How To Repair a Leaking Shower Valve | Ask This Old House
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2023
- In this video, when a shower valve in a perfectly preserved original bathroom started leaking, a homeowner reached out to Richard Trethewey for help fixing it.
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Older shower valves will leak over time. But, sometimes it’s safer to replace them with a pressure-balanced shower valve rather than fix them. When a homeowner knew that an upgrade would mean making holes in his perfectly preserved bathroom, he reached out to Richard Trethewey for help.
Where to find it?
Richard replaces an old 3-valve system in a 1930’s bathroom with a pressure-balanced
shower valve [homedepot.sjv.io/rQe3Q5] and cover plate [homedepot.sjv.io/DKAgKj].
First, Richard loosens the calking around the tub spout with a utility knife [homedepot.sjv.io/g1LKRr]. Then he uses a pipe wrench [homedepot.sjv.io/bavzk9] to remove the tub spout.
Richard uses an imp tubing cutter [homedepot.sjv.io/m5r34e] to easily cut the connecting water pipes and removes the old shower valve.
He then lays masking tape [homedepot.sjv.io/y2E32v] around the 3 valves openings and traces out a template of the cover plate.
Richard then uses a drill driver [homedepot.sjv.io/R50Wna] and drills holes around the perimeter of the template. Next, he cuts through the tile and mud job with an oscillating saw [homedepot.sjv.io/g1LKDB], following the template.
Richard assembles the new pressure-balancing shower valve by cleaning out the
fittings and the exterior of the pipes with a wire brush [homedepot.sjv.io/vN13ye]. Then, applying a layer of flux [homedepot.sjv.io/Jzo0KR] to the interior fittings and exterior of the pipes. He installs the valve by heating up the pipe along the joints using a torch [homedepot.sjv.io/5gmQML] and soldering [homedepot.sjv.io/0ZX79M] them securely to the water lines.
All supplies used for this project can be found at most home centers.
Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House Insider to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: bit.ly/2GPiYbH
Materials:
Masking tape [homedepot.sjv.io/y2E32v]
Sand screen [homedepot.sjv.io/q4k34j]
Scrap wood
Pressure-balancing shower diverter valve [homedepot.sjv.io/rQe3Q5]
Oversized cover plate [homedepot.sjv.io/DKAgKj]
Copper piping and fittings [homedepot.sjv.io/WqOGkM]
Flux [homedepot.sjv.io/Jzo0KR]
Solder [homedepot.sjv.io/0ZX79M]
Tools:
Utility knife [homedepot.sjv.io/g1LKRr]
Pipe wrench [homedepot.sjv.io/bavzk9]
Water pump pliers [homedepot.sjv.io/5gmQjj]
Small tubing cutter [homedepot.sjv.io/m5r34e]
Hammer [homedepot.sjv.io/ZQmzbR]
Masonry chisel [homedepot.sjv.io/GmoBDk]
Drill driver [homedepot.sjv.io/R50Wna]
Hammer drill [homedepot.sjv.io/LXoqnZ]
Masonry bits [homedepot.sjv.io/5gmQAL]
Oscillating tool [homedepot.sjv.io/g1LKDB]
Wire brush [homedepot.sjv.io/vN13ye]
Tape measure [homedepot.sjv.io/rQEBXy]
Soldering torch [homedepot.sjv.io/5gmQML]
Screwdriver [homedepot.sjv.io/9gxPM3]
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How To Repair a Leaking Shower Valve | Ask This Old House
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I love how the show gets the home owners involved in working on the upgrades!
I will watch anything with Rich Trethewy! He makes plumbing fun!
swear they have done this type of video multiple times already on the TOH channel. but it's still nice to have a refresher course once in a while.
i think they have been slightly different each time
Man, I wish I had someone like Richard in my life 😄 SO. MANY. HOME. PROJECTS.
One project I did 75 moen remodel kits. Learned a lot at that time!
As always very nice work Richard 👍🏽
Just I love all your videos. I solve few problems in my job just watching a video from you. Thanks a lot
kindness and decency go a long way for a contractor. i bet he could charge higher prices and the homeowner would still leave him 5 star reviews.
Thanks for the video.
It's amazing to me after the comment about keeping so much of the original detail in the house that the chosen repair here - which was not the only option - was to do exactly the opposite of that.
This is a good fix for a lot of folks... but not for these folks.
Three handle showers are illegal now in many states, due to the scald danger.
Repairing it would have required pulling the stems and either somehow rebuilding them (new washers, if you can find or make some to fit) or replacing them (if you can find replacement parts of that ancient valve system). However, due to the mud wall encasing the valves, it's very hard to remove the stems. My house, build in 1938 has a similar three handled shower, but worse ... it still has galvanzed pipes. The house in the video has had a re-pipe done to swap in copper, and that's probably why there is an access panel there ... from whoever did the repipe before, but they kept the original valves/handles and now they have gone bad.
