Anyone Good With Plumbing?

[OutThere]

If you're not so lucky as to have a plumbing access hatch on the wall behind the shower, I imagine you're gonna wind up having to rip out the drywall to really get at what's going on. Not that big a deal, just more time and effort in replacing the drywall and painting/wallpapering it back up.

I'm pretty handy and—for me—I'd say your project is big but doable, and you could certainly realize a huge cost savings over having a plumber, though you'll have to balance it with the frustration of learning your way through the job. If that's the only shower in your house....you might want to get on the phone.

I've learned to do basic plumbing because at least where I live it's hard to get a plumber to show up if you don't have a big expensive job for him.

 

[Ttownbeast]

If you're not so lucky as to have a plumbing access hatch on the wall behind the shower, I imagine you're gonna wind up having to rip out the drywall to really get at what's going on. Not that big a deal, just more time and effort in replacing the drywall and painting/wallpapering it back up.

I'm pretty handy and—for me—I'd say your project is big but doable, and you could certainly realize a huge cost savings over having a plumber, though you'll have to balance it with the frustration of learning your way through the job. If that's the only shower in your house....you might want to get on the phone.

I've learned to do basic plumbing because at least where I live it's hard to get a plumber to show up if you don't have a big expensive job for him.

Or rather than the drywall work cleaning up the hole and installing an access hatch as you mentioned sounds like a great idea saving trouble in the future even for possible future owners.

You'd be surprised at the necessity for people to learn how to do a lot of basic home repairs are, I worked as a super/repairman and trained through the NAHB training program to hone all those skills over the years. These kinds of problems are common in multiplexes even new ones where those professional specialists such as plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, etc and the building inspectors occasionally accidentally overlook some important details or for some reason manufacturing errors slip past the factory for essential materials.

Or even in some instances where the contractors are cheap bastards and cut corners when the inspectors aren't around.

 

[brunetmj]

I can't really add much to what has already been said but I also believe it is likely the shower spout.
This area is a common cause of leaks.
As was already said, just remove the shower head and unscrew the pipe going into the wall. Both are hand tight. Put plumbers tape on it and screw it back to where it came from and then screw on the shower head. This should take all of five minutes..
Just an overview of a shower system-
Two pipes ( hot,cold) come up from the hot water heater and enter a contol valve. From the contol valve a single pipe goes upward and terminates with a threaded section. The shower head and spout screw into this terminated section from the up pipe.This up pipe with a terminated thread is nailed to a board behind the wall so it dosent move when you unscrew the shower head and pipe entering the wall

 

[Peterkro]

I'm probably just repeating what others have said,however your problem appears to be between the mixer and the showerhead otherwise it would leak all the time.To confirm this blank off the showhead and turn on the mixer,it's most likely the mixer end because that's where movement is most likely to occur.This is all assuming that you had the waste outlet completely blocked and the leak still occurred,as stated previously where abouts the water comes through the ceiling is irrelevant because the water may be running along woodwork etc.

 

[Wallace2]

Thanks for all the help guys! Im going to go check the shower arm know to see if that may be the problem. If not we're probably going to call a plumber since my dad doesnt feel comfortable with the blow torch and cutting the pipes.

 

[brunetmj]

If what was suggested here dosent work than calling a plumber may be your best option. If the leak is say where the up pipe meets the contol valve ( mixer)or where the threaded terminated end meets that pipe, than it has to be soldered again. This means ,assuming you have access, is that the internals of the mixing valve should be removed before soldering. Many mixing valves recommend doing that. Although none of that is terribly hard it may not be something you would feel comfortable doing.

 

[skunk]

First things first: have you checked the sealant around the shower tray?

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

You're on the interwebz, use them! This isn't a huge task, if you simply look into it first.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+solder+copper+pipe&aq=0

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+cut+copper+pipe&aq=0

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+repair+a+shower+fixture&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+search+on+the+internet&aq=0

 

[Wallace2]

The problem was the shower arm as many suggested. When we went to check it and tried to unscrew it, the arm broke off leaving the threads inside the other pipe. We ended up calling the plumber and he came and fixed it. His reason for the problem was that the pipe was never secured correctly in the first place and everytime we turned the water on everything shook. So he put in a new shower arm and a bracket to hold the pipe in place.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Water-hammer can be a (#*$h, I've seen a few things fail due to that.

Glad you got things sorted out, hope it didn't cost ya too much.

 

[Wallace2]

Water-hammer can be a (#*$h, I've seen a few things fail due to that.

Glad you got things sorted out, hope it didn't cost ya too much.

Thanks, I dont know how much it cost since he said he would send a bill. Cant be too much though he was only here for about 2 hours.

 

[CW Jones]

The problem was the shower arm as many suggested. When we went to check it and tried to unscrew it, the arm broke off leaving the threads inside the other pipe. We ended up calling the plumber and he came and fixed it. His reason for the problem was that the pipe was never secured correctly in the first place and everytime we turned the water on everything shook. So he put in a new shower arm and a bracket to hold the pipe in place.

I bet your glad you didn't start cutting sheetrock like other suggest aren't you? I just love people who think they have a clue what they are doing and then tell people the wrong information and make it worse for them. haha

Glad it all worked out for you, I'll send you my e-bill

 

[Ttownbeast]

Thanks, I dont know how much it cost since he said he would send a bill. Cant be too much though he was only here for about 2 hours.

Expect a minimum of 120 bucks for parts and labor if the dude is strictly union, parts can be reasonably cheap even with good quality but for a master plumber expect to pay upwards of 50 an hour if he is just a single reputable licensed plumbing contractor (at the very least trained through a union program and properly insured) you may get a better deal as much as 20 to 30 percent savings on cost.

 

[Wallace2]

I bet your glad you didn't start cutting sheetrock like other suggest aren't you? I just love people who think they have a clue what they are doing and then tell people the wrong information and make it worse for them. haha

Glad it all worked out for you, I'll send you my e-bill

I know we would have had a real problem then. I think I have enough in ecash to pay you, good? Thanks for your help.

Expect a minimum of 120 bucks for parts and labor if the dude is strictly union, parts can be reasonably cheap even with good quality but for a master plumber expect to pay upwards of 50 an hour if he is just a single reputable licensed plumbing contractor (at the very least trained through a union program and properly insured) you may get a better deal as much as 20 to 30 percent savings on cost.

Well the guy was a sub plumber, I guess you can call him that? He works for for another guy in a 3 man business. We know they wont rip us off since they live up the street and are goods friends with our firend.

 

[CW Jones]

I know we would have had a real problem then. I think I have enough in ecash to pay you, good? Thanks for your help.



Well the guy was a sub plumber, I guess you can call him that? He works for for another guy in a 3 man business. We know they wont rip us off since they live up the street and are goods friends with our firend.

Of course! just take a picture, that's perfectly fine for payment! haha

 

[cantthinkofone]

Do you have copper pipes? If not don't even worry about soldering. Soldering pipes is not something you learn on the internet. You need to buy a torch, a few elbows, couplers and a small length of pipe and try to solder them together with out burning a hole in them.

 

[CW Jones]

Do you have copper pipes? If not don't even worry about soldering. Soldering pipes is not something you learn on the internet. You need to buy a torch, a few elbows, couplers and a small length of pipe and try to solder them together with out burning a hole in them.

The problem has already been solved.... without having to solder.