I bought new shower faucet replacement recently and tried to install the hardware. The hardware does not fit on the current valve. Or am I looking at it wrong? Is the old hardware still on? I can’t tell.
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My plumbing is from 1930s, with the exception of a pipe my plumber replaced. What started as recaulking has turned into a bigger ordeal than I thought. My EX boyfriend grouted and didn’t seal it and filled the spaces behind the tile with plumbers putty or grout or both. (I’ve identified the leak and repaired the kitchen ceiling). I have cleaned it out and want to replace it all but will the old pipes work with newer hardware? Is it called hardware? 😂My new best friends at our local hardware store have walked me through a lot of my issues and I’m relatively capable but am I looking at a huge difficult project? Thank you! PS of course I will diligently caulk everything!
I can only get hot water out of my shower and my googling has led me to believe I need to replace the cartridge in the handle. There's no markings to indicate what brand of faucet this is. I *think" I should be unscrewing some screws around the cartridge so I can slide it off, but there's a black plastic frame in the way which is labeled "remove before installation" 🙄 Am I SOL here or is there a way to fix this?
I am currently have these shower faucets on two of my showers and looking to update it for something more modern.
https://imgur.com/a/JAhaKs8 (looks to be either a Moen L64621 or Moen L2353)
I saw a couple shower faucet sets at Lowes and home depot. Can i just swap out the trim and handle or do i need to install the whole assembly including the valve? Box states it come with Posi-Temp valve.
is it possible i can use the trim and handle with the existing valve?
I have a single handle (Moen?) shower faucet. I want to change over to a temperature and flow control. Can I just change the cartridge to a dual control or does the complete valve need to be changed?
I assume you want to replace the faucet.
Options:
Drill it out. You don't care if you wreck the stem of the valve.
Drill and try an extractor. I usually never can find one the right size. I have a set. Somewhere.
Once your pretty sure that it's not holding the handle on, you may need additional persuasion to get the handle off.
- Start off with a low viscosity lubricant, such as bolt-out. Caution may change the colour of grout.
The handle may be cemented on with calcium/magnesium carbonates (what makes water hard) Soaking in passivated muriatic acid may release it. This will take hours to days. Caution: Review safe acid handling.
If the handle is metal you can try heating it with a heat gun. If the valve itself is plastic this may make life more difficult.
If you decide to to pry it off, protect the wall with a couple of chunks of 2x4. Run them horizontally and pry from above and below. If working alone, you can hold them in place temporarily with duct tape. A 2 foot chunk will span standard stud spacing. This, I think will minimize any flexing of the wall which might crack tile or grout.
A better way may be to rig something using puller jaws and a a slide hammer.
In response to a comment: Turn off the water, and have your replacement parts ready. Depending on how cheap the contractor who built the house was, there may or may not be individual shutoffs for the shower or just hte bathroom. I've done many repairs that required shutting off water the entire house. As a result of this, my first step in a repair is to add additional shut off valves. (I live a 40 minute drive from the nearest big box store. Few repairs are done without at least two trips to the store. Being without water all day isn't a win. I now keep a couple of quarter turn ball valves in 1/2" solder ends (since I have a copper plumbed house) on hand so I can start with that.)
If you do try to drill the screw out a left-hand drill bit might be worthwhile. I've had a few occasions when drilling a broken fastener with a left-hand drill removed the fastener. I don't know that I've ever had success with an extractor -- it's difficult to get the hole centered, the right size, adequate depth.. and then the extractor just shatters in the hole anyway.
The handle could be removed in sections. Using a hack saw or reciprocating saw, cut the main part off perpendicular to the stem and far enough back from the valve body that the saw cuts only handle, not stem. Next cut what remains of the handle along the axis of the stem so that the handle shell can be split into two halves and broken away. A rotary tool such as a Dremel may be useful here. Hopefully at this point you'll have reached the inner part of the handle casting which is actually contacting the stem. Repeat the cut-and-split process on this piece too.
There's some chance of damaging the valve stem or the escutcheon, but both of these as well as the handle can be replaced individually if desired.