Problem: I've got a leaky shower. Also I'm a plumbing noob.
Good news: I found the leak. I've circled it in the first attached photo and then cleverly drew a reenactment of the leak in the second. The leak is coming from the top of the pvc to brass fitting. Looks like the glue didn't hold or something. I tried to unscrew the fitting, after taking the shower arm off, and then realized the top of the pipe that feeds the shower head is attached to the wall. Which makes sense, now that I type it out.
The question is: what's the correct way to fix the problem? Do I just glob some sealant around the pvc-to-fitting junction? Do I cut it out and splice in new pipe and a new fitting? Do I do something else entirely?
It's been my experience that you can't fix that leak without redoing the whole fitting. I would just cut it above the glue line and replace it.
Is that pvc? I've not seen that type of fitting before. Also I'm unaware of any sealant that would work.
Cut it out and replace.
barefootskater (Shaun) said:
Is that pvc? I've not seen that type of fitting before. Also I'm unaware of any sealant that would work.
Cut it out and replace.
I'm assuming it's pvc. It's white plastic. And I don't know what I'm doing 
It is CPVC not PVC... two different animals.
CPVC handles hot water.
Use CPVC pipe and fittings and glue for CPVC.
That's a 1/2" CPVC female fitting ('slip' one end, female pipe thread the other end) that has a rubber "O" ring inside. Not uncommon in recent years.
Easy fix with the right tools and a bit of care.
Looks like somebody glued it with PVC glue. a no-no
Your glue can must say CPVC.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
Rad, thanks. What does the replacement workflow look like? Is there some kind of swivel in the fitting for me to screw it onto the mixer valve after the cpvc glue dries?
In reply to thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) :
You screw it on the valve, then glue it. You get 1 shot :)
I recently did this exact repair. Well... about 5 years ago.
CPVC is sooo 1980s. All the cool kids are doing PEX and Shark Bite fittings. They aren't cheap, but they're so wonderful.
What you would need is a length of pex to replace the upright, a thread-sharkbite adapter, and a sharkbite-thread shower head thingy.
No glue, no worries. Shove it together and you're done. I was able to cut a small hole (a little smaller than the trim ring on the neck) to get access to the 90-degree neck adapter behind the shower head. I unscrewed the fitting from the wall to let it spin, then unscrewed the pipe from the shower valve. I couldn't get the old pipe out so I just set it aside in the wall. Screw the sharkbite adapter on the shower valve, pass some PEX down through the wall, shove it in the adapter. Now cut the PEX to the correct length, shove on the 90-degree shower head fitting and screw it to the stud. Done.
The other possibility is to do all of the above except the PEX. Unscrew the top from the stud, cut the CPVC flush with the leaking adapter, and install a threaded-CPVC sharkbite fitting. Sharkbite makes fittings that are press-in o-ring for PVC, copper, PEX, polybutylene, the works.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I can't see the bracket through the hole for the shower arm and the whole wall is tiled. I don't really want to mess with cutting through that. My buddy is doing PEX in the offices he's building in his basement and loves the stuff.
Steve_Jones said:
In reply to thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) :
You screw it on the valve, then glue it. You get 1 shot :)
One opportunity eh? I hope I capture it, and don't let it slip.
thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I can't see the bracket through the hole for the shower arm and the whole wall is tiled. I don't really want to mess with cutting through that. My buddy is doing PEX in the offices he's building in his basement and loves the stuff.
It may sound daunting, but popping off a couple tiles and then re-gluing isn't a terrible thing.
Edit: The problem you'll have is that CPVC isn't flexible enough to do the repair without un-attaching the fitting behind the neck. The bottom line is that it will be difficult to repair with traditional means if that up-pipe is fixed in place.
My whole house was re-done with PEX before I bought it. Adding a laundry faucet and a water supply to my fridge was honestly a 2 hour job thanks to that stuff. Turn off the water, whack the lines, stab on sharkbites, done.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Ha, yeah. It was definitely a pain in the ass to unhook and unscrew enough stuff to be able to plug in the new connectors. But it's done now. Just waiting for the caulking to dry (cure?) before testing the new joints. Hopefully I don't see any leaks. If I do, then I'll be going the PEX replacement route.
What caulking? There's nothing there that would need caulk.
Is there a reason the bolts going into that beam have an inch of slop in them?
I love this picture! Haha!
Steve_Jones said:
What caulking? There's nothing there that would need caulk.
Context would have been good... it's around the shower arm I unscrewed thinking that I could turn the pipe going up to it.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Oh man, better yet: those bolts don't even go anywhere. They're just screwed into that piece of wood. Seriously. I can't figure out why the PO added them.
What is this mashup?!?!?!....sorry but I'm NO plumber...but i can sure make stuff leak err not leak at all ......get that lag screwed laden POS board out the way and get after it ......sheet rock or drywall that's just cosmetics fix that later after all is DRY.....I tore the entire wall off the master bath /shower to install what you're looking at....no it wasn't fun, but I've not messed with it for over five years now......talk later have to tear the dishwater door apart.....peace out
Some points in our plumbing have been swapped over to PEX in past couple years-no complaints.
Good news: I just tested the shower and didn't see any leaks. I'm calling this one a win.