I think the homeowner wanted the original tiles, not necessarily the old handles. And of course "This Old House" wouldn't make the swap if the homeowner didn't agree to it. The new shower valve is safer and much much easier to repair in the future.
I have a clinker brick house too!! Love it!
that looked really nice
I would vote for a solution that didn't require cutting such a large hole.
I'm right there with you. It looked to me that the hole would need to be the size of the valve plus some clearance. It pained me to see the size of it.
Yeah,I have no idea why the hole needs to be so big
@@nick4leaderit need to be that big cause it got to cover the holes on side the trim alone won’t cover those holes
yeah, looks waaay too big, given they had access panel.
@@dancollins4372I think it’s just easier. They needed the repair plate to cover the old 3 valve holes, so why make a smaller access hole when the biggest one possible will also work. It also ensures he won’t need to cut more if the original was too conservative.
Thanks
Dang I wish it was that easy to access behind old houses like those in Texas
Always a solution! Blessings 💕🤗
Oh man.. could use some of that at my place.
same situation here but there be no rear access, it was a challenge
Hello Very Good Work. Gave you thump up and A 100% feed back for you... From Robert 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
( Was an apartment maintenance for 4 years in south Florida ) 20 units etc . .
The showers had NO access panel AND the water in south Florida is so hard it EATS all the plumbing starting with all rubber gaskets - ( fossilizing them ) and at junctions and other random places it eats cooper piping from the inside ( galvanic corrosion ) and springs a leak inside the walls etc . . Also I had valves that were literally fossilized in place and no amount of stem pulling - heat - ( mapp gas ) - kinetics ( banging on them ) would remove the valves. So I had to break open the walls on the other side remove the entire assemblies - sweat new ones in - and then drywall and paint. It was bedroom walls. HARD WATER DESTROYS older piped plumbing.
20 years apartment tech here...i hear you on the hard water....ive worked in places where toilet flappers would last maybye 6 months...
No gasket no caulking
The cover plate has a built-in gasket.
*It's never about the fireplace,* lol
does the cap need to be sealed with silicone?
Title: How To Repair a Leaking Shower Valve.
Richard: Rips it all out and replaces it.........
I would have put a support board to support the valve
Recently, our 18 story hirise was completely re plumbed. All the old pipes were replaced with Pex pipes, no soldering. Just an expander tool and slip fitting, a minute later, the pex contracts onto the fitting, and it's done. The crew of dry wallers and painters followed - most excellent results. 👍 Supposed to last 30 - 50 years.
*** I mentioned this because it is very easy to work with, no soldering skills required.
That house is nearing a hundred years old, one would think that the plumbing is that old as well.
Expansion pex fittings are starting to show some issues with the expansions splitting after several years. Apparently they don't have quite enough elasticity to maintain that much of an expanded profile without eventually giving away. It's not common but it's definitely a thing that's happening. Sadly the only thing that still holds true as the best one going is plain old copper
@@JimDean002 Yah, the only thing forever is the Earth 🌎 and sky. !
Wrong title. This is a great video if you want to switch fixtures, not repair existing fixtures.
No waterproofing on the edge of the face plate?
Grinder works
I've been watching TOH since the 90's. I can't think of another show I have watched for so long. ATOH came after, so ... :-) What I'd love to know is how to access a leak you can't get to.
That's the reason I hire a pro when needed. I know my limits.
I have same shower valves. I just replaced them with same valves. Sure, its hot on a flush, but that is the nostalgia. Still having this as an option to replace and update the plumbing... just curious why Richard didn't go proplex fitting sans soldering?
Licensed plumbers may not be able to just fix the leaky valve without giving the homeowner an anti-scald. They have rules to follow. Also, the plumber doesn't want to be sued.
Cost probrably or didn't have a pro press the amount of pro press fittings would cost as much as that valve not worth it imo.
❤️
I was just thinking if the homeowner didn't shut the water of properly, richard would have a big surprise 🤣🤣
Nah, even with the water shut off, you have to open up a faucet (most likely the one he's standing at ... the tub faucet!) to let the water out. They just didn't show it.
you have to put those symmons valves spindles in a certain way or they will bind up....
Wth was it necessary to punch a hole that big????
Yes. The biggest the better
Manufacturer recommendations, best guess is this is meant to go in a shower that doesnt have an access, so you have to cut a hole big enough to remove the valve anyway, this just allows you to cut just enough to do the job without having to redo tile.
@@sterlingodeaghaidh5086 exaclty. The access panel was lucky. The manufacturer of the escutcheon just provided a template for the giant hole so that you could access the pipes more easily from the front. From the front, the we can see from the front that access to the pipes is much easier. However, if he didn't have that access plate, removing the old plumbing would have been a lot harder
I'm shocked! Could this situation not have been fixed using some other method so that the original beautiful fixtures and tiles could have been preserved??? Surely, there must have been a better solution. Actually, watching this video was heartbreaking.
