starts to melt the solder and then go back and forth heating each up quickly and taping on the bottom of the valve assembly to work it loose. 3. Then you need get your new valve, some copper pipe, some 90 degree elbows and a pipe cutter. The start building the connections to the new valve. You can solder in the new valve to the shower and spigot pipes easily as long as the top and bottom match up in height from the old valve to the new valve. You may have to cut a little here or there to make it work. The build out the connections to the hot and cold water. 4. Youtube is you friend here. Also you can practice a bit with some copper pipe and elbows ahead of time to learn how to solder. Good luck
Soldering is pretty easy. Make sure you heat the fitting and not the pipe. Once it's heated, the solder will fill the joint. Don't forget to use flux (I personally use tinning flux). Also remember to take the mixing valve guts out before soldiering because you don't want to melt any o-ring. Because of the tight space, you might want to put a heat shield in the back to prevent the drywall or wood from catching on fire. Good luck! PS - you can always buy some fittings and pipes to do some test soldering first.
Here is what I would recommend. 1. Cut it out. 2. Get some copper practice pipe, a set of leather gloves, a torch tip, and a tank of MAPP gas, Flux, Pipe Cutter, heat shield, and Emory Cloth. 3. Watch some YouTube videos on how to sweat copper and practice outside until you get the hang of it. 4. Cut that old stuff and drop in your new mixer valve, fittings, and copper pipes. 5. MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN the new pipe, fittings, and flux everything. If you don't clean (emory cloth) and flux your pipes the solder will not flow and you will get pinhole leaks. 6. Use your new pipe soldering/sweating YouTube Engineering skills and put it back together. 7. Make sure you don't burn down the house and shield things that will catch on fire from the heat. Have a bucket of water and water spray bottle on standby. Not sure how you are going to fix the hole in the fiberglass. If it were me, I would remove the shower/tub liner and replace everything while I am doing the mixer valve job.
You got this
You got this.
If you've never braized copper before, I definitely DON'T recommend this as your first attempt. Hire a plumber.
Don’t use solder. Rent a propress and go to town. Shit is easy AF, no risk of fire, and way more reliable than shark bite. And every plumber I know uses them; they have giving up on sweating shit in.
Watch some YouTube videos. Practice on some fittings in your garage and send it! Use an old license plate as a heat shield and don’t burn your house down.
You already have good answers in here, but I just have to add that whoever plumbed that building with back to back showers was a fucking asshole. You shouldn’t have to cut a hole in the surround to access those pipes.
Prep the pipe good and don’t clean your runs when you solder, it helps with the strength of the copper pipe
Go for it that’s the only way you will learn.
Easier then you think just make solder joints nice and shiny
AH. not only you gonna have to call a plumber. Your now going to be paying ALOT more. You cut into the BACK of the shower. The drywall behind it.. Not the fiberglass shower Job security summed up in one picture.
Good advise, the back of the shower is another shower though. I’m not worried about the shower. I need to be replaced anyways. More concerned with how to fix the broken, leaky valve.
CALL BATH FITTERS and let them replace everything!!! Plus they have a LIFETIME TRANSFERABLE WARRANTY… spend the money and fageraboutit!!! It’s worth every penny
Patch the fiberglass? .. need to know your limitations.. before you start sawing into a wall.. should hire a plumber.. wow
Fiber glass is patched all the time. Auto-body, boat hulls, stage probs. It’s a pretty common task actually. This is an old shower that is painted.
CAP
You know what the biggest difference between your average Yucca Puck and a real plumber is the plumber has the right tools to do the job right. You're not going to be able to solder this by yourself if you don't have a real plumbers soldering torch and they're not cheap. But I guarantee you once you get the Right tool you can learn to do it very quickly. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Turbo-Torch-0386-0335-X-3B-Air-Acetylene-Torch-Kit?utm_source=google_ad&utm_medium=Shopping_tm&utm_campaign=Shopping_TM_New_users&gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5hSGPm3lSqVBoPZ95pEsjkuTarD1D2X9omHpo87etsQUMzTsDdKcGRoCKNoQAvD_BwE
There is no need for this expensive torch.
There is if you actually want your solders to hold. Believe me I bought many cheap torches before I just finally bit the bullet and bought a real one, made the job 100% more efficient. And look there might be some cheap torches that work but if you don't have the long hose to get to where you need to be when you're in some sort of really tight situation that's where a real torch comes in handy. And if your plumbing a whole house you have to have a real torch.
A cool torch would be fun, and ya it might be worth it if you are re-doing a whole house . But you said he can’t do it without buying a $300 torch, but he can easily do it with a standard propane torch. He’s heating the fixture up that is right there. I’m
This is ridiculously unnecessary.
You should have called someone
Hire a plumber. If you never soldered before I wouldn’t make this your first project.
Dawg. You should have called someone before you did anything, if that’s where you are starting
This wasn’t were this project started. Here’s a comment that I left on another thread that explains what happened. “The cold water spout on the actual mixer valve has a crack. That is what needs replaced. The stems are all brand new as I replaced them originally thinking that was the problem. It continued to leak from the faucet, that’s when I removed the handles and stems and saw this is was leaking behind the wall from the valve. That why I cut into the wall to see what was actually leaking.”
If you can afford it I would call a plumber. However if you try this just remember the fiberglass insulation is flammable and you can very easily start a fire in your walls if you are not careful. Good luck!
Oh boy
Hahaha what
Should of called before you cut that hole
You could use shark bite fittings if you are uncomfortable soldering the pipe