You can also replace the three handle shower valve with another three handle valve but most place's by code you have to have a "pressure balancing valve" shower valve.
If you wanted to preserve the tile you could have installed a remote pressure balance valve upstream and repaired or replaced the existing valve. Kind of bazaar to see you chose not to considering the available access.
Three handle valves are garbage and ancient in their lack of tech. He could have removed the washer/stem and replaced them with ceramic cartridges. But it’s a lot of money to spend on something that’s 80 years old.
Did the new hole really need to be that big?
I’m curious why 1) no shut off valves were added when the fixture was removed making repairs easier in the future and 2) why Richard used sweat fittings rather than crimp. Great video, regardless! We need this in an old shower.
Solder fittings are still the best option for longevity, as for the reason no shutoff valves are installed, its just due to labor, its extra labor and more materials to add for no other benefit other than isolating a single point that doesnt need frequent changing unlike a sink faucet or something else.
dedicated shutoffs are not required for shower faucets...
@@sterlingodeaghaidh5086 also rats seem to be attracted to the softer plastics in the pex tubing that you guys are talking about.
Richard from (TOH) know ur professional plummer & etc. but 8::26 u going trust heat torch instead of caulking or fasteners around gaski.
Rember professional plumbers have to follow the codes and laws of the state and area they operate in. Which may require that pressure balance valve be installed. Homeowners, can replace like for like, but they accept the, and have to do the work themselves
I must of missed something, why was such a big hole necessary?
Another good solution and video. I love this show and have done since a kid, but whats with the music on American shows? They are fitting a shower it's not a drama!
If you were interested in preserving the tile, as i thought the homeowner was, you could have installed a remote pressure balance valve upstream of the old valve. That would have allowed the existing valve to be repaired or replaced with something identical, and satisfy any plumbiing code. Given all the acces available, its difficult to understand why you didn't go that route. Those remodel plates are hideous.
Amazing how they took out character items for boring modern attachments..you can tell he wanted to keep those tub knobs.
I don’t need a pressure shower i have pumped water and i can run every sink and flush the toilet and pressure stays the same
Hey guys my outside facet is leaking can you help me?/
I’d be careful in asking this. Given what we just saw, they’d blow out your exterior wall completely to do that work.
Anyone else notice the covered electrical box near the floor. Im surprised they didn't address that
i can watch tommy all day
This isn't repairing a leaking valve, this is replacing a valve. And, as an added convenience, has a huge access panel already in place. How does one go about actually repairing a valve, without changing the tile, where an access panel does not previously exist?
Armchair criticizing...I would stabilize that handle with a piece of wood considering how many times your going to use it, then that beautiful soldiering will last forever! :)
Why plumbers never caulk around these plates??
The new ones come with their own water proof gasket for a cleaner look.
@@traktion9 That view through the access panel showed that the foam gasket didn't seal properly against the tile, hole was made too big. I would put a nice thin bead of bathroom silicone around the plate in front to make sure
steven lavimoniere would approve.
Of course, one hack, approving another hack’s work…
Richard you know good and well that hole didnt have to be that big
Richard, buddy, you've never heard of autocuts?
Looks like “original” tile from the 70s
“We love all the original details” yet put in a hideous remodel plate.
Now he needs to put some caulk around the plate and fixtures ..
No, it has a built-in gasket.
So basically the answer is a bigger plate/hole, and a big enough rear access 😂 tbh with how much rear access they had, the huge hole was unnecessary
Totally unnecessary, but typical for these hacks…
The real reason to keep the original tile and other things is because it's cheaper.
no need for that whole to be that big unless there wasnt a access door
Dude has 1972 shower valves but pro-press sutoffs on new copper in the basement. Not staged at all.
Lol not to mention empty closet
Sad … the three valve is part of that original character
I know right!!!!!!!
😫😫😫😫
"How To Repair a Leaking Shower Valve"
Repair?
That was more like how to replace a leaking shower valve.
I really don't care for the valve design in this particular valve.
Dude really loves his 50 year old subway tile...at some point it's worth remodeling the bathroom, friends.
Why? There's nothing broken and it's completely functional bathroom.
So if you had a 57" Chevy....
you'd sell it for a Tesla, because the 1950's was years ago!
@@invisiblerevolution what a bad analogy
@@DM7817
Nope!
Beautiful copper work by Richard but what an ugly flimsy front end with a completely unnecessary and unsupported giant hole (there are good quality three stem controls) . Wait till the water starts to work its' way behind the plate.
I dont like the solution he picked for this. He damaged the old tile more that needed to be replaced a few o rings and seat.
I agree, but then it wouldn’t make for much of a show…
You damaged the tiles , so the idea it was do not touch the tiles
Wow horrible solution.....
That’s ugly
Somebody tell Richard the mask doesn't work unless both straps are on his head